A.S. Haley: The Best of Times, the Worst of Times

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

His Grace, the Lord Archbishop of Canterbury, is unable to placate anyone these days. He was faulted on both sides for his "deer-caught-in-the-headlights" reaction to Pope Benedict XVI's Apostolic Constitution. And now he is being faulted again for not doing enough, or for doing altogether the wrong thing, in reaction to the election of the Rev. Canon Mary Glasspool to be Bishop Suffragan in the Diocese of Los Angeles.

The wrong thing? In the eyes of Colin Coward, Director of the aptly named organization Changing Attitude, ++Rowan has betrayed him both personally, as his former teacher, as well as generically, on behalf of gays and lesbians everywhere:

“I am sure he is still the man I knew as being inclusive. I think he must be torn about inside.”
He added: “The part of me that knows Rowan as a friend still values him as a friend. But another part of me is incredibly disappointed. I feel betrayed and let down.”

And in the eyes of traditional Anglicans, and even other denominations, ++Rowan has once again failed to take decisive disciplinary action against the wayward Episcopal Church (USA), which is constantly testing the limits of his resolve. the rest