First Woman Archbishop of Canterbury Meets Pope
Introduction
Archbishop Sarah Mullally is the first woman to lead the Anglican Church. She will meet Pope Leo XIV in Rome. The visit starts on April 25. This is the first high-level meeting between the two churches since 1966. The churches disagree about women priests and other social issues.
Main Body
The meeting comes after 60 years of better relations between the two churches. But there are new disagreements. The biggest disagreement is about women priests. Mullally is the first woman to lead the Anglican Church. The Anglican Church has about 85 million members. The Catholic Church does not allow women to be priests. The Catholic Church has only men as priests. But Pope Francis gave women important jobs. In 2023, women could vote in a church meeting for the first time. In 2025, a Vatican group said no to women deacons. Pope Leo will not change this rule. The Church of England allowed women priests in 1992 and women bishops in 2014. Now 37% of its priests are women. There are 36 women bishops. Both churches have problems. There are scandals about priests hurting children. Mullally's predecessor Justin Welby left his job because of this. There are fights between conservative and progressive groups. They disagree about same-sex marriage and other issues. Some African archbishops criticized Mullally because she is a woman and supports same-sex marriage. Pope Leo also has a divided church. Women's rights groups hope the visit will help change the Catholic Church. Bishop Ball says the meeting is to build a personal relationship. They will talk about immigration, poverty, war, and the environment. Mullally will not ask about women priests in the Catholic Church. Both leaders are careful listeners.
Conclusion
The meeting shows both progress and problems. The two leaders agree on social issues. But they still disagree about women and church authority.