Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, aka the ABC, recently gave an interview with a Muslim magazine that has caused a bit of a stir. The Times Online referred to the content of the interview as "wide-ranging" though the actual reporting of the interview was primarily focused on the ABC's criticism of the U.S. as "the worst imperialist." For the full text of the article, click here. The Times Online article has a link that is supposed to go directly to the text of the full interview with the ABC, but as of now, I have not been able to get to anything other than a pdf document that is the cover of the magazine. Let me know if you have any better luck!
There are many different opinions and ideas about the veracity of such a claim, but politics aside, one does wonder how these statements will help heal the tensions within the Anglican communion and the inter-religious struggles that divide us. Trite as it is, I can't help wondering WWJD (what would Jesus do?). Would Jesus name America as the worst imperialist? Would Jesus consider the ABC's comments prophetic truth-telling? I certainly have no answers - I have no idea how one determines who the worst imperialist is. Our Vicar, Hank Mitchel, does have some thoughts to share and we welcome your comments as well.
Here is what Hank writes: Like many, I found the Archbishop’s comments disturbing and even a bit insulting. He is a highly intelligent man who finds himself in the middle of a schismatic crisis within the Episcopal Church and Anglican Communion. His comments do nothing to bridge the gaps that exist and, in fact, increase the divide between many in our Communion. Regardless of where one stands on the subject of the Iraq war, one would be hard pressed to compare that effort with what the British did in India. In fact, there is no comparison and nothing is gained in suggesting there is. It was a completely different time in history. The Archbishop would do well not to insult his American brothers and sisters, especially at this time when he probably needs all the friends he can get.
1 comment:
Whatever the political situation inside the Anglican communion, church leaders must also be careful not to be seen as an apologist for the questionable US doctrine of preemptive war and its fallout. To coin another quite questionable historical analogy, I'm sure that no one wants to be compared with Neville Chamberlain!
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