جاستن ويلبي

Welby's mother, Jane, was Sir Winston Churchill's personal secretary from December 1949 until her marriage to Gavin Welby in April 1955.^[12] Shortly before her marriage she had a brief relationship with Churchill's private secretary, Anthony Montague Browne (1923–2013).^[13] For 60 years Welby believed that Gavin Welby was his biological father until a paternity test in 2016 showed that he was Browne's son.^[11]

Gavin Welby (born Bernard Gavin Weiler in Ruislip, Middlesex)^[14][15] was the son of Bernard Weiler, a German-Jewish immigrant and importer of luxury items who changed the family name to Welby during the First World War.^{[14][16][17][18]} He stood for Parliament as a Conservative candidate in the 1951 and 1955 general elections.

Welby has described his early childhood as "messy". Gavin and Jane Welby, who were both alcoholics, divorced in 1959 when he was three years old,^[19] and he was placed in Gavin's custody. In 1960, Gavin became engaged to the actress Vanessa Redgrave. Vanessa's mother, Rachel Kempson, described him as "a real horror" and "a pretty rotten piece of work", and expressed relief when Vanessa called the engagement off. She was more complimentary about the young Justin, writing, "[Gavin's] child is angelic. We all loved him."^[20] Gavin died in 1977 of alcohol-related causes.^[19]

Jane stopped drinking in 1968, and in 1975 married Charles Williams, a business executive and first-class cricket player who was made a life peer in 1985. Williams was the nephew of Elizabeth Laura Gurney, a member of the Gurney family of Norwich who were prominent Quakers and social reformers, and was remembered by Welby as being a supportive step-father. Commenting on his mother's death in 2023, Welby said that it had been "a privilege to be her son".^[21][12]

In 2024, Welby released a personal statement revealing that, through his biological father, Anthony Montague Browne, he was the great-great-great-grandson of Sir James Fergusson, 4th baronet (1765–1838), who owned slaves on his plantation in Jamaica and received compensation from the British Government in 1837 following the abolition of slavery.^[22][23] Through his biological father, Welby is also descended from Admiral Adam Duncan and Robert Stewart, the illegitimate son of King James V of Scotland.

Welby's maternal grandmother was the journalist and historian Iris Butler (1905–2002), whose brother (Welby's great-uncle) Rab was chancellor of the exchequer, home secretary, deputy prime minister and foreign secretary during the 1950s and 1960s, as well as master of Trinity College, Cambridge, where Welby later studied. Iris and Rab's father (Welby's maternal great-grandfather) was Sir Montagu Butler, governor of the Central Provinces of British India and master of Pembroke College, Cambridge. Sir Montagu was the grandson of George Butler, headmaster of Harrow School and dean of Peterborough, and the nephew of the educator George Butler (husband of the social reformer Josephine Butler) and of Henry Montagu Butler, headmaster of Harrow School, dean of Gloucester and master of Trinity College, Cambridge. Sir Montagu was also the grand-nephew of John Colenso, the first bishop of Natal.

Welby's maternal grandfather was Gervas Portal, a half-brother of Charles Portal, who served as Chief of the Air Staff during the Second World War.^[24] Gervas Portal's mother, Rose Leslie Portal (née Napier), was the granddaughter of General Sir William Napier and Caroline Amelia Fox. General Napier and his brothers Charles and George were the sons of Sir George Napier and Lady Sarah Lennox. Caroline Amelia Fox was the daughter of General Henry Edward Fox, younger brother of prominent Whig politician Charles James Fox, sons of the politician Henry Fox and Caroline Lennox. Caroline and Sarah Lennox were two of the five Lennox sisters, who were daughters of Charles Lennox, 2nd Duke of Richmond, and granddaughters of Charles II and his mistress Louise de Kérouaille, Duchess of Portsmouth.^[25]

In July 2013, Welby spoke out against payday lending sites and met with Errol Damelin, chief executive of Wonga. Welby pledged that the Church of England would support credit unions as society needs to "provide an alternative" to the "very, very costly forms of finance" that payday lending services represent. He noted that he did not want to make legal payday lending illegal, as this would leave people with no alternative to using criminal loan sharks.^[42]

Payday lenders lead to people being assured, through impressively slick marketing campaigns and targeted advertisements, that the process of taking out a loan is quick, simple and safe. However, once the loan has been taken out, it is difficult to get out of the cycle. With the rates offered, simply paying off the interest becomes a struggle.^[43]

Shortly after this well-publicised intervention in the public debate, it emerged that the Church of England's pension fund had invested money in Accel Partners, a venture capital firm that had invested in Wonga. This led to accusations of hypocrisy, and Welby said that the investment was "very embarrassing" for the church.^[44] Welby and the Church's Ethical Investment Advisory Group were unaware of their investment in Wonga.

