The organization of the commissioners of the Church of England inherited a fund created at the beginning of the 18th century and largely abundant by the transatlantic trafficking.
MO12345LEMONDE with AFP
The Church of England presented, Tuesday, January 10, its apologies for the bonds passed with the slavery of a financial organization which is linked to it, today engaged in a vast process of compensation for victims. “I am deeply sorry, reacted the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, the spiritual leader of the Anglican Church. The time has come to take measures in response to this shameful past.”
The report published on Tuesday is consecutive to revelations in June 2022 according to which “the endowment of the commissioners of the Church had historical links” with the transatlantic trade of slaves.
The organization of the commissioners of the Church of England was created in 1948, in part with a donation of a fund dating back to Queen Anne, in 1704, intended to help the members of the poorest clergy. However, the report reveals that this fund had invested “important amounts” in the South Sea Company, which traded by African slaves. He had also received donations that came from people involved in slave trade and in the planting economy.
“The commissioners of the Church are deeply sorry for the bonds of their predecessors with the transatlantic slave trade,” the organization said in a statement. The organization has promised a fund of 100 million pounds (113.1 million euros) for the next nine years for “a better and fairer future for all”.
“horror and shame”
This money will go in particular to “communities that have been affected by slavery”. Part of the funds will be intended to deepen research on the links between the Church and slavery. The deputy president of the Church commissioners, the bishop of Manchester David Walker, said that the organization hoped now to create a “lasting positive heritage, which will be used for communities affected by slavery”.
The Church commissioners manage an investment fund of 10.1 billion pounds (11.4 billion euros) to support the activities of the Church and the Clergy.
“Nothing we will do, hundreds of years later, will return their lives to people who are enslaved, wrote the commissioners in the introduction to their report. But we can and we will recognize the horror and the Shame on the role of the Church in the slave trade, and through answers, we will try to start responding to the injustices committed. “
The Church of England has already apologized for its bonds spent with slavery, while the United Kingdom faces the heritage of its colonial past. In 2020, the Church had described as “shame” the fact that some of its members had “actively took advantage” of slavery.