Archbishop of York calls for action rather than words.

The Archbishop of York, who will effectively take over as leader of the Church of England next month, is expected to call for action rather than words in his Christmas sermon.

Stephen Cottrell is to preach as the church faces abuse scandals.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, resigned last month after he was criticized for not doing enough to stop the abuse. He will not preside over the Christmas service at Canterbury Cathedral.

Mr Cottrell, set to take on many of the church’s leadership duties when Mr Welby steps down on January 6, has faced calls to resign himself.

Some victims directly affected by church abuse scandals have spoken about experiencing a difficult Christmas with feelings that they are still not being heard.

At York Minster on Christmas morning, Mr Cottrell will discuss the need to “walk the talk” and not just talk about justice and love.

He will speak of the “shortcomings of those who talk a good game, but whose words are never embodied in action”.

He will talk about helping the most vulnerable, saying: “Put the needs of others first – those who are cold, hungry and homeless this Christmas. Those who are abused and exploited. “

“Right now, this Christmas, God’s church itself needs to come to the manger and take off its beauty and kneel in repentance and worship,” he is expected to say.

“And change. At the center of the Christmas story is a vulnerable child; a vulnerable child who will be tempted and destroyed by Herod’s furious wrath, because like every tyrant he cannot stand his rival.”

“The Church of England…needs to look to this vulnerable child, this powerless child to demonstrate the power of love, because in this vulnerable child we see God.”

Mr Cottrell is under scrutiny over his handling of a priest in charge, David Tudor, who was banned by the church from being alone with children but who remained in his post for years.

In November The Archbishop of Canterbury resigned. After a report criticized his handling of John Smith, who abused more than 120 boys and young men.

The church said Mr Welby would spend “private time with his family” this Christmas.

Other bishops have addressed the church’s crisis in their Christmas messages.

Bishop of Oxford, Steven Croft, who has faced calls to resign spoke of a “crisis of confidence in many of our institutions, including our own church”.

Mr Croft said Christmas was a time to pause and take stock.

Churches across the country are focusing on the gospel story of hope overcoming darkness, but with an unusually troubled backdrop this year, local pastors are hearing parishioners’ despair.

“It’s just a magical time for the community, but it’s been really difficult to be in the Church of England this month because of everything that’s going on. It’s an institution that’s probably really in crisis,” St. Stephen’s Vicar Rev. Matt Woodcock said. Church at York.

“There’s a sense that people are really confused and frustrated with what’s going on, and just want some leadership to sort things out,” he says, adding that he often felt the need to apologize to the institution to which he belonged. .

Rev Woodcock says this Christmas he is focusing on reassuring people that the Church is still there to support them at a local level.

But one woman has spoken of her deep dismay at the abusive response she faced from national church leadership.

The woman, who does not want to be identified, says she was sexually abused as a girl by pastor David Tudor in the 1980s.

He only learned last year that Tudor had been allowed back into the church after his suspension and had served as pastor under Mr Cottrell for nine years.

“I would be hard of hearing. [a Christmas sermon from] Don’t separate Stephen Cottrell and the message I know from what he’s giving,” she says.

A BBC investigation revealed that when he became bishop of Chelmsford in 2010, Mr Cottrell was told of abuse allegations against Tudor, a priest who was banned from being alone with children.

Mr Cottrell was later told he had paid an alleged victim, and the church had also settled a six-figure settlement with another woman who said she had been raped by Tudor, but Tudor was only suspended in 2019 when a police investigation was launched.

The archbishop said it was his first time working.

“I just feel that Stephen Cottrell didn’t really think about how the victims would feel. [that he is] The voice of the church is moving into Christmas,” she says.

“All I see is a man who has let me and many victims down,” says the woman, who says the church failed to explain to her how Tudor returned to the priesthood.

The woman said this was a particularly difficult Christmas for her because it was her first without her grandmother, who died earlier this year.

“When she found out what David Tudor had done to me she never set foot in a church again. She knew right from wrong, she felt sorry for me and knew right away what to do,” she said. She says

“It is the exact opposite of what the church does.”

Tudor was arrested in April 2019 on suspicion of indecent assault but the case was dismissed in August 2022.

He was sacked as a priest this October after pleading guilty to sexual misconduct at a Church of England tribunal.

Surrey Police said last month they would investigate the allegations. “Not recent offenses of indecent assault” against a person in light of the tribunal’s findings.

Tudor did not respond to a BBC request for comment.