Welby also said that the Ethical Investment Advisory Group ought to reconsider rules which allow investment in companies that make up to 25% of their income from gambling, alcohol or high-interest lending.^[42]

Welby became bishop of Durham in 2011, although he was not to stay there long. Interviewed by the BBC, Welby said that the appointment was both challenging and a huge privilege.^[45]

تم تأكيد انتخاب ويلبي في كاتدرائية يورك مينستر في 29 سبتمبر 2011، وغادر كاتدرائية ليفربول في 2 أكتوبر. رُسِّم أسقفًا في كاتدرائية يورك مينستر في 28 أكتوبر 2011 ^{[ 46 ]} على يد جون سينتامو ، رئيس أساقفة يورك ؛ ^{[ 47 ]} وجلس على عرشه في كاتدرائية دورهام في 26 نوفمبر 2011. خلال فترة أسقفيته، بيعت قلعة أوكلاند ، التي كانت مقرًا لأساقفة دورهام منذ حوالي عام 1183، إلى مشروع أوكلاند.

قُدِّم إلى مجلس اللوردات في 12 يناير 2012، ^{[ 48 ] [ 49 ]} حيث جلس على مقعد اللوردات الروحي . ^{[ 50 ]} وألقى خطابه الأول في 16 مايو 2012. ^{[ 51 ] [ 52 ]}

In November 2024, Welby faced calls to resign, including from members of the General Synod of the Church of England,^[60] following the Church's publication of an independent review (the Makin Review) into the Church's handling of allegations of physical and sexual abuse committed by the barrister John Smyth at Christian camps in the 1970s and 1980s.^[61] The report criticised Welby for failing to follow up on his subordinates' claims that they had passed on the matter to the police after he was informed of the allegations in 2013, and stated that it was "unlikely" Welby was not aware of concerns being reported about Smyth during the time of the alleged offences, as he had claimed.^[62]

على الرغم من تصريحه المبدئي بأنه لن يستقيل، أعلن ويلبي في 12 نوفمبر/تشرين الثاني 2024، تحت ضغط متزايد من الضحايا ورجال الدين، أنه تحدث إلى الملك تشارلز الثالث، الحاكم الأعلى لكنيسة إنجلترا، وأنه سيستقيل. ^{[ 63 ] [ 64 ]} وشدد على أهمية تحمل "المسؤولية الشخصية والمؤسسية" عن "التستر الطويل الأمد على الانتهاكات الشنيعة" التي ارتكبها سميث، وعن "الشعور العميق بالعار إزاء الإخفاقات التاريخية للكنيسة في مجال الحماية"، معربًا عن أمله في أن توضح استقالته "مدى جدية فهم كنيسة إنجلترا لضرورة التغيير والتزامنا العميق بإنشاء كنيسة أكثر أمانًا". ^{[ 65 ] [ 66 ]} وفي 20 نوفمبر/تشرين الثاني، أعلن قصر لامبث أن ويلبي سينهي مهامه الرسمية بحلول 6 يناير/كانون الثاني 2025، وبعد ذلك ستُفوض مهامه الرسمية إلى رئيس أساقفة يورك ، وأن تاريخ انتهاء ولايته كرئيس أساقفة سيُحدد بالتشاور مع المجلس الخاص . ^{[ 67 ]}

في بيانٍ له، قال ستيفن كوتريل (رئيس أساقفة يورك)، ثاني أساقفة كنيسة إنجلترا، إن استقالة ويلبي كانت "الخيار الصائب والمشرف". ^{[ 68 ]} وردد أساقفة آخرون هذه التصريحات، شاكرين ويلبي على "خدمته ورسالته وقيادته"، مع إقرارهم بخطورة إخفاقات الكنيسة في مجال حماية الأطفال. ^{[ 69 ]} أما رئيس الوزراء، السير كير ستارمر ، الذي كان قد رفض علنًا في وقت سابق دعم ويلبي، فقد صرّح بأنه "يحترم القرار". ^{[ 62 ]}

أعقب استقالة ويلبي دعواتٌ لكبار رجال الدين الآخرين المتورطين في التستر على قضية سميث بالتنحي. وأكدت أسقفة بيركنهيد ، جولي كونالتي ، أن ويلبي "فعل الصواب"، لكنها شددت على أن استقالته وحدها "لن تحل مشكلة" الإخفاقات في حماية الكنيسة.

