- Thursday, April 25, 2024
By: Pramod Thomas
A LEAKED report has revealed that the Church of England will introduce a quota for black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) clergy, roll out anti-racism training and contextualise church statues.
The ‘From Lament to Action: Report of the Archbishops’ Anti-Racism Taskforce’ report, leaked to The Spectator, said there should be ‘one UK minority ethnic clergy elected from each region’, reported The Telegraph.
Of the 42 diocesan bishops across the country, the only one from a BAME background is the Bishop of Chelmsford Guli Francis-Dehqani.
According to 2019 ministry statistics, around 93.7 per cent of senior staff described themselves as being white British, a minor decrease from 2012 when the figure was 96 per cent.
A taskforce to investigate racism was set up last year after the Most Rev Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, said during a General Synod debate that he was ‘sorry and ashamed… that we are still institutionally racist’.
He later said that the institution should reconsider portraying Jesus as white and think ‘very carefully’ about its controversial monuments in the wake of Black Lives Matter protests, adding that ‘some will have to come down’.
According to The Telegraph, the recommendations in the report include a 30 per cent quota for BAME clergy, an overhaul of education within the Church of England schools and clergy curriculum, and all recruitment shortlists to include at least one appointable BAME candidate.
Besides, it plans to deal with controversial statues and monuments.
The reforms will be funded and overseen by the creation of a Racial Justice Unit for a five-year fixed-term basis. The report is due before the Archbishops’ Council next week, with a final version being published on April 22.
The draft document also suggests officials to address the Church’s involvement in the transatlantic slave trade and ‘deal with any part of the church building that may cause pain or offence’.
The report said: “The Black Lives Matter movement, and in particular the dumping of the Colston statue in Bristol docks shed new light and brought needed urgency to the Church of England’s consideration of its own contested heritage.”
“The time for talking about tackling systemic racism has long since passed: this is a moment for decisive action. This draft report by an independent working group challenges that sin [of treating other Christians as lesser or other, and reinforcing prejudice] in practical and applied terms, and we welcome it for that reason,” said the Archbishops of Canterbury and York in a statement, after the report was leaked.
Halima Begum, director of the Runnymede Trust, a race equality think tank, told The Telegraph: “Given the history and diversity of the Anglican Church, we sincerely hope that next week’s report by the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Anti-Racism Taskforce will signal a long-term shift, one that marks the point at which the history and voices of non-white adherents and clergy within the Church of England are truly embraced and celebrated.”
Recently, senior Church officials said that more needs to be done to address the issues of racism and the lack of BAME clergy.
