Friday, August 01, 2008

Non-liberal Bishops Boycott Anglican Conference

“Even the Pope is elected by his peers. But what Anglicans have is a man appointed by a secular government. Over the past five years, we have come to see this as a remnant of British colonialism, and it is not serving us well.”

-- From "Rowan Williams betrayed churches over gay bishop, says African leader" by Ruth Gledhill, Religion Correspondent, The Times (London) 8/1/08

A leading conservative cleric has launched a devastating attack on the Archbishop of Canterbury, accusing him of “betrayal” and calling his office a “remnant of imperial colonialism”.

Writing in The Times, the Most Rev Henry Orombi, Archbishop of Uganda, says [Archbishop of Canterbury] Rowan Williams has betrayed churches that remain true to the Bible by inviting colleagues who consecrated the openly gay Bishop of New Hampshire to the Lambeth Conference.

Archbishop Orombi, a leader of the conservative Global South bishops and one of 230 to boycott the conference, indicates that to ensure long-term unity, future Anglican leaders will need to be more representative of the wider Church.

His comments came as Dr Williams survived the most difficult day of the Lambeth Conference with the communion intact. In closed discussions about homosexuality, bishops agreed to differ peacefully for the sake of unity. Early indications are that his strategy of running a conference without votes or resolutions and based around the African-style indaba process of conflict resolution groups has paid off, at least for the time being.

To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.