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LONDON: Bishop-elect quizzed
By Pat Ashworth
THE CHURCH TIMES
LONDON (9/7/2005)--THE BISHOP of Willesden, the Rt Revd Pete Broadbent, has condemned the public airing on the internet of a letter from the Archbishop of Central Africa, Dr Bernard Malango, to the Bishop-elect of Lake Malawi, the Revd Nick Henderson.
Mr Henderson, the Vicar of All Saints', Ealing, and St Martin's, West Acton, in London, was elected on 29 July. The election process was, however, challenged by five Anglicans from the Nkhotakota region (News, 26 August).
It emerged last week that Dr Malango had written to Mr Henderson, a former chairman of the Modern Churchpeople's Union, on 24 August, because of reports of Mr Henderson's "advocacy of the gay and lesbian movement". He wrote that he was "constrained to ask a very awkward question": was he prepared to give assurances that his conduct conformed to the Church's historic teachings on sexual intimacy, and that he was not, nor had been, in a sexual relationship outside marriage?
The Archbishop then advised his fellow bishops that he had postponed both the court of confirmation and the consecration itself, which had been scheduled for 9 October. He told them he had asked for Mr Henderson's assurance that he "accepts the controlling Authority of Holy Scriptures, i.e. that it is the Authority, not just an 'authority' among others".
He also sought to know whether he "accepts and will preach wholesome doctrine which is consonant with Holy Scriptures, and in particular with regard to marriage and family life, Resolution 1:10 of the 1998 Lambeth Conference"; and that he "fashions his own life and of his household according to the doctrine of Christ."
Bishop Broadbent said on Wednesday: "My view is that these are questions a consecrating archbishop needs to ask of a bishop, but it should be done privately. What shouldn't be happening is that we should be doing this in public, all over the internet.
"Nick has answered all those satisfactorily - his belief in the authority and sufficiency of scripture, the Creeds and the Articles, his assent to the Lambeth resolution, his capacity to work with the Windsor report framework.
"He has given assurance on all these matters, and that his lifestyle is consonant with his life as a priest. It's now up to Archbishop Malango to decