Archbishop: I regret not allowing prayer in churches

‘I didn’t push hard enough to keep churches available for at least individual prayer in the first lockdown’

THE Archbishop of Canterbury has admitted he “got quite a few things wrong” on the closure of churches during the first lockdown, saying he was “too risk-averse”.

The Church of England came under fire last Easter as churches remained closed, with many parishioners frustrated that the Archbishop did not fight harder to keep them open.

Critics said the Church went beyond Government guidelines by barring clergy from their own church buildings. “I got quite a few things wrong at the beginning, and I learnt quite quickly,” the Most Rev Justin Welby said in an interview with The Financial Times.

“I didn’t push hard enough to keep churches available for at least individual prayer in the first lockdown. We also said clergy couldn’t go in, and personally I feel I made a mistake with that.

“I can make all kinds of excuses. I still think I was too risk-averse.” Asked when did he realise, he added: “May. June. May.” It is the first time he has admitted that he regretted his decision.

In April last year, Archbishop Welby warned clergy in a video message not to go into their churches over Easter. Some vicars defied him and held services. In July, he told members of the General Synod, the Church’s legislative body, that he stood by the decision.

The Archbishop also said he felt that being a member of the Royal family was like serving “life without parole”.

The Archbishop, who recently had to deny that he had married the Duke and Duchess of Sussex in private before their Windsor Castle wedding in 2018, expressed sympathy with their situation. He addressed the claim that he presided over a “secret wedding” for the couple before their official ceremony, saying to have done so would have been to commit “a serious criminal offence”.

The Duchess told Oprah Winfrey the couple had been married in their back garden three days before their wedding at St George’s Chapel, Windsor, raising questions about the legality of the official ceremony.

The Archbishop added: “It’s life without parole, isn’t it? If you go back to the Thirties, Edward VIII – he was still a celeb and followed everywhere once he’d abdicated. We expect them to be superhuman.” His comparison of royal life with imprisonment echoed a sentiment expressed by the Duke of Sussex, who told Winfrey he had been “trapped” in the system but was able escape the “toxic environment” thanks to the Duchess.