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Primate attacked for stance over gays
By Jonathan Petre, Religion Correspondent
THE TELEGRAPH
LONDON (3/4/2005)--The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, has been criticised for his hardline stance on homosexuality by an influential movement he helped to found.
Affirming Catholicism, a liberal Anglo-Catholic group, says today it is "disappointed" that the North American Churches have been asked to repent for consecrating a homosexual bishop and blessing gay "marriages".
In a letter to The Telegraph, signed by the organisation's standing committee, the group also expresses scepticism that homosexuals will be given a fair hearing throughout the Church.
The Archbishop, who chaired crisis talks in Northern Ireland last week, has led calls by Anglican leaders for the American and Canadian Churches to admit they were wrong to defy official policy.
By appearing to side with the conservative majority in the row over homosexuality, he has dismayed liberals who once hailed him as their champion.
The Dean of Southwark, the Very Rev Colin Slee, said on Tuesday he was "profoundly anxious" about the direction in which Dr Williams was taking the Church.
The Rev Giles Fraser, chairman of the liberal Inclusive Church pressure group, also expressed his disappointment at the Archbishop's stance.
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