The UK Minister for Health and Social Care, Wes Streeting, speaking "as an Anglican, not as a Government minister", agreed that Welby should resign but church leaders should not think "one head rolling solves the problem". Streeting added that there are "deep and fundamental issues of not just practice, but [of the] culture on safeguarding, that need to be taken seriously".^[70]

Welby's final speech in the House of Lords on 5 December 2024 was criticised as he appeared to make light of the circumstances of his resignation. The bishop of Newcastle, Helen-Ann Hartley, said his tone was "unwise to say the least".^[71] Welby apologised the next day, and later said that he was "profoundly ashamed" of the speech.^[72]

Welby completed official duties on 6 January 2025 (his 69th birthday). Until the confirmation of election of Dame Sarah Mullally as his successor on 28 January 2026, the functions of the archbishop were delegated to Stephen Cottrell, archbishop of York, to Mullally, then-bishop of London, and to Rose Hudson-Wilkin, bishop of Dover.^[73][74] Welby's resignation became official at midnight on 7 January 2025,^[8][9] as declared by the King-in-Council on 18 December.^[75]

In February 2017, Welby apologised unreservedly after allegations that barrister and evangelical Christian John Smyth beat boys in the late 1970s, mainly pupils at Winchester College, until their wounds bled and left permanent scars. Smyth was a senior member of Christian charity the Iwerne Trust in the 1970s and 1980s.^[76] These allegations were suppressed by the church for decades, and Smyth was told to leave the UK.^[76]

Welby's early grounding in Christian doctrine was rooted in the Iwerne camp network founded by Eric Nash.^[77] Welby was a dormitory officer at the camps from around 1975 to 1978, a period that coincides with that of Smyth's child abuse at the same location.^[78] From 1978 to 1981, Smyth allegedly carried out a series of brutal beatings on boys and undergraduates, recorded in a report written by Iwerne officer Canon Mark Ruston in February 1982 but not passed on to the police until 2013.^[79]

In 2017, Welby described Smyth as "charming" and "delightful".^[80] Welby "vaguely recalls" receiving a Christmas card from Smyth in the 1990s, but definitively recalls meeting Smyth in Paris in the 1990s.^[78] In 1978, Welby left the UK to work in Paris and Welby stated that "I had no contact with them [the camps] at all." It later materialised that Welby had spoken at the camp in this period and had continued to receive the camp newsletter.^[81] Andrew Atherstone, in the biography Risk-taker and Reconciler, describes Welby as having been "involved in the camps as an undergraduate ... businessman and theological college student in the 1980s and early 1990s."^[82]

In 2012, a victim of Smyth reported the abuse to the Church of England and Welby was informed in 2013. Welby maintained that this was the first he heard of Smyth's abuses.^[79]The New York Times on 14 October 2017 quoted a senior Church of England figure as saying that "all senior members of the trust, including officers like Archbishop Welby, had been made aware of the allegations against Mr Smyth, even those who had been abroad". Questions have remained among Smyth's victims as to when Welby first knew, and some have labelled him an "observer", a term denoting a person who knew about abuse but who did not report appropriately.^[83] Welby said that he was not part of the inner circle of Smyth's friends and that survivors must come first, not the church's own interests.^[84]

An independent review in 2024 noted that Smyth's abuse was not merely physical and psychological, but sometimes sexual in nature, and concluded that the Church of England had covered up the allegations against Smyth for three decades.^[85] The report accused Welby of "minimisation" of Smyth's actions and found that he failed to inform church authorities in Cape Town of the risk of abuse. Specifically, the report found that Welby had been informed of Smyth's abuse in August 2013, six months after his elevation to archbishop of Canterbury,^[86] but did not personally ensure that the reports were passed on to the police. Although Welby stated (and the report agreed) that his subordinates told him the authorities had been alerted,^[87][86] the report found that the Church failed to use full efforts to ensure that Smyth was investigated and prosecuted. The report found that the Church informally disclosed the matter to Cambridgeshire Police and the Metropolitan Police, but the former did not record the allegations as a crime and the latter passed the matter to Hampshire Police, which initially declined to pursue the matter until a Channel 4 news report.^[86] Despite Hampshire Police's belated investigation, Smyth was not prosecuted before his death in 2018.^[60]

Welby initially stated that he would not resign after the release of the report.^[88] In response, over 1,500 church members called on Welby to step down from his position,^[89][90][91] and on 12 November 2024 he announced his decision to resign as archbishop of Canterbury.^[62]

Welby was criticised for continuing to support Paula Vennells, head of the British Post Office, long after it emerged that the company was prosecuting sub-postmasters for errors caused by the Post Office's Horizon IT system.^[92] Canon Jeremy Haselock, a former chaplain to Queen Elizabeth, publicly called for Welby's resignation after it was claimed he pushed Vennells' application to become the bishop of London, the Church's third most senior role.^[93]

In the preface to his 2018 book, Reimagining Britain, published after 555 postmasters had launched legal action against the Post Office, Welby said she "shaped my thinking over the years". And in February 2019 she was appointed to the Church's Ethical Investment Advisory Group,^[94] after more than 900 sub-postmasters had been prosecuted because of faulty software.^[95] In 2024, Welby said "more questions should have been asked" after the Horizon scandal emerged, and "we will need to reflect on it".^[96]

