The Liberals Take Aim at Rowan

Interesting commentary from Damian Thompson of the London Telegraph regarding Rowan Williams' future (click on the headline above for the article and also check out the podcast on that page). I don't agree.

No, I am not so inclined to agree and would wonder if the pressure on Rowan is not from the conservatives, but from the liberal members of the Anglican Communion.

Since Rowan was thought to come from the liberal wing of the Anglican Church, the fact that he has not pushed through the liberal agenda in England would make him far more open to the slings and arrows of the liberal wing than it would be from the conservatives (who has turned out to be far more of a friend then we could ever have dreamed). He has betrayed the liberal cause (and those who are viewed as traitors to the cause - especially in these particular causes - are subject to some of the worse venom possible) and it would be better to be rid of him, the liberals would think, so then either they would have a real conservative to bash or they could get a real liberal to carry their standard. But the only one who would win from Rowan's departure, would be the liberals. (NOTE TO DAMIAN: Think about it.).

I frankly think that the reports of Rowan's demise are premature. I think that it's a mistake to think that Rowan Williams is caught between two conservative Archbishops in his leadership of the Anglican Communion. No, his real problem is probably right under his nose in the ACC offices. Damian Thompson gets it completely wrong about Lord Carey and so that inclines me to think that he is getting this info from sources that would like this view to be put out into the international media - and what better place than from the conservative Telegraph? If this were Stephen Bates of the Guardian reporting on this, we'd all be shaking our heads as wishful thinking on the part of Bates and His Crew. But I see who Bates hangs out with (at General Convention and at the PB Investiture) - who his buddies are, and he is right on the staff of the ACC.

This is not a battle between the conservatives in England and Africa, but between the liberals and Rowan Williams. What the ACC media (and TEC as well, who are also buds) is that the Telegraph is fueling the fires of the liberal wing to get Rowan thrown out, with a decoy being the Archbishop of York. How did the Telegraph find out about the meeting with Rowan and the Global South Archbishops? Why would the Telegraph publish it, but not the Guardian? Surely the conservatives would help fuel this rumor because the Archbishop of York and Lord Carey are popular.

But it's a ruse and the cooler heads should prevail. Who are Rowan's real enemies? Not the conservatives, who have had nothing to fear or be slammed about since Rowan became Archbishop of Canterbury. No, the ones who have been slammed are the liberals and they are the ones who want him out.

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