‘I’m glad I have to retire at 70 as you can start to go gaga...’
The Archbishop of York John Sentamu says he will embrace retirement next year, after final challenges
HE IS one of the most vivacious and straight-talking members of the clergy – and once chopped up his dog collar on live television to protest against Robert Mugabe’s rule in Zimbabwe.
So when the Archbishop of York, the second most senior figure in the Church of England, who will step down in less than a year, was asked if he would like to stay on beyond the compulsory retirement age of 70, he didn’t mince his words.
Perched on a wooden garden bench, dressed in a floral multicoloured summer shirt and matching crucifix, Dr John Sentamu told The Daily Telegraph: “The reason I think there is a limit on the retirement age of archbishops is that you can go gaga really and start embarrassing everybody!
‘I’m hoping whoever my successor is will see that work with young people is the top priority’
‘I’m hoping it won’t be very long before people know who my successor will be’
“There is nothing more terrible than that, when someone is in their prime and can do a wonderful job. It doesn’t help in any way – it doesn’t help the person, it doesn’t help the Church either. But I give thanks to God because I’ve gone through a lot of major health problems – five operations in four years – but my health is very, very good at the moment.”
The Archbishop spoke from the gardens of a picturesque pilgrimage site called Taizé in central France on Friday, where he was enjoying the final few days of a week-long pilgrimage with dozens of children from five schools in his diocese.
He is due to step down on June 7 next year, just before his 71st birthday, after being given special permission by the Queen to extend his term.
Despite his clear enthusiasm and commitment to carrying on his duties for as long as possible, the Archbishop said he was feeling positive about retiring and suggested he would be limbering up for new challenges during his final months in office.
Chuckling and beaming from ear to
ear, he said: “I say to my clergy that they are never retired, they are just re-tyred. They just get new treads on their soles. So I hope to be re-tyred!”
There is intense speculation over who will replace him – with some predicting it will be a woman.
“They were given nearly two years’ warning that I am going and the process of nominating my successor has already begun, so I’m hoping that it won’t be very long before people know who my successor will be,” he said.
The Archbishop, who was born in Uganda and has 12 brothers and sisters, became Britain’s first black archbishop in 2005, almost 30 years after he was ordained. For the past week he has been among throngs of Christians who flocked from all over the world to the monastic fraternity Taizé, perched on sweeping hills north of Lyon.
One of the world’s most important pilgrimage sites, it attracts some 4,000 worshippers every year, mainly from Roman Catholic and Protestant communities from 30 countries.
The Archbishop joined 100 monks who live at the site to host 100 children from Yorkshire schools who are part of the Youth Trust he founded in 2009. And he said whoever replaces him should continue his long-held passion of helping children to develop confidence and leadership skills.
“I’m hoping whoever my successor is will see that work with young people is the top priority,” he said.
“I’m looking for an archbishop who will come into York and recognise that the ministry with young people is important. It’s nice to be in churches, confirmations and all that kind of stuff, but the work with young people really, yes it’s hard, but it’s also very exciting.
“So the missions matter, young people matter, and you do what the ordinal says: he must – he or she – must know their people and be known by them.”