On 20 February 2023, several bishops of the Global South Fellowship of Anglican Churches released a statement declaring that they no longer recognised Welby as head of the Anglican Communion due to the Church of England's decision to bless same-sex marriages.^[97][98][99]

In February 2018, Welby expressed fears that Brexit was dividing UK society and the United Kingdom government austerity programme was harming vulnerable people. Welby wrote:

Brexit has divided the country and now we need a new narrative. One that is rooted in all that is best in our history – solidarity, courage, aspiration, resilience and care for each other. There is a danger that there is a schism in our society into which the most vulnerable are falling. Austerity is crushing the weak, the sick and many others.^[100]

In August 2019, Welby called for EU Remainers to "stop whingeing" and accept the result of the 2016 Brexit referendum.^[101]

In January 2021, Welby received his first COVID-19 vaccine, writing on Twitter: "The rapid development of the vaccine is an answer to prayer – and it is central to the recovery from this terrible pandemic". He has spoken out against "malicious rumour-mongering" relating to the pandemic.^[102]

أعرب ويلبي أيضًا عن قلقه من أن جائحة كوفيد-19 في المملكة المتحدة قد فاقمت أوجه عدم المساواة القائمة. ^{[ 103 ]} وتحدث مع عائلات الضحايا، وأضاف كلمات إشادة إلى الجدار التذكاري الوطني لكوفيد-19 (الذي يُمثل أولئك الذين توفوا بسبب كوفيد-19 ). ^{[ 104 ]} وفي أبريل 2021، دعا ويلبي إلى بدء تحقيق عام حول كوفيد-19 . ^{[ 105 ]}

في عام 2021، أصدر ويلبي والبابا فرنسيس وبرثلماوس الأول ، البطريرك المسكوني الحالي للقسطنطينية ، إعلانًا مشتركًا لمعالجة إلحاح الاستدامة البيئية. ^{[ 106 ]}

في عام 2013، اختلف ويلبي بشدة مع اللورد (ديفيد) فرويد ، وكيل وزارة الدولة البرلماني لإصلاح الرعاية الاجتماعية آنذاك، ^{[ 107 ]} لاعتقاده بأن تخفيضات الحكومة البريطانية للمساعدات الاجتماعية قد تسببت في زيادة الاعتماد على بنوك الطعام أو ساهمت فيها. واستشهد ويلبي بتحقيق أجرته كنيسة إنجلترا أظهر أن الخدمات الاجتماعية أحالت 35% من سكان دورهام الذين استخدموا بنوك الطعام عندما لم تُصرف لهم المساعدات التي يستحقونها. وصرح ويلبي قائلاً:

ربما لديه [اللورد فرويد] أرقام مختلفة، لكن هذه هي الأرقام التي احتفظنا بها في الكنائس بالتأكيد... نحن دقيقون للغاية بشأن إحصاءاتنا، ولا نوزع الطعام عشوائياً - يجب أن يتم ترشيحك. ^{[ 108 ]}

قبل عيد الميلاد عام 2013، حث ويلبي الناس على التبرع بنسبة 10% من إنفاقهم لبنوك الطعام في عيد الميلاد. ^{[ 109 ]}

في ديسمبر/كانون الأول 2014، أعرب ويلبي عن قلقه إزاء تزايد الحاجة إلى بنوك الطعام ، وهو أمر وصفه بأنه "لا يمكن تصوره" قبل عقد من الزمن. ووصف محنة الفقراء الجائعين بالمروعة لأنه لم يكن يتوقع حدوث ذلك في المملكة المتحدة، ^{[ 110 ]} قائلاً: "إن وجودهم أمر محزن للغاية، ولكنه في الوقت نفسه فرصة عظيمة للكنيسة لإظهار محبة المسيح". ^{[ 111 ]}

في عام 2013، أعرب ويلبي عن قلقه بشأن ارتفاع أسعار الطاقة في المملكة المتحدة، قائلاً إن شركات الطاقة تتحمل مسؤولية تجاه العملاء ويجب أن تأخذ هذا في الاعتبار بدلاً من مجرد تعظيم فرصها الخاصة .

The impact on people, particularly on low incomes, is going to be really severe in this [rising energy prices], and the companies have to justify fully what they are doing. (...) They have control because they sell something everyone has to buy. We have no choice about buying it with that amount of power comes huge responsibility to serve society.^[112][113]

In the run-up to the 2017 United Kingdom general election, Justin Welby and archbishop of YorkJohn Sentamu campaigned on the need to address poverty, education, housing and health. The archbishops stressed the importance of "education for all, of urgent and serious solutions to our housing challenges, the importance of creating communities as well as buildings, and a confident and flourishing health service that gives support to all – especially the vulnerable – not least at the beginning and end of life."^[114]

