Church of England Plans To Build $1.27-Billion-Dollar Fund To Address Links to Slavery

The Church of England is planning to raise a $1.27-billion fund that would work to address the religious institution's past links to slavery.

The idea to create the billion-dollar fund was made by the church's advisory panel, which shared its idea on Monday. The amount that was recommended was 10 times the amount that the church had previously set aside.

Church of England Seeks To Address Links to Slavery

The church-established independent oversight group said that the $127 million fund that was announced last year was not enough. This was when it was compared to the wealth of the church and "the moral sin and crime of African chattel enslavement."

The church's financial arm, the Church Commissioners, said that it accepted the group's recommendations. These include a target of $1.27 billion "and above" for a pool of funds that would be known as the Fund for Healing, Repair, and Justice.

The religious institution added that it would not immediately add to its previous $127-million commitment. However, it noted that it would spend the initial money over the court of five years rather than the nine that was originally planned, as per ABC News.

Church Commissioners Chief Executive Gareth Mostyn added that they had hoped to start distributing the money by the end of the year. He also said that other institutions or individuals who wished to address their own slavery links could add to the fund and "join us on this journey."

The church's fund was established as part of efforts by the Anglican church to reckon with its historic complicity in the trans-Atlantic slave trade. In 2019, the Church Commissioners hired forensic accounts to dig through the church's archives for evidence of slave trade links.

The accountants discovered that the church's huge assets had their roots in Queen Anne's Bounty, which was a fund that was established in 1704. It was made to help support impoverished clergy.

Atoning for Historical Involvement

The one who leads the oversight group, Barbados-born Bishop Rosemarie Mallett, said that no amount of money can fully atone or fully redress the impact of African chattel enslavement. She added that the effects of this are still felt around the world to this day, according to CNN.

Mallett said that the implementation of the recommendations will show the commitment of the Church Commissioners in supporting the process of healing, repair, and justice. The situation comes as Britain had enslaved 3.1 million Africans between 1640 and 1807.

They transported them to colonies worldwide and many of these people were taken to the Caribbean to work on sugar plantations. That particular career made their owners very wealthy through the export of sugar, molasses, and rum.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, said that the latest report was the start of a "multi-generational response" to the "appalling evil" of slavery. He previously called the report's interim findings a "source of shame" for the church.

The oversight group's report also reiterated calls for the church to fully acknowledge its involvement in the slave trade. This was after the archbishop said that he was "deeply sorry for the kinks" in 2022, said BBC.