ENGLAND: Canterbury denies New Hampshire bishop permission to preach or preside
Episcopal News Service. April 30, 2008 [043008-04]
Matthew Davies
New Hampshire Bishop Gene Robinson has been told by Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams not to preach or preside at a eucharist while he is in England, according to reports.
Robinson, the first openly gay priest to be elected bishop in the Anglican Communion, is visiting the U.K. to promote his new book, "In the Eye of the Storm: Swept to the Center by God."
In an interview with BBC Radio's Robert Piggott, Robinson criticized Williams for failing to speak out against homophobia in the Anglican Communion.
According to Piggott, Robinson said that Williams had criticized the Episcopal Church for ordaining him as a bishop in 2003, but had done little to tackle conservative Anglican leaders for their interference in the United States.
The BBC reported Robinson as saying God was "very disappointed" in the Archbishop of Canterbury for his failure to confront Church of Nigeria Archbishop Peter Akinola, a staunch conservative and one of the Episcopal Church's chief critics, for his treatment of gays.
Earlier this month, Williams described a spate of violence and threats towards gay and lesbian Christians as "disgraceful."
Responding to an April 8 press release from Changing Attitude England announcing that gay leaders of the organization's Nigeria branch were seriously assaulted, Williams said: "The Anglican Communion has repeatedly, through the Lambeth Conference and the statements from its Primates' meetings, unequivocally condemned violence and the threat of violence against gay and lesbian people. I hope that this latest round of unchristian bullying will likewise be universally condemned."
In his April 30 BBC interview, Robinson said, "The rhetoric of all those who would describe themselves as anti-gay certainly creates an atmosphere in which a person who might contemplate violence would feel more justified."
Robinson is one of a small number of bishops Williams has not invited to attend this summer's Lambeth Conference. Robinson has said that he plans to be in Canterbury during the July 16-August 3 once-a-decade gathering, but not as an official conference participant or observer.