Who is Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell?

Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Mr Cottrell has acknowledged he is “the person that people will look to” over the coming months as the Church seeks to find a new Archbishop of Canterbury – but has recently faced his own calls to quit over a separate abuse case. He said: “We’re not just one nation, we’re also one humanity and it’s reminding our politicians of those truths.” During his time as the Church’s second-most senior bishop, Mr Cottrell described as “trench warfare” the process since blessings for same-sex couples were approved – a move he supported. He said: “Synod, after what has I think for all of us felt like 18 months of trench warfare on this issue, I just wonder whether the time has come to put down our rifles and could I suggest a little game of football in no man’s land?” In February 2023, Synod voted in favour of offering blessings to same-sex couples in civil partnerships and marriages after a marathon debate across two days. Speaking in 2019, Mr Cottrell said the Church “seeks to welcome all people, including therefore LGBTI+ people, including people in civil partnerships and same-sex marriages”, and that he regrets “a situation where anybody because of their sexuality feels excluded or alienated or hurt in the way that I know some people are”.