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Sexual politics at Lake Malawi
11 Mar 2006- A strange tale of homosexuality, racialism and rival
"feting" has been told, in a strange way, in the news pages of the
Church Times over the past few months.
Lay people, according to a report in
last week's issue, have declared the diocese of Lake Malawi "closed"
until they have their "duly elected" bishop. The man in question is the
Rev Nicholas Henderson, the vicar of All Saints Ealing, west London. The
clergy of Lake Malawi, hundreds of miles south of Ealing, had petitioned
for him to be their bishop, and the retiring bishop had concurred.
In July last year Mr Henderson was
elected, but five Anglicans objected, and the case went to a Court of
Confirmation. An accusation was apparently made that the bishop-elect
was given to "advocacy of the gay and lesbian movement".
This allegation exemplifies a great
divide between many African bishops and their episcopal brothers in
Anglican dioceses in North America and other white-dominated regions. It
is this bigger row that led the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan
Williams, to speak this week of a "rupture" in the Anglican Communion.
"If there is a rupture, it's going to be a more visible rupture," he
said. "I suppose my anxiety about it is that if the Communion is broken
we may be left with even less than a federation."
Nicholas Henderson's own bishop, Dr
Peter Broadbent of Willesden, in London, has been quoted as saying,
"Nick has become a victim of the warfare between African traditionalism
and Western liberalism." Dr Broadbent has noted the role of the internet
in the affair, for it made possible the lazy dissemination of
allegations round the world. These could "all be sourced back to one
particular American website" (opposed to the liberal consensus). Those
responsible for passing the allegations on, he said, "despite their lack
of any personal knowledge of the priest they were defaming, were quite
prepared to condemn him out of hand".
In any event, the bishops of Zimbabwe,
Zambia, Botswana and Malawi, by majority vote at the Court of
Confirmation, rejected Mr Henderson as the next bishop of Lake Malawi on
the grounds that he was "not of sound faith". The retired bishop of
Lusaka was chosen instead.
The key figure in this scandal,
according to Church Times reports, is the Archbishop of Central Africa,
Dr Bernard Malango. He "is seen as being feted by the conservatives of
the Episcopal Church of the United States," the paper says. Ordinary
Malawians, by contrast, "bar Malango and fete Henderson". This choice of
terminology gives a new sense to the idea of a church fete.
Mr Henderson's own fêting occurred
during a "private" visit to Lake Malawi last month. "I was carried
aloft," he admitted.
The "barring" of Dr Malango took place
following an incident during which layfolk, requesting a meeting with
him at diocesan headquarters, "were made to stand outside for two
hours". Eventually they realised the archbishop had left by the back
door. The lay people then "seized the property, changed the locks and
declared the archbishop barred".
Mr Henderson was impressed. "We can only
be humbled by their resolve," he said.
Meanwhile, "parishioners from the
diocese have coined a new word 'Malangoism'," the Church Times reported.
The characteristics of this -ism are not defined, but people accuse Dr
Malango of "dictatorial tendencies" and of hoping "after retirement to
'secure a job abroad'."
Last August, according to the Church
Times, Dr Malango had dismissed 38 charges brought against Bishop
Nolbert Kunonga of Harare in an ecclesiastical court, including
"incitement to murder". The paper reported that Bishop Kunonga left the
court "crowing" and later "boasting of his friendship" with Dr Malango
and "of having carte blanche to do what he liked", whatever that may be.
In Dr Malango's own diocese, the paper
says, "turmoil reigns". Meanwhile, Dr Malango "is a frequent guest at
conservative gatherings in the United States". The Church Times noted it
had failed to reach Dr Malango for comment. So there it is.
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