The Church of England has welcomed a report from an independent group calling on them to pay up to £1 billion in reparations for its historic links to the slave trade as well as to apologize for “its deliberate actions to destroy diverse African religious belief systems.”
The Archbishop of Canterbury, the leader of The Church of England, has accepted the findings of a report he commissioned by the independent “Oversight Group.” The report concluded that a new “Fund for Healing, Repair and Justice” should target an initiative of £1 billion and above, apologize for the historic denial that black Africans are created in God’s image and “facilitate work that builds the spiritual connection of Africa and the African diaspora with the Gospel and the diverse spiritual practices of African forebears.”
The Church Commissioners for England has warmly welcomed a report advising on its response to historic links with African chattel enslavement.
The Oversight Group’s report will shape the new Fund for Healing, Repair and Justice.
Read more at https://t.co/kTyfh3I6lF.
— The Church of England (@churchofengland) March 4, 2024
The reported acceptance of both the huge sum of money demanded, in addition to apologizing for spreading the Gospel and building a “spiritual connection” with pre-Christian traditions, has been met with dismay by some conservative Anglicans. “It appears to be based on an essentially racist reading of history — that white people are all bad and the oppressors and black people are nothing more than victims … ‘It is anti-Christian. Unbelievably, it calls on the Church to repent for having preached the gospel,'” Reverend Dr. Ian Paul, a member of the Archbishop’s Council, said, according to the Daily Mail. (RELATED: Blue City Officially Apologizes To Black Residents)
‘There’s something a bit odd, morally perhaps, of apparently being able to atone for past sins by paying if off.’
A Church of England report recommending £1 billion to be set aside in reparations is ‘unevidenced’ and ‘too much’, Reverend Dr Ian Paul tells @TomSwarbrick1. pic.twitter.com/QRxZt82x6S
— LBC (@LBC) March 5, 2024
It is one of a litany of “woke” initiatives launched by the church since Justin Welby was appointed archbishop in 2013, and which have become more frequent since the George Floyd riots in 2020. In just the last week, The Church of England has posted a Race Action Plan and constructed a Racial Justice Unit that includes an officer for “deconstructing whiteness,” according to The Daily Sceptic.