The Church of England must "kneel in repentance" and "change", the Archbishop of York said in his Christmas sermon.
According to foreign media, his statement comes at a challenging time for the Church, which has faced criticism for the way it has handled a series of abuse scandals.
Stephen Cottrell will next month effectively become the interim leader of the Church in place of the outgoing Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, writes A2 CNN.
Welby announced his resignation in November and will step down on January 6 after a report revealed that serial abuser John Smyth could have been brought to justice if Welby had formally reported him to the police in 2013.
But Mr Cottrell has also faced calls to resign following revelations that David Tudor, a priest at the center of a sex abuse case, was reappointed twice under his leadership while he served as Bishop of Chelmsford.
In his Christmas sermon at York Minster, Cottrell said the Church must "kneel in repentance and worship" this Christmas and "be changed".
"If you are in love, show me. If you have love in your hearts, embody and demonstrate that love with what you do," he further appealed, A2 CNN writes. (A2 Televizion)
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