Misunderstood York Archbishop Stephen Cottrell has publicly clarified his previous controversial comments on the use of “Our Father” in the Lord’s Prayer.
Archbishop Cottrell came under heavy attack early this month after he suggested that using “Our Father” in Lord’s prayer can be problematic for some people, particularly abuse victims or those who are under “an oppressively patriarchal grip on life.”
The statement which was made during his opening speech at the church of England General Synod was condemned by many Christians who maintained that changing the words of the prayer Jesus taught his disciples himself in Mathew 6:5-13 should not be suggested by the Archbishop.
In a bid to clarify his previous statement, Cottrell stated in a piece for The Telegraph that he ‘wasn’t saying that we should stop using the word” rather we “need to be sensitive as we lead people in prayers.”
“A few weeks ago, I found myself a little misunderstood when I pointed out that some people who have never known a father present in their life, or worse, been abused or neglected by their father, may find this word challenging,” he wrote.
“But what I wasn’t saying is that we should stop using the word — simply that we need to be sensitive as we lead people in prayer.”
“As Jesus taught us, we pray to the God who is ‘Our Father’, and we help those whose experience of earthly fathers has been negative to discover the healing love of the Father of our Lord, Jesus Christ. And as has always been the case, we use other language to describe God, as well. What I was actually talking about was the very powerful first word of the Lord’s Prayer, which is ‘our'”
Cottrell is the 98th Archbishop of York. He is serving the Diocese of York and the dioceses of the Northern Province of the Church of England.