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| Rowan Williams defends outspoken approach as archbishop | Rowan Williams defends outspoken approach as archbishop |
| (8 days later) | |
| The archbishop of Canterbury has said that making "risky and anything but infallible judgments" is a key part of the job as spiritual head of the Church of England, and that he doubts his successor will disagree. | The archbishop of Canterbury has said that making "risky and anything but infallible judgments" is a key part of the job as spiritual head of the Church of England, and that he doubts his successor will disagree. |
| Three months before he is due to leave Lambeth Palace after nearly 10 years in office, Rowan Williams said that although he had certain regrets he believed the role necessitated outspoken interventions. His comments on sharia law in 2008 proved particularly controversial. | Three months before he is due to leave Lambeth Palace after nearly 10 years in office, Rowan Williams said that although he had certain regrets he believed the role necessitated outspoken interventions. His comments on sharia law in 2008 proved particularly controversial. |
| "Oh, I do regrets alright," said Williams, after a lecture organised by the thinktank Theos. "But I just don't think that it'll do to be too cautious in a job like this. | "Oh, I do regrets alright," said Williams, after a lecture organised by the thinktank Theos. "But I just don't think that it'll do to be too cautious in a job like this. |
| "You're here to try and say what you believe you've been given to say … to try and share a particular picture of what the world is like, of what God is like, which of course leads you into sometimes risky and anything but infallible judgments about particular issues of the day." | "You're here to try and say what you believe you've been given to say … to try and share a particular picture of what the world is like, of what God is like, which of course leads you into sometimes risky and anything but infallible judgments about particular issues of the day." |
| Asked if he would be disappointed if the man taking his place on the throne of St Augustine proved less combative, he replied: "Looking at the names that have been mentioned as my successor, I don't think any of them [the candidates] is going to have that problem, frankly. I'm very glad of that." | Asked if he would be disappointed if the man taking his place on the throne of St Augustine proved less combative, he replied: "Looking at the names that have been mentioned as my successor, I don't think any of them [the candidates] is going to have that problem, frankly. I'm very glad of that." |
| His remarks came amid continuing uncertainty over the selection of his successor. Despite meeting last week for what had been scheduled to be the final time, the Crown Nominations Commission appears to be divided over which two names to pick as its first-choice and back-up candidate. | His remarks came amid continuing uncertainty over the selection of his successor. Despite meeting last week for what had been scheduled to be the final time, the Crown Nominations Commission appears to be divided over which two names to pick as its first-choice and back-up candidate. |
| Speaking in front of a packed lecture theatre, the soon-to-be outgoing archbishop appeared more relaxed than at many previous outings, quoting Edith Piaf, critiquing the BBC reality show The Apprentice and showing a willingness to mock his uber-intellectual persona for quoting liberally from "that household name" Vladimir Lossky, a 20th century Orthodox thinker not widely known outside theological circles. | Speaking in front of a packed lecture theatre, the soon-to-be outgoing archbishop appeared more relaxed than at many previous outings, quoting Edith Piaf, critiquing the BBC reality show The Apprentice and showing a willingness to mock his uber-intellectual persona for quoting liberally from "that household name" Vladimir Lossky, a 20th century Orthodox thinker not widely known outside theological circles. |
| He used the comedy show Father Ted to explain his exasperation with the Occupy London protesters whose encampment outside St Paul's cathedral caused a crisis in the Church last year and whose language, he said, was "so general as to be undemanding". He added: "Rather like that episode in Father Ted where the priests demonstrate outside the cinema with a placard saying Down With This Sort of Thing. I just feel we've got to do a bit better than that." | He used the comedy show Father Ted to explain his exasperation with the Occupy London protesters whose encampment outside St Paul's cathedral caused a crisis in the Church last year and whose language, he said, was "so general as to be undemanding". He added: "Rather like that episode in Father Ted where the priests demonstrate outside the cinema with a placard saying Down With This Sort of Thing. I just feel we've got to do a bit better than that." |
| On the single issue which has perhaps wrought more division in the worldwide Anglican community than any other over the past decade, Williams acknowledged that if the Church was failing to get its message on homosexuality across properly it could cause "a very serious mental health impact" on young gay Christians. He said: "I think that although the Church has in recent years tried quite hard to say we are not condemning a person as such for what their sexual orientation is, and that's a very serious commitment, nonetheless there is of course a hangover, a feeling of 'yes, you're condemned in your entirety for what you are, not for what you do but for what you are.' If people are getting the message that they are condemned for what they are, of course there's a very serious mental health impact. I hope that's not what the Church is doing; I certainly don't think it's what the Church should be doing." | On the single issue which has perhaps wrought more division in the worldwide Anglican community than any other over the past decade, Williams acknowledged that if the Church was failing to get its message on homosexuality across properly it could cause "a very serious mental health impact" on young gay Christians. He said: "I think that although the Church has in recent years tried quite hard to say we are not condemning a person as such for what their sexual orientation is, and that's a very serious commitment, nonetheless there is of course a hangover, a feeling of 'yes, you're condemned in your entirety for what you are, not for what you do but for what you are.' If people are getting the message that they are condemned for what they are, of course there's a very serious mental health impact. I hope that's not what the Church is doing; I certainly don't think it's what the Church should be doing." |
| Williams rejected the suggestion that he had left the Church a more divided organisation than it was at the beginning of his time at Lambeth, saying, to applause: "There is no golden age in the Church's history, we may think 'oh, it was relatively problem-free then' – one of the advantages in this job of being a Church historian is that you know that is not true. When I think I have got problems, I think, well, at least it is not the fourth century, at least it is not the 17th century." | Williams rejected the suggestion that he had left the Church a more divided organisation than it was at the beginning of his time at Lambeth, saying, to applause: "There is no golden age in the Church's history, we may think 'oh, it was relatively problem-free then' – one of the advantages in this job of being a Church historian is that you know that is not true. When I think I have got problems, I think, well, at least it is not the fourth century, at least it is not the 17th century." |
| Of his 103 predecessors, Williams said, his favourite was either St Anselm, archbishop of Canterbury from 1093 to 1109, or Michael Ramsey who served from 1961 until 1974. Asked if BBC Radio 4's Thought for the Day slot should be opened to atheists, he paused, before saying: "I think the case still has to be made for an atheist presence there, in that there isn't all that much of a shortage of opportunities for secularist and atheist people to make their point." | Of his 103 predecessors, Williams said, his favourite was either St Anselm, archbishop of Canterbury from 1093 to 1109, or Michael Ramsey who served from 1961 until 1974. Asked if BBC Radio 4's Thought for the Day slot should be opened to atheists, he paused, before saying: "I think the case still has to be made for an atheist presence there, in that there isn't all that much of a shortage of opportunities for secularist and atheist people to make their point." |
| • This article was amended on 2 October 2012. The original described Vladimir Lossky as a 19th-century, rather than 20th-century, thinker. | • This article was amended on 2 October 2012. The original described Vladimir Lossky as a 19th-century, rather than 20th-century, thinker. |
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