Gay bishop: God would be 'disappointed' with Rowan Williams

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams has been accused of failing to fully tackle critics over the appointment of the first openly gay Anglican bishop.

|PIC1|Bishop Gene Robinson, who was consecrated by the US Episcopal Church, said that Dr William's handling of rhetoric against gay Anglicans could endanger them.

According to the BBC, the controversial gay bishop who now says he wears a bullet-proof vest for some public appearances, also said God would be "very disappointed" in the way Dr Williams had not confronted one of the most outspoken critics against gay bishops, Nigeria's Archbishop Peter Akinola.

Bishop Robinson, an openly-gay, divorced father of two, also accused Dr Williams of directing criticism only at the US Episcopal Church, and ignoring incidents elsewhere.

Tensions have been rising recently, even more so than normal, following death threats being sent to members of a gay Anglican group called Changing Attitude.

Last month, Dr Williams spoke out against the threats of violence, saying, "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 un-Christian bullying will likewise be universally condemned."

However, Bishop Robinson was far from comforted by the comments. Speaking to BBC News' Hardtalk programme, he said he believed God would be disappointed with the Archbishop of Canterbury.

In the interview Bishop Robinson was asked why the Archbishop of Canterbury had not held Nigerian Archbishop Akinola to account for his stance against homosexual bishops. He answered, "Well, you have to ask him that - and I think he will have to answer to God about that. I believe [Dr Williams'] unwillingness to confront Peter Akinola and others like him who have made statements that I think any reasonable person would find over the edge - I believe God is very disappointed in that."

The Anglican Church in Nigeria, which Archbishop Akinola leads, is the second-largest Anglican province with 17.5 million members after the Church of England, although the African Church's number of regular churchgoers is far higher.

The landmark Lambeth Conference, held once a decade and gathering Anglican leaders from around the world, is set to take place in Canterbury between 16 July - 4 August.

However, as many as 120 bishops out of the 800 invited have said they would not attend unless the US Episcopal Church repudiates its current acceptance of gay clergy.

The Archbishop of Canterbury said in January at the launch event for the build-up to the Conference that one entire day would be given over to discussions of gay issues. He added, "Gene Robinson has not been invited to the Lambeth conference and it is proving extremely difficult to see under what heading he might be invited to be around, and that is where we are.

"To those bishops who do not wish to attend, I recognise their absolute right to choose in good faith and in conscience whether or not they can be there. I shall be delighted to see more rather than fewer bishops there, that is their choice, but the door is open."