New archbishop inherits divided Anglican world

Bishop Justin Welby, a former oil executive who’s emerged as a critic of corporate excess, will become the 105th archbishop of Canterbury, primate of the Church of England and leader of the worldwide 77-million-member Anglican Communion.

Welby, 56, succeeds Archbishop Rowan Williams, who will return to academia at Cambridge University next year. Speaking at a November 9 news conference in Canterbury, Welby said he is “utterly optimistic” about the future of the Church of England.

He said that the question of gay marriage in his new global flock is a complicated issue “and not one to be handled today, off the cuff.”