Archbishop of Canterbury urges society to ‘choose a better future for all’

Maskless Archbishop of Canterbury urges society to ‘choose a better future for all’, not just the rich and powerful, during socially distanced Easter Sunday service

  • Archbishop of Canterbury called on society to ‘choose a better future for all’
  • Justin Welby said the country had a ‘choice’ to make over the coming years  
  • Message comes after he spoke out against the creeping trend of cancel culture 


The Archbishop of Canterbury has urged society to ‘choose a better future for all’ as it begins to emerge from the coronavirus pandemic.

Justin Welby said the country had a ‘choice’ to make over the coming years and warned against a society in which ‘the most powerful and the richest gain and so many fall behind’, during his Easter Sunday service from Canterbury Cathedral, Kent.

The head of the Church also encouraged people to take inspiration from the ‘overwhelming generosity’ of God to ensure acts of love, charity, and international aid are maintained.     

The Archbishop said: ‘In this country, in this world, we have a choice over the next few years.

The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby said the country had a ‘choice’ to make over the coming years at it emerged from the coronavirus pandemic

‘We can go on as before Covid, where the most powerful and the richest gain and so many fall behind.

‘But we have seen and know where that leaves us.

‘Or we can go with the flooding life and purpose of the resurrection of Jesus, which changes all things, and we can choose a better future for all.

‘The overwhelming generosity of God to us should inspire the same generosity by us, in everything from private acts of love and charity to international aid generously maintained.

‘We have received overwhelmingly, so let us give generously.’

The Archbishop’s message also touched heavily on the topic of death, with reference to all those who had died since the start of the pandemic.

He described the past 12 months as ‘yet another cruel period of history taking from us those we loved, ending lives cruelly and tragically’.

The church leader’s message comes after he spoke out against the creeping trend of cancel culture, which had seen the statues of controversial figures being targeted by campaigners, and called it a ‘huge threat’ to the Church of England’s future.  

The head of the Church urged society to 'choose a better future for all' and encouraged people to take inspiration from the 'overwhelming generosity' of God

The head of the Church urged society to ‘choose a better future for all’ and encouraged people to take inspiration from the ‘overwhelming generosity’ of God 

The Archbishop's message comes after he warned against the  trend of cancel culture and called it  a 'huge threat' to the Church of England's future

The Archbishop’s message comes after he warned against the  trend of cancel culture and called it  a ‘huge threat’ to the Church of England’s future

In a rare intervention, the head of the Church told Italian newspaper La Repubblica: ‘We can’t erase the past. It’s impossible. We have to learn from it sometimes, often, always. 

‘We have to repent of it quite often. But we cannot erase it. The past is a reality. I think Cancel culture is a huge threat to the life of the Church. 

‘We need to be able to express truths or to express our views, whether they’re good or bad.’  

The Archbishop also noted the alarming trend growing at UK universities, where controversial speakers had been no-platformed.

He added: ‘Particularly for universities, it seems to me very, very dangerous because you start with cancelling some views that you dislike and very quickly, you are cancelling everyone who disagrees. It’s a very dangerous process.’