When Pope Francis died in April, the Roman Catholic Church’s succession process moved swiftly into action. Just over a fortnight later, amid smoke and ceremony, it elected a new pope, Leo XIV. Yet eight months after Justin Welby quit as Archbishop of Canterbury, following a safeguarding scandal over the serial child abuser John Smyth, the Church of England is still leaderless and is likely to remain so until the autumn. Why is it taking the Anglicans so long?