Statement of support for Archbishop Sarah Mullally from Catholic campaigners 24 March 2026

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Statement  of support for Archbishop Sarah Mullally from Catholic campaigners 24 March 2026

For Immediate Release
24 March 2026
London, England

Catholic Women’s Ordination and Women’s Ordination Worldwide extend our warmest congratulations to Dame Sarah Mullally as she prepares to be formally installed as the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury on March 25th, 2026.

We are deeply moved to see the gospel message of equality being reflected in the election of the first woman as the spiritual leader of the Church of England and the global Anglican Communion.

We join with Christians everywhere in delighting at this watershed moment after centuries of discrimination against women whose vocations to leadership were denied to placate those who prioritised patriarchal hierarchy over the teachings of Jesus.

We recognise the bravery of WATCH members who campaign tirelessly to ensure that the glory of God can be fully represented by women also being chosen by their communities as spiritual leaders.

We ask that the Anglican community also pray for us as we struggle against an institution dedicated to discriminating against women. We lament the fact that the Roman Catholic Church has become a bastion of bigotry where those opposed to women’s ordination can seek refuge. But we welcome the fact that more and more Catholic clerics, including senior leaders (Cardinal Hollerich on women's ordination) are speaking out against the menace of misogyny that diminishes their own desire to serve the Church in the model of Jesus Christ.

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Catholic Women’s Ordination (CWO) is a UK based campaign group challenging institutional misogyny in the Catholic Church and is a member of Women’s Ordination Worldwide (WOW), the global network of groups whose primary mission is the admission of Roman Catholic women to all ordained ministries.