Welby has expressed concern about inequality in the UK. In September 2017, he said, "Our economic model is broken. Britain stands at a watershed moment where we need to make fundamental choices about the sort of economy we need. We are failing those who will grow up into a world where the gap between the richest and poorest parts of the country is significant and destabilising."^[115] He has praised the welfare state as a Christian endeavour emanating from the likes of R. H. Tawney, William Temple and William Beveridge. He also said in 2021 that the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom had exacerbated existing inequalities, and called for the building of "a new Beveridge".^[103]

Welby's growing political influence led to him being named by the New Statesman as the UK's twenty-seventh most powerful left-wing figure, citing his campaigning for refugee rights, condemnation of austerity, and advocacy against the gig economy.^[116]

في يوليو/تموز 2014، أقرّ ويلبي بوجود مشكلة تتمثل في سفر الشباب المسلمين إلى الحرب الأهلية السورية وغيرها من الأماكن للمشاركة في الجهاد، لكن أعدادهم كانت "ضئيلة للغاية"، ولذا استبعد المخاوف بشأن احتمال وقوع اضطرابات، واصفًا إياها بأنها "هستيرية... أعتقد أننا في خطر الانزلاق إلى ثقافة خوف شديد". ^{[ 117 ]} وفي عام 2015، أبدى دعمه للغارات الجوية البريطانية ضد تنظيم الدولة الإسلامية في العراق والشام (داعش) في سوريا. ^{[ 118 ]} ويعتقد ويلبي أن مشكلة التطرف الإسلامي أعمق بكثير من مجرد محاربة الجهاديين الإسلاميين مثل داعش والقاعدة ؛ وأن على دول الخليج والمملكة العربية السعودية أن تواجه تحديًا، لأن "ترويجها لنوع معين من اللاهوت الإسلامي قد وفّر مصدرًا استمد منه داعش شرعية زائفة". ^{[ 118 ]}

في مقابلة مع صحيفة "ديلي تلغراف" في نوفمبر 2016، صرّح ويلبي بأن الادعاء بأن أفعال داعش "لا علاقة لها بالإسلام" يُضرّ بجهود مكافحة التطرف. وأكد ويلبي على ضرورة فهم الدوافع الدينية وراء التطرف لفهمه، وانتقد بالمثل الحجة القائلة بأن " الميليشيات المسيحية في جمهورية أفريقيا الوسطى لا علاقة لها بالمسيحية". ^{[ 119 ]}

In July 2023, Welby attended an interfaith event hosted by the Board of Deputies of British Jews at Bevis Marks Synagogue in London.^[120] Welby wore a kippah (Jewish skullcap) as a mark of respect at the synagogue. While there, Welby met with historian Simon Sebag Montefiore and engaged in a conversation with him as part of the interfaith event. Welby stated that, with regard to Judaism, "There is no question that a country with a large Jewish community will be a better country. It will flourish in almost any area you care to name". Welby referred to antisemitism in Nazi Germany and noted while reading about the German churches' responses to the Nazis that "You saw there that the moment you don't push back against antisemitism, it becomes so engrained[sic] – and antisemitic laws or anti-semitic attitudes become permissible, and everything becomes permissible. It's a cancer of extraordinarily rapid growth, which you can't deal with if you leave it for any time".^[120]

Welby condemns modern slavery as a crime against humanity.^[121] He joined with Pope Francis and leaders of other faiths, Buddhist, Hindu, Jewish and Muslim, in a joint declaration they would work together aiming to end modern slavery by 2020.Forced labour and prostitution, human trafficking and organ trade were specifically mentioned but all relationships that do not respect human equality, freedom and dignity were condemned.^[122]

On 2 August 2024, Welby issued a statement in support for the International Court of Justice's advisory opinion of 19 July 2024 by declaring "Israel's presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territories is unlawful and needs to end as rapidly as possible".^[123] The announcement came after what is understood to be a two-week period of reflection.^[124]

Welby is concerned that Christians are persecuted in some parts of the world, notably in the Middle East, and fears that some risk their lives going to church.^[125] Welby also said that Christians and other religious minorities were made to suffer terribly and were killed in Iraq, which violates article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Welby noted that Christians and other minorities face persecution for their faith in many areas worldwide; he cited Syria, South Sudan, and the Central African Republic among others. Welby urged the United Kingdom to open its doors to refugees.^[126]

Referring to poverty in the UK in March 2013, Welby criticised UK government changes which capped benefits below inflation.

