Wayne Besen - Author, Activist, Columnist, Public Speaker

Monday, December 17, 2007

(Weekly Column)

Has there ever been a more feckless, less respected religious figure than the "Arch-Baby" of Canterbury, the Most Rev. Rowan Williams? Liberals ignore him, conservatives walk over him and through his stunning lack of leadership he has lost control of the Anglican Church.

The wheels came off the car in 2003 when openly gay V. Gene Robinson was selected as Bishop of New Hampshire. Since then, conservative Episcopal factions in America - egged on by anti-gay peers in developing countries - have threatened to bolt and take every bit of property that isn’t bolted down to the church floor.

In the face of such insubordination, Williams had a clear-cut decision to make. He could side with liberals and crush the cabal of right wing turncoats. Or, he could stand on the wrong side of history and defrock Robinson and those who approved his consecration. Instead, he has taken a series of wishy-washy positions that have pleased no one and revealed weakness - which has encouraged further conservative mutinies.

After the unassuming Robinson assumed his new position, some conservative parishes warned they would opt out of the Episcopal Church and place themselves under the authority of theologically like-minded African Bishops.

It was at this point where Williams should have flexed his muscle. A commanding leader would have threatened to fire any pastor who defied the Episcopal leadership. He would have told troublemakers, such as Nigerian Archbishop Peter J Akinola, to can his rhetoric or get canned.

As a result of Williams' habitual indecision, on December 8, delegates to the Episcopal Church's Diocese of San Joaquin voted to leave the denomination and align themselves with a South American province in the Anglican Communion. This was followed a day later by the Church of Nigeria placing four new North American bishops under its banner.

The spineless Williams responded with a wordy letter that incoherently chastised both sides. He blamed the liberals for departing from the Orthodox interpretation of Scripture and told Bishop Robinson he wasn't invited to the splashy Lambeth Conference next summer.

He also reprimanded the foreign conservatives for appropriating American parishes and told them the conservative Americans from breakaway parishes were also not invited. In other words, the Anglican Church is on the verge of a schism and the best Williams could do is tell the dueling sides they could not come to a big church party. Now, that's leadership!

In a laughable act of desperate futility, Williams suggested the warring factions join "professionally facilitated conversations." The clueless Archbishop of Canterbury is so out of touch, he might as well be the Archbishop of Xanadu.

What exactly are these two sides going to resolve? The liberals believe that homosexuals are equal in God's eyes and therefore should be treated as human beings. The conservatives believe that gay people are sinful and should be treated as subhuman. Williams believes in nothing - other than keeping the Communion together, even if that entails engaging in the immoral act of harming gay people within the church.

The thing is, once people have the epiphany that gays and lesbians deserve equality there is no turning back. The Archbishop can't expect parishioners in the Episcopal Church who believe in fairness to abandon their principles and ditch their gay friends and family members - in the name of the false idol of "unity."

Chicago Consultation, a coalition of church liberals, blasted Williams for his lame letter, saying he pandered to conservatives and slighted gay members of the church.

"The archbishop's lengthy letter contains not a word of comfort to gay and lesbian Christians," the group said, responding to Williams. "We are especially troubled by the absence of openly gay members on the bodies that may ultimately resolve the issue at hand. The archbishop's unwillingness to include gay and lesbian Christians in this process perpetuates the bigotry he purports to deplore."

The bottom line is that Williams will have to finally choose sides and squash dissenters. There is no getting around a schism and there is no way to bridge the gap and offer more than band-aide solutions.

It is a shame that it has come to this, but Williams' lack of moral clarity is responsible for the likely break-up of the Anglican Communion. He has stood for nothing - and nothing is what he will end up with if he doesn't get his act together. Forget a facilitator for the opposing sides - he needs to get one for himself so he can find out who he is and what he ultimately stands for.

Important Note: I am well aware that church rules and regulations say that Williams can't "officially" fire or defrock Akinola and other troublemakers. However, we all know that is pure and utter nonsense. When the trouble started, Williams could have used his bully pulpit, moral authority and his unique position within the church to run these moralizing thugs out of town when they were still nobodies. Would anyone have cared if he would have privately called his buddies and put the word out that certain troublemakers - like Akinola - were career dead enders? If Akinola knew the full weight of the church would land on his head - would he and others have gone down this treacherous path?

