At last,Welby says something Mail readers can agree with!
Archbishop condemns cancel culture’s ‘appalling lack of forgiveness’
THE Archbishop of Canterbury hit out at the ‘appalling’ nature of cancel culture yesterday in a speech on the dangers of social media.
At a Church of England education conference in east London, Justin Welby said the ‘absence of forgiveness in this country was absolutely appalling’.
Mr Welby, 68, told the assembly in his speech against wokery: ‘You post something stupid when you are 19 and you pay for it when you are 35 – and you pay for it for ever.
‘AI is advancing rapidly and is a reality in our daily lives. It is not a threat… but it can’t work in a society [where everyone] hates each other. Because it will then only be used to deepen hatreds.’
He added: ‘In a society that looks out for each other, it can be utterly transformative.’
The archbishop also spoke out against online trolling.
‘Society is ever more complex, ever more intertwined through social media and ever more struggling with differences and division,’ he said. ‘Social media connects us in a way that we’ve never imagined possible but also works to drive us ever further apart.’
The archbishop’s speech came in the wake of his controversial comments on the Government’s Rwanda plan in the House of Lords earlier this week, where he said the scheme was ‘leading the nation down a damaging path’.
The remark prompted a furious response from backbench Tory MPs – who suggested his intervention highlighted the need for reform on bishops taking part in parliamentary business.
He told the CofE conference: ‘I’m not going to go into debates in Parliament – but we know at the moment what it is to be trolled, to be threatened.
‘It happens in school communities, it happens in local communities. It happens at a national and a global level.’ The conference, with the theme of Growing Faith and Sustaining Hope, launched initiatives to give schools the resources to help students ‘cross divides, disagree well and grow flourishing school communities’.
Mr Welby said the question of how society shaped and educated young people ‘could not be more urgent and more essential, more fundamental to our future’.
The speech comes after the archbishop received a knighthood from King Charles for his ‘personal service’ to the Crown.
Mr Welby received the Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order in the new year’s honours list. His role in the King’s coronation was noted in a statement announcing the award.
It is only the second time in recent history a serving leader of the Church of England has received the honour.