As a civilised society, we have a duty to support those among us who are vulnerable and in need. When times are hard, that duty should be felt more than ever, not disappear or diminish. It is essential that we have a welfare system that responds to need and recognises the rising costs of food, fuel and housing. The current benefits system does that, by ensuring that the support struggling families receive rises with inflation. These changes will mean it is children and families who will pay the price for high inflation, rather than the government.^[127]

In a speech at Christmas 2013, Welby said, "Even in a recovering economy, Christians, the servants of a vulnerable and poor saviour, need to act to serve and love the poor; they need also to challenge the causes of poverty."^{[128][125][129]} In a speech at Easter 2013, Welby said, "In this country, even as the economy improves, there is weeping in broken families, in people ashamed to seek help from food banks, or frightened by debt. Asylum seekers weep with loneliness and missing[sic] far away families."^[130]

Referring to poverty in the UK and generally, in 2017 and again in 2021, Welby said that "we should all share concern for the poor and the marginalised, should work to build communities where people act responsibly towards one another, whether we are rich or poor we all have the same dignity. William Beveridge, R. H. Tawney and William Temple played a significant part in establishing the post-war welfare state in the United Kingdom and were committed Christians. We do not have the luxury of saying, 'Something must be done' without doing anything ourselves."^[115][103]

Welby has said that justice of the powerful is not justice at all and judges should decide issues based on truth and the common good rather than class and money.^[131] Welby quoted Nelson Mandela that "dealing with poverty was a matter of justice rather than charity." Welby felt that speaking out about poverty, fuel bills, financial insecurity affecting families and credit unions is part of the Christian duty to love one's neighbour.^[132][133]

Welby has said that insecurity of income is also a problem for many people. He expressed concern that many people cannot save or plan for, for example a holiday because they do not know how much money will be coming in from week to week. In September 2018, Welby said:

You don't know from one week to the next what you'll be earning. And so for people trying to budget, people trying to just save a bit so that, I don't know, once a month they could have fish and chips with their kids or go to the cinema or go down to the beach on a nice hot summer, they can't plan. It comes back to justice and the common good.^[134]

Welby also said in 2018:

Certainly there are parts of the country where there's huge deprivation. We see communities caught in a poverty trap. Now, the economy has improved very much in many places but there's a significant group of people who just seem trapped and the system doesn't help them.^[135]

Welby disagrees with restrictions on child refugees being admitted to the UK. In 2017, he expressed fears that children were vulnerable to exploitation and even death.^[136][137]

Our country has a great history of welcoming those in need, particularly the most vulnerable, such as unaccompanied children. Refugees, like all people, are treasured human beings made in the image of God who deserve safety, freedom and the opportunity to flourish. We must resist and turn back the worrying trends we are seeing around the world, towards seeing the movement of desperate people as more of a threat to identity and security than an opportunity to do our duty. We cannot withdraw from our long and proud history of helping the most vulnerable.

في مارس 2013، صرّح ويلبي قائلاً: "إن فهمي للأخلاق الجنسية هو أنه بغض النظر عما إذا كان الجنس مثليًا أم مغايرًا، فإن ممارسة الجنس خارج إطار الزواج أمر خاطئ." ^{[ 138 ]} وقد أكد هذا الاعتقاد مرة أخرى في وقت لاحق من عام 2013، مشيرًا كذلك إلى أن "التخلي عن المثل الأعلى لمجرد صعوبة تحقيقه أمر سخيف." ^{[ 139 ]}

لم يُؤكد ويلبي بشكل قاطع معارضة كنيسة إنجلترا التاريخية لزواج المثليين . ^{[ 140 ]} في أول مؤتمر صحفي له، تحدث بشدة ضد رهاب المثلية ، وصرح بأنه "ينفر دائمًا من لغة الإقصاء، بينما ما دُعينا إليه هو أن نحب كما أحبنا يسوع المسيح". وقال أيضًا: "أعلم أنني بحاجة إلى الاستماع بانتباه شديد إلى مجتمعات المثليين ، وأن أفحص تفكيري بتأنٍّ وتأمل". ^{[ 141 ]} قبل تنصيبه، صرح بأنه لا يشك في سياسة الكنيسة في معارضة زواج المثليين، لكنه لا يزال "يواجه تحديًا في كيفية استجابتنا لذلك". وقال: "ترى علاقات مثلية مذهلة في جودتها"، مضيفًا أن لديه "أصدقاءً معينين أُدرك ذلك وأشعر بتحدٍّ عميق حياله". ^{[ 142 ]}

يرى ويلبي إشكاليات في إقامة مراسم مباركة خاصة للأزواج من نفس الجنس، إذ قال في عام ٢٠١٤: "هناك مخاوف كبيرة لدى البعض، هنا وفي أنحاء العالم، من أن يؤدي ذلك إلى خيانة تقاليدنا، وإنكار سلطة الكتاب المقدس، والارتداد عن الدين، إن صح التعبير. كما توجد مخاوف كبيرة من أن تؤدي قراراتنا إلى رفض مجتمع الميم، وإلى التهميش في مجتمع متغير، وإلى سلوك يراه الكثيرون شبيهاً بالعنصرية. كلا هذين الخوفين حاضر بقوة في هذه القاعة اليوم [ اجتماع المجمع العام في لندن ]. علينا أن نجد سبيلاً للمضي قدماً يتسم بالقداسة والطاعة لدعوة الله، ويُمكّننا من تحقيق غاياتنا. لا يمكن تحقيق ذلك بالخوف. إن كيفية تقدمنا ​​في الحياة أمر بالغ الأهمية، وكذلك النتيجة التي نصل إليها". ^{[ 143 ]} في عام 2016، أكد ويلبي أنه عيّن الأسقف نيكولاس تشامبرلين ( أسقف غرانثام ) الذي تربطه علاقة مثلية، وأنه يدعم رجال الدين الذين يعيشون في علاقات مثلية مع التزام العزوبية تماشياً مع سياسة الكنيسة. ^{[ 144 ] [ 145 ]}