Of course, Williams dawdled and Akinola made international news and became a rival. Furthermore, the Anglican Communion should have hired security services to escort all defecting church staff off of the premises of their churches. The courts could have ruled later - but in the meantime, the conservatives would not have had access to churches or funds.

Serving as apologists for Williams' inexcusable lack of leadership by hiding behind the "rules" is why church liberals often end up as losers. While our side is endlessly debating and deliberating about what Williams can't officially do, the conservatives are brazenly and creatively rewriting the rules (or twisting them) and seizing church property - in some cases, the court may find illegally. I, for one, am tired of namby-pamby liberal church defenders who won't stand up to such conservative bullying and provocations. If you cower behind technicalities and church minutiae - while the other side is in the throes of a hostile takeover - you deserve to lose your church. They simply want it more than you do - so maybe they deserve it.

It is time to stand up and fight already. For those of you who are doing so - and there are many - thank you for your brave and heroic efforts. We need more people like you in all liberal and moderate denominations, who will not sit by idly and get rolled by conservatives. The bottom line is that Williams could have nipped this cancer in the bud - and he miserably failed. He should resign for incompetence.

Please avoid parroting church law and "educating" me on what Williams supposedly "cannot" do. That shows a lack of imagination on our side and a capitulation to conservatives who have a sense of church entitlement. A real leader would have ended this crisis before it was a blip on the radar screen. Unfortunately, the Anglican Communion does not have one.

19 Comments:

Rowan Williams is disappoint indeed. Before he became Archbishop he was one of the most liberal, pro-gay clergymen in the Anglican community. He's becoming like Giuliani, flip-flopping to appease the moderates and conservatives, nothing new there. In any event, he's a lot better than the Pope who believes our sexual activity is intrinsically evil. Williams has and never would say that and is the lesser of two evils. Inevitably, the Anglican church is going to have to change otherwise it faces extinction. Less than 2% of the UK population attends church on a regular basis and many churches are closing. Its just a question of time.
posted by Robert, NYC., at 12/17/2007 12:56 PM

We should also state that the bishop of North America, Katherine Jefferts-Schori is very gay inclusive, as are many Episcopal churches in North America, especially the ones in metropolitan areas. The one I attend has a rector who regularly makes gay and lesbian inclusive comments in his sermons (if he didnt, I wouldnt be there). I for one couldnt care less if the Anglican Communion splits apart, good riddance to the ignorant, hateful bigots. As usual, they will go down on the wrong side of history, just as the defenders of slavery in these same churches did.
posted by Anonymous, at 12/17/2007 3:49 PM

News related to this thread...

From Episcopal Cafe: Archbishop Desmond Tutu has apologized to gay people all around the world for the way they have been treated by the Church.

The Archbishop and Nobel Peace Prize winner says “sorry” to the worldwide LGBT community in an exclusive recorded interview with Ashley Byrne, presenter of Gay Hour, the only LGBT program on the BBC, which was broadcast today on BBC Radio Manchester.

The Archbishop has said that the Church is ‘obsessed’ with homosexuality. He goes further here, saying:

“I want to apologise to you and to all those who we in the church have persecuted,” Archbishop Tutu says in the interview.
“I’m sorry that we have been part of the persecution of a particular group. For me that is quite un-Christ like and, for that reason, it is unacceptable.

“May be, even as a retired Archbishop, I probably have, to some extent, a kind of authority but apart from anything let me say for myself and anyone who might want to align themselves with me, I’m sorry.

“I’m sorry for the hurt, for the rejection, for the anguish that we have caused to such as yourselves.”
posted by Anonymous, at 12/17/2007 6:46 PM

I'm afraid it's not a matter of church law, it's a matter of, um... legal law. The Anglican communion doesn't own the property of churches in Africa or America. Williams can no more have security throw people out of those churches than I can have security toss you out of your home.

That said, yes, he's been incredibly wishy washy.

Boo
posted by Anonymous, at 12/18/2007 8:24 AM

From what I understand, there are churches in America - where the Anglicans do own property. And, if not the property - they own things from robes to books to the very title of the church....they do own enough where this is going to the courts. Wlliams should send security in to take every last item - to the staplers and pencils - that belongs to the church and cut off every last penny.
posted by Wayne Besen, at 12/18/2007 9:16 AM

The liberal/progressive religious remind me of the Democratic leadership in DC. I'm so disgusted with their endless vaginal behavior in the face of thugs and bullies. Grow and a pair and FIGHT BACK!
posted by Anonymous, at 12/18/2007 9:53 AM

The property is owned by each individual diocese. The dioceses in America are grouped into the American Episcopal Church, but the organization of the church as a whole doesn't own the property, including the staplers. Fortunately, many of the bishops in America aren't taking this lying down. Unfortunately, it means there's a lot of nasty court fights on the horizon.

