The Right Rev Dame Sarah Mullally defends a £100m seed fund after a group of MPs and peers called it a ‘legally dubious vanity project’

There is a “gospel imperative” for the Church of England to spend £100 million to atone for its historic support of the slave trade, but it will not divert cash away from parishes, the incoming Archbishop of Canterbury has told MPs.

A group of MPs and peers wrote to the Right Rev Dame Sarah Mullally last month urging her to scrap Project Spire, a church scheme that will hand out £100 million in grants to projects from black communities, calling it a “legally dubious vanity project”.

Mullally, 63, who formally becomes the 106th — and first female — Archbishop of Canterbury in a ceremony at St Paul’s Cathedral on January 28 has now hit back in defence of the fund, telling parliamentarians: “Our calling to confront historic injustice and our commitment to sustaining parish life … flow from the same gospel imperative: to love our neighbour as ourselves and enable all to flourish.”

She said that while the church had set aside £100 million as “repentance” for its investment in slave-trading companies, it had committed £1.6 billion to support its parishes over the next three years.

Mullally said: “I am deeply committed to local ministry through parishes and chaplaincies. Project Spire does not diminish the church’s support of or investment in parish ministry or clergy. Far from it; the church commissioners’ support for dioceses and parishes continues to increase.”

…..

Mullally said: “The Church of England’s historic links to African chattel enslavement are a serious matter, and it is right that they are approached with care, clarity and respect for the responsibilities entrusted to the church.”

Read it all in The Times