Welby has since said that he has become "much less certain" about his stance on human sexuality. In an interview with Alastair Campbell in October 2017,^[146] he was asked if same-sex activity was sinful and declined to give a clear answer, saying: "I don't do blanket condemnation of people." When asked if a stable relationship could be between two people of the same sex, Welby said "I know it could be", and accepted that faithfulness and love were the "absolutely central" aspects of relationships, but added:

I am also aware, and deeply held by, the fact that since long before Christianity, within the Jewish tradition, marriage is understood as invariably as between a man and a woman, or at various times, a man and several women … I'm having to struggle to be faithful to the tradition, faithful to scripture, to understand what the call and will of God is in the twenty-first century, and to respond appropriately with love for all people, and not condemning them, whether I agree with them or not.

كما صرّح بأنه على الرغم من أن رهاب المثلية خطيئة، إلا أنه لا يعتبر معارضة العلاقات الجنسية المثلية رهابًا للمثلية. في عام ٢٠٢٣، أعلن ويلبي دعمه لاقتراح مجلس الأساقفة الذي يؤكد أن الزواج هو بين رجل وامرأة، ولكنه يُجيز أيضًا "صلوات الشكر والتكريس وطلب بركة الله للأزواج من نفس الجنس". ^{[ ١٤٧ ]} وفي معرض حديثه عن دعمه للاقتراح، قال ويلبي إنه "يحتفل بفرحة غامرة بهذه الموارد الجديدة"، موضحًا في الوقت نفسه أنه لن يُجري هذه البركات نظرًا لدوره كـ"أداة للوحدة" في الكنيسة الأنجليكانية. ^{[ ١٤٨ ] [ ١٤٩ ]} وفي نوفمبر ٢٠٢٣، أيّد ويلبي اقتراحًا إضافيًا يُجيز إجراء بركات "مستقلة" للأزواج من نفس الجنس على أساس تجريبي. ^{[ 150 ]} هو أول رئيس أساقفة كانتربري الحالي الذي يدعم اقتراحًا يسمح بمباركة الزيجات المثلية في كنيسة إنجلترا. ^{[ 151 ]} في 15 نوفمبر 2023، امتنع ويلبي عن التصويت في المجمع العام على إدخال "خدمات مستقلة للأزواج المثليين" على أساس تجريبي، قائلاً إن امتناعه يعود إلى دوره كرمز للوحدة في الكنيسة الأنجليكانية بأكملها؛ ^{[ 152 ]} وتم تمرير الاقتراح. ^{[ 153 ] [ 154 ]} في أكتوبر 2024، أعلن ويلبي أن آراءه حول الجنس قد تطورت، موضحًا أن وجهة نظره الشخصية هي أن العلاقة الحميمة الجنسية، سواء للأزواج من الجنسين المختلفين أو المثليين، يجب أن تتم "في إطار علاقة ملتزمة"، بما في ذلك الزواج والشراكة المدنية. ^{[ 155 ] [ 156 ] [ 157 ]} أكد قصر لامبث مجدداً أن ويلبي كان يعبر عن رأيه الشخصي، وليس بالضرورة عن عقيدة كنيسة إنجلترا. ^{[ 157 ]}

قال ويلبي في عام 2018 إن الظلم الاجتماعي متفشٍ ومتجذر في المجتمع البريطاني. وأضاف أن اقتصاد العمل المؤقت هو أحد مظاهر هذا الظلم. وفي سبتمبر/أيلول من العام نفسه، صرّح ويلبي بأن أضعف الناس يحصلون على أقل المعاشات التقاعدية أمانًا، بينما يحصل الأقوى على أكثرها أمانًا، قائلاً:

في هذه المجالات، وفي حقوق العمل، وفي العديد من المجالات الأخرى، نرى أنه حيثما يبدو عدم المساواة والظلم العميق متجذرين، لا يمكن التغلب عليهما، فإن ذلك يؤدي إلى عدم الاستقرار في مجتمعنا: الانقسامات بين الشعوب والتعرض للشعبوية التي تثير الكراهية بين مختلف الأعراق والجماعات الدينية، وظهور شياطين قديمة كالعنصرية ومعاداة السامية والإسلاموفوبيا وكراهية الأجانب. ^{[ 158 ]}