Williams can't take the actions you might like him to take, but you're right that he could have spoken out and thrown his moral weight behind the good guys instead of waffling. Jesus wasn't big on compromising to avoid offending people.

Boo
posted by Anonymous, at 12/18/2007 11:32 AM

Boo - thanks for your insight on this issue. We appreciate it.
posted by Wayne Besen, at 12/18/2007 6:03 PM

I like your picture of Williams in Rasputin drag. It's creepy. Religious leaders are immersed in rank superstition and many have been know to tread more than a short distance across the borders of sanity. They can easily believe dozens of impossible things before breakfast.

For that reason they will never be able to grasp the human and political dimensions or our struggle. In fact their lack of ability to be rational is why cowardice is built into their character; if they lose standing in the cult they be forced to work for a living. The anglo catholics only real differences with the roman cult is that they can get married, thus saving the asses of many anglican altar boys, but since they are both guided by ignorance and deeply rooted in superstition it’s not wise to count on any of them.
posted by Bill Perdue, at 12/18/2007 9:13 PM

A great post from Wayne. To the point and right on the mark. Rev. Rowan Williams sure ain't no TuTu!!
Dominick
posted by Domnick J., at 12/19/2007 12:50 AM

Wayne

You may think that pointing out that Williams has no legal power over the church to be uncreative, but this the reality.

There is another issue here, and that has to do with the global nature of Anglicanism. The churches of the south are with few exceptions culturally and socially conservative (as are the cultures). Williams has the problem of coming across as a voice of a colonialist power, which he's trying not to be. Yes, he appears to be wishy washy and we would all wish for something different, but the reality is that he can do very little but try to keep people talking.
posted by Pastor Bob Cornwall, at 12/19/2007 2:15 PM

Lets face it, all religions are basically cults, not even religions and all are chosen lifestyles and I think most believers are suffering from a mental illness. To me its nothing more than insanity, believing in an imaginary being that nobody has ever seen, heard or spoken with and spending an entire life waiting for death to hopefully come face to face with whatever the "being" is or isn't. What a waste and who in their right mind would worry what comes after? When you're dead, you're dead, nobody ever came back to say it was otherwise.
posted by Robert, NYC., at 12/19/2007 4:32 PM

Something I should of added in a previous comment regards the contrast between Desmond Tutu and Rowan Williams, which is an instructive one. Tutu can speak from a different place, for he speaks not as head of the former colonialist government's state church, but as an African to fellow Africans. He has the moral authority in the Global South that Rowan Williams doesn't have.

I would have the ABp of Canterbury speak more forcefully, but his is really a now win situation. Hopefully Desmond Tutu can have the effect that others are asking of Rowan Williams.

But remember that Rowan Williams isn't the pope and to suggeste that he has authority besides moral authority is to bark up the wrong tree.
posted by Pastor Bob Cornwall, at 12/19/2007 5:27 PM

Williams looks like a smelly,burned out old hippie, desperately in need of a shave and a shower.

Anne
Seattle
posted by Anonymous, at 12/19/2007 6:15 PM

Wayne;

I am so sorry that your anger get expressed trough Misinformation.

1) Rowan Williams is not the pope

2) The Diocese of San Joaquin and Pitsburg initiated the fight, the "developing countries to which you despotically reffer to aare not aligned with the hustorical episcopal church and not All,as you imply, are "against" Bishop Robinson. in fact,only one section of Latinamerica is in disagreement with ECUSA.

I just lost all remaining little respect I had for you.
posted by Anonymous, at 12/21/2007 3:41 PM

In the current crisis, it is the African Anglicans who are the colonialist bigots. (Let's not forget that they are often apologists for tribal polygamy as well.)

I am sick and tired of self-styled progressives who apologize for violent bigots and polygamists in the name of multiculturalism.

Shame on Rowan Williams and his defenders. Violent bigots do not belong anywhere within the Anglican family.

Throw them out of the church YESTERDAY -- and don't let them have an ounce of church property.
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