African church leader accuses Rowan of 'betrayal'

|PIC1|The Archbishop of Uganda, the Most Rev Henry Orombi, has accused the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Williams, of betraying biblically faithful churches by inviting bishops involved in the consecration of the openly gay Bishop Gene Robinson to the Lambeth Conference.

Archbishop Orombi, one more than 200 bishops boycotting the two-week conference, said in a comment for The Times that the current system for appointing the Archbishop of Canterbury was a "remnant of colonialism".

"Even the Pope is elected by his peers. But what Anglicans have is a man appointed by a secular government," wrote Archbishop Orombi.

"Over the past five years, we have come to see this as a remnant of British colonialism, and it is not serving us well.

"The spiritual leadership of a global communion of independent and autonomous provinces should not be reduced to one man appointed by a secular government."

Bishops are in the process of drafting final reflections, largely drawn from the outcomes of the 'indaba' discussion groups at the Lambeth Conference. In the document, the bishops acknowledge a "lack of confidence" in the structures of Communion.

They also state, "We must acknowledge that there are great tensions in our relationship at present, and an erosion of trust between us."

Archbishop Orombi's attack comes as bishops debate the most divisive issue in the Anglican Communion, human sexuality.

Bishops said that Thursday's discussions had been characterised by generosity and respect.

"We haven't suddenly reached a consensus about the issues of human sexuality. The problems are not all solved but there are significant differences," the Most Rev Philip Aspinall, Archbishop of the Anglican Church of Australia and spokesman for the Conference, told reporters.

The Chair of the Council of Anglican Provinces of Africa (CAPA), the Most Rev Ian Ernest, said meanwhile, "We are able to look at each other. We are able to shed tears with one another, but at the same time knowing that we've got different ways and different convictions."

Friday will be see bishops tackle the controversial Anglican Covenant on structures of unity in the Communion.