صرح ويلبي في ديسمبر 2017 بأن التهرب الضريبي خطأ، وأن العديد من الشركات الثرية لا تدفع الضرائب المستحقة عليها. وقال: "من الواضح أن شركة يبلغ حجم مبيعاتها مليارات الدولارات، ومع ذلك لا تدفع سوى بضعة ملايين كضرائب، هناك خلل ما. يتعلق الأمر بتسعير التحويل ، وهناك تفسيرات عديدة، ولكن يجب على من يكسبون المال من مجتمع ما أن يدفعوا الضرائب في ذلك المجتمع من أجل الصالح العام، ومن أجل العدالة الاقتصادية." ^{[ 159 ]}

في سبتمبر 2018، قال ويلبي:

من الواضح أن الضرائب يجب أن تكون جزءًا أساسيًا من المواطنة، وأن من يملكون أكثر يجب أن يدفعوا أكثر. ولا يمكن لأي شركة، مهما كانت متعددة الجنسيات أو عالمية، التهرب من مسؤوليات دفع الضرائب المستحقة عليها، بناءً على إيراداتها في هذا البلد. لذا، نعم، سيتعين على بعض الأفراد دفع المزيد. لن أشير إلى أفراد بعينهم، لكننا نرى بالتأكيد أفرادًا وشركات لا تدفع ما يبدو أنه مبلغ معقول من الضرائب. ^{[ 134 ]}

وقال ويلبي أيضاً في عام 2018:

إن التهرب الضريبي دليل على غياب الالتزام بإنسانيتنا المشتركة، وبالتضامن والعدالة. إذا كنت تجني المال من مجتمع ما، فعليك أن تدفع حصتك من الضرائب لهذا المجتمع. لقد كنتُ في مجال الأعمال، وأعلم أنه من الصواب، ضمن حدود معينة، أن يُرتب الأفراد شؤونهم الضريبية، وأن تفعل الشركات ذلك أيضًا. ولكن عندما تتمكن شركات عملاقة مثل أمازون ، وغيرها من تجار الإنترنت - الصناعات الجديدة - من التهرب من دفع الضرائب تقريبًا، فهذا يدل على وجود خلل في النظام الضريبي. إنهم لا يدفعون أجورًا تكفي للعيش الكريم، مما يُجبر دافعي الضرائب على دعم عمالهم بالمزايا، وبعد أن استنزفوا أموال دافعي الضرائب، لا يدفعون شيئًا للدفاع عنا، ولا للأمن، ولا للاستقرار، ولا للعدالة، ولا للصحة، ولا للمساواة، ولا للتعليم. ثم يشكون من نقص التدريب لدى القوى العاملة، نتيجةً للتعليم الذي لم يدفعوا ثمنه، ولا يدفعون شيئًا تقريبًا للتدريب المهني. هذه ليست سوى جزء بسيط من تكاليف الإدارة الضريبية العدوانية. ^{[ 158 ]}

في أكتوبر 2022، انتقد ويلبي حكومة المملكة المتحدة لإدخالها تخفيضات ضريبية للأثرياء ولمتبعها سياسات أثرت بشكل غير متناسب على الفقراء. ^{[ 160 ]}

أعرب ويلبي عن قلقه من أن نظام الإعانة الشاملة يضر بالفقراء، وقال في سبتمبر 2018 إنه يجب إيقاف تطبيقه. وقال ويلبي:

It [Universal Credit] was supposed to make it simpler and more efficient. It has not done that. It has left too many people worse off, putting them at risk of hunger, debt, rent arrears and food banks. When universal credit comes into a local area, the number of people going to food banks goes up. What is clear is if they cannot get it right, they need to stop rolling it out.^[158]

Welby has been a strong supporter of Anglican consecration of women as bishops.^[161] In November 2013, Welby stated he aimed to ordain women as bishops while allowing space for those who disagree.^[162] In February 2014, Welby called on Anglicans to avoid fear, prejudice and suspicion and to grasp "cultural change in the life of the church":

We have agreed that we will ordain women as Bishops. At the same time we have agreed that while doing that we want all parts of the church to flourish. If we are to challenge fear we have to find a cultural change in the life of the church, in the way our groups and parties work, sufficient to build love and trust. That will mean different ways of working at every level of the church in practice in the way our meetings are structured, presented and lived out and in every form of appointment. It will, dare I say, mean a lot of careful training and development in our working methods, because the challenge for all institutions today, and us above all, is not merely the making of policy but how we then make things happen.^[163]

Welby would like discipline applied over appointments to prevent opponents of women as bishops feeling alienated. Welby says he hopes to avoid a zero-sum game where people feel gain for one side inevitably means loss for the other, he sees need for caution, co-operation and unity.^[164] Slightly revised legislation to allow women to be ordained bishops in the Church of England was agreed in July 2014 and became law in November 2014.^[165]