Church of England chooses first woman to lead it
Newshour
BBC
4.2 • 1.1K Ratings
🗓️ 3 October 2025
⏱️ 47 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Dame Sarah Mullally has been named as the new Archbishop of Canterbury designate - the first woman to be chosen to head the Church of England.
It is the first time in nearly 500 years of history that the Church has nominated a woman as its head. We'll ask who Sarah Mullally is - and whether she can restore trust and unity in her church.
Also in the programme: A senior member of the Jewish community in the UK says Thursday's deadly attack in Manchester was a shock but no surprise; we'll hear about tourism creaking in Cuba; and a ravenous baby planet has been making headlines. (Photo shows Archbishop of Canterbury-designate Sarah Mullally delivering an address inside Canterbury Cathedral,on 3 October2025. Credit: Toby Melville/Reuters)
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, Music, radio, podcasts. |
| 0:09.1 | Hello and welcome to News Hour. It's coming to you live from the BBC World Service studios in central London. |
| 0:15.2 | I'm Tim Franks. We've got two major stories this hour, and unusually for us, given that we're a global news and current affairs program, they're both out of England. |
| 0:24.5 | And in fact, they're both deeply connected in their very different ways with religion. |
| 0:29.4 | In 30 minutes, we'll be getting the latest political reaction to the killing of Jews in Manchester on Thursday on the holiest day of the Jewish calendar. |
| 0:38.4 | We're starting, though, at the other end of the country, the news that for the first time in its nearly 500-year history, |
| 0:43.6 | the Church of England has named Sarah Malalley as its leader, and that means the first woman |
| 0:49.3 | as its leader as the Archbishop of Canterbury and the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican |
| 0:55.9 | communion. This is what the Archbishop herself had to say about her making of history today |
| 1:01.4 | as she spoke in Canterbury Cathedral. I am told that there will be much talk today about this being |
| 1:07.9 | a historic moment and a joyous one for many. |
| 1:12.2 | Some will be asking what it means for a woman to leave the Church of England |
| 1:16.1 | and to take on the Archbishop of Canterbury's global role in the Anglican Communion. |
| 1:23.2 | I intend to be a shepherd who enables everyone's ministry and vocation to flourish, whatever the tradition. |
| 1:32.0 | Her appointment comes about a year after the previous Archbishop, Justin Welby stepped down following a damning report |
| 1:38.6 | into a prolific child abuser associated with the church. Sarah Malali had this to say on the crisis of confidence |
| 1:46.4 | in her church. We must also confront the dynamics of power. As a church, we have to often fail to |
| 1:55.7 | recognise or take seriously the misuse of power in all its forms. |
| 2:02.5 | As Archbishop, my commitment will be to ensure that we continue to listen to survivors, |
| 2:10.9 | care for the vulnerable, and foster a culture of safety and well-being for all. |
| 2:18.1 | Madeline Davis is a senior writer for the Church Times. |
| 2:21.2 | Madeline, thanks for your time today. |
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