When Pope Francis stood on the balcony of St Peter’s in Rome in March 2013, after he had been elected to the role, he said that the cardinals “had gone to the ends of the earth” to seek out their latest pontiff.
They had elected the primary Pope from the Global South, from Buenos Aires in Argentina, many 1000’s of miles away from the Eternal City and the corridors of the Vatican. They bravely selected a person from the margins, a godly man who embraced and encouraged other people on the sides of society.
The cardinals’ alternative proved to be a smart one, and now the world mourns the death of a person being recalled for his humility, his concern for the poor and his desire to be a peacemaker. A person troubled by the environmental challenges facing our world – and knowing that global warming often impacts most profoundly the world’s poorest communities.
So, because the Church of England continues its lengthy process to appoint a latest Archbishop of Canterbury, are there lessons it could learn from Pope Francis? Well, possibly.
Leaving aside the speed with which the Roman Catholic Church moves to elect its latest leader, the CofE may additionally reflect on the alternative of Pope Francis.
The cardinals, in selecting a Jesuit from the distant metropolis of Buenos Aires, were willing to think – and pray – outside the box. They selected someone from the margins, who would go on to make a big impact on the core of the Roman Catholic Church.
Given that the Archbishop of Canterbury can even be head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, is it time for serious consideration to be given to a bishop from outside the UK? Might that be the holy wind of change that might revitalise each the CofE and its global partners?
And is it time for a lady, or a non-white person, or someone much younger than those often called to this role, to be chosen? Maybe, just possibly, it’s.
The Catholic Church took a ‘godly likelihood’ on Pope Francis, and their alternative proved to be Holy Spirit-inspired and smart.
Now the Church of England – embroiled in safeguarding challenges, rows over sexual ethics and being left behind by growth in other denominations – has a likelihood to make a brave alternative.
I’m wondering whether the subsequent Archbishop of Canterbury is someone who, even now, is being prepared by God for the role. Someone, perhaps, who most Anglicans would never have heard of. Someone whose appointment will take people by surprise.
Is it time for the selectors to be daring, to take a lead from the cardinals’ deliberations and selected someone ‘from the margins’ or the ends of the world? A one who, under God, could bring latest energy and purpose to a Church needing to talk confidently to our twenty first century world.
I believe it could well be …
Rev Peter Crumpler is a Church of England minister in St Albans, Herts, UK, and a former communications director with the CofE.
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