Finally, if you think pouring a billion pounds into reparations for something which you and he never did, will salve the church's conscience over long-outlawed slave trade, when local vicars can barely put food on the table and their parishes are leaking like sieves, then you get the picture. See this excellent article on the subject of reparations here: https://www.christiantoday.com/article/is.there.a.biblical.case.for.making.reparations.for.slavery/141525.htm

Welby has been asked to resign on several occasions, but steadfastly holds on, while popping meds for depression (who wouldn't), and he continues to stumble from one crisis to the next whether it is relocating illegal immigrants to Rwanda or complaining about global south archbishops who insist on saying that sodomy is evil in the sight of God, or making nice with Muslim leaders.

All the while his church continues to sink into oblivion, and will, by most accounts be out of business by 2060, its cathedrals fit for raves with American tourists longing for a piece of cathedral architecture they can import, like London Bridge, into another corner of Arizona.

Well, Welby is now taking it on the chin in letters to The Telegraph from a stream of lay people fed up with his leadership.

There is a growing chasm between the Church of England and its members, reports the Telegraph. Here are some samples.

SIR -- I am sick and tired of hearing from senior clergy in the Church of England about how it should pay reparations for its connections to the slave trade more than 200 years ago (Letters, March 9).
I am a regular churchgoer and chorister, and believe that any money available should be spent on repairing church roofs and paying those members of the clergy who currently give their time free of charge.
I would also like to see more acknowledgement of Britain's work to end the slave trade, using its then powerful Navy to police the seas and prevent others from engaging in it.

John Frost
East Grinstead, West Sussex

SIR -- Reading recent letters, one could be forgiven for concluding that the Church of England and the United Kingdom are experiencing a similar malaise.
Both suffer from a structure in which too many are paid without adding value, leaving too little money to ensure satisfactory function where it really matters.

David Proud
Lambourn, Berkshire

SIR -- My condolences to Stella Herbert (Letters, March 9) on the death of her husband, an ordained priest since 1962.
She asked the Church -- with its investment portfolio worth more than £8 billion -- for some help with care fees, but heard nothing.
What would Jesus have done?

Pam Ellingham
Tyler's Green, Buckinghamshire

SIR -- I make a monthly donation to my old local church, but, given the profligacy of the Church of England, am now considering switching to a more worthy charity.

Rob Dorrell
Bath, Somerset

SIR -- While the Church retains significant influence, with dozens of bishops in the House of Lords and thousands of Church schools, mostly funded by the taxpayer, it is clearly in decline.
I am a lifelong member, and remain a strong adherent, but my doubts are growing.
The Archbishop of Canterbury needs to spend a lot more time considering how to tackle the challenges the Church faces today, rather than spending vast sums on reparations.

Ian Duckworth
Billington, Lancashire

SIR -- The Church may owe a massive debt, but it is worth considering everything that it has given to the world.
Millions of people have benefited from its care -- medical and humane -- and education, both secular and religious.

Simon Watson
Petworth, West Sussex

Most of this will be water off Welby's back, but it is worth noting that with parishes emptying and closing or being sold off, and there is a dwindling number of ordinands ready to fill pulpits, the Archbishop of Canterbury might well look for a new line of work....perhaps digging for oil in Nigeria (he's had some experience in the oil industry) where some 5000 Christians have been slaughtered for their faith by Fulani tribesmen and Boko Haran, and he can see first-hand what persecution looks like, and perhaps recover the faith he has clearly lost.

END