/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/prisa/JSVXAI3E65FSFNP5YJ2MQGWNV4.jpg "Justin Welby: “Vaccine nationalism is a disaster” | International")
The leader of the Church of England, the highest authority among Anglicans with the permission of Queen Elizabeth II, interrupts the interview to attend to someone who knocks on the door of the Old Canterbury Palace. “You will not see the Pope do this,” jokes Justin Welby (London, 65 years old) as he stands in front of the screen again. He attends by videoconference to a small group of correspondents from LENA, an alliance of European newspapers to which EL PAÍS belongs.
His personal story is as fascinating as his speech is direct and thoughtful. Five years ago he discovered that his real father was not the alcoholic and snooty character who just raised him, but Sir Anthony Montague, Winston Churchill’s private secretary. It was the fruit of a brief love affair with his mother, Jane Williams, who also worked for a time in Downing Street.
Educated at the elite Eton College and Cambridge University (History and Law), eight years as a senior executive in multinationals were enough for him to understand that his path was going in other, more spiritual directions.
Question. Are there lessons for after a pandemic?
Answer. Three, basically. We are interdependent. We cannot confine diseases or pests to one part of the world. We are fragile. There is a deep fragility in our lives that we tend to forget in Europe and in the North in general. My fellow bishops in places like the Congo handle this reality much better, they are more used to this idea. And third, inequality. In this country death has been more widespread among ethnic minorities, the poor, the disabled and the elderly. It has been a wake-up call that forces us to rethink the future of society.
P. Can this inequality be stopped?
R. I believe that this is the most extraordinary moment of choice that I have had to live. In 1945, Western Europe chose peace, reconciliation, democracy and freedom. After the pandemic, the wealthiest would prefer to go back to the old situation, but we can also choose to put more emphasis on equality and human dignity. There are options to improve the future in terms of taxes, education or healthcare.
P. The reality, with the current tension over vaccines between the UK and the EU, is that the interdependence you point to is not accompanied by solidarity.
R. (Pause) My secretary, Ruth, knows that when I shut up and look out the window, I’m debating whether I really want to speak my mind. Vaccine nationalism is a disaster. Solidarity is essential, and seeking mediation to bridge differences is inevitable. If we do not stay together, we will suffer separately. Especially in the south of the world, in the poorest regions. I don’t want to point out the culprits, but we can’t afford these kinds of problems. They can be unavoidable between sovereign states, especially after the Brexit battle. But we must negotiate a solution. Peaceful, calm and of mutual generosity.
P. Mention Brexit, which you were against. Has the pandemic erased it or is it still there?
R. It has marginalized him. He has relativized it. After nearly 150,000 dead [en el Reino Unido]Despite being hugely important, Brexit has gotten smaller. But it revealed the deep divisions in our society and the challenges over how to operate in the EU. I was opposed to leaving the UK, but I have accepted it. Now it is time to reestablish a good relationship with Europe.
P. Do you like where the EU is going?
R. I’m interested, for example, in the efforts of the president [francés Emmanuel] Macron for offering a new vision of the EU. The founding fathers understood that their creation responded to something more than a mere commercial association. That there was something deeper and more supportive in the human spirit. And I hope the EU will make us jealous by showing a beautiful vision for the future of Europe.
P. Doesn’t your country have a beautiful vision for the future then?
R. It does, I think. Or does it not? No. I’ve already gotten defensive. I think we are trying to develop one. The risk is that it is too materialistic. I give the example of Scotland [y la amenaza de su independencia del Reino Unido]. I believe in the union, but not in a union to promote trade. That is a collateral benefit. I believe in bringing this island together to care for one another, to show mutual compassion, and to contribute to a better world in a way that we couldn’t do apart.
P. The Church of England has decided to finally address the issue of gay marriage and have an answer next year. Will we see Anglican gay marriages?
R. I cannot give you a direct answer. We are in the middle of a complex and delicate process. I remind you that they already exist in the Episcopal Church, the Anglican branch of the United States. And in some provinces of Scotland, or Brazil. For me the key is deciding what defines us as human beings, whether our sexuality or our faith in Jesus Christ. When I discovered years ago that my father was not my father, I did not find my identity in my DNA but in Christ. Let’s start by showing, in a way that we have not done so far in our history, that LGTBI people are welcome and can find their identity in the Church. It is going to be a difficult process, and there will be conflicting opinions, but we will have to come up with an answer.
P. The UK faces debate over its racist past and present. Is there racism in this country?
R. Of course there is, although sometimes it is not in a conscious way. In any part of the world there is always a problem with “the others”. And in the UK it manifests itself in the form of racism. We can get over it, but the first step is to admit it. There is no problem in seeing a white Jesus in the 12th century stained glass windows of our churches, as long as we do not come to believe that Jesus Christ was European. He was a Jew from the Middle East. Many of today’s Christian leaders, most Christians, are not white. In my own church, the Anglican, the middle figure is a woman in her thirties from sub-Saharan Africa who makes less than four dollars a day.
P. The question was inevitable. Did you really marry the Duke and Duchess of Sussex privately, as Meghan Markle has recounted, three days before the ceremony at Westminster?
R. Anyone who talks to a priest knows that the conversation will be confidential. I had several pastoral conversations with both of them before the ceremony. But the legal marriage took place that Saturday. I signed the certificate. And he would have committed a crime if he had signed something knowing that it was false. From there, figure out what you want.
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