By Muvija M

LONDON (Reuters) – The Church of England’s second-most senior clergyman, Stephen Cottrell, will deliver a Christmas sermon on Wednesday for repentance and reform within an institution rocked by cover-up scandals. of child abuse.

This year’s festivities were overshadowed by the resignation of Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby over a cover-up and accusations of over-protecting the failings of his number two, Cottrell, who is the Archbishop of York.

In addition to its 16,000 churches in England, the Church, which traces its roots to the Roman empire, is also the mother church of 85 million Anglicans in more than 165 countries.

“Now, this Christmas, the Church of God herself must go to the manger and take off her clothes and kneel in repentance and worship. And be renewed,” said Cottrell of York Minster in northern England, according to extracts shared in his office. .

Welby, who resigned in November after a report that he failed to do enough to stop prolific sex abuser John Smyth, will not give the main Christmas sermon at historic Canterbury Cathedral.

“At the center of the Christmas story is a weak child; a weak child that (King) Herod’s furious anger will try and destroy, because like every tyrant he cannot continue with an opponent, ” said Cottrell.

“The Church of England – the Church of England that I love and serve – must look at this weak child, this emptying of power to show the power of love, for in this weak child we see God.”

Welby is due to step down from his official duties on January 6, with the process of selecting his successor expected to take six months.

Cottrell, who had effectively run the Church until then, also faced calls to resign after a BBC report that he had allowed priest David Tudor to continue in his job despite knowing the Church had banned him from -alone with children and that he paid compensation to a victim of sexual abuse.

Cottrell apologized for not being able to act sooner when he was bishop of Chelmsford, saying the situation he inherited was “horrible and intolerable” and that he had suspended Tudor in the first instance.

The British public, becoming less and less religious and religious, was sharply critical.

David Greenwood, a lawyer specializing in abuse claims, said in a statement that the revelations “shake confidence in the Church’s ability to protect congregants and uphold the duty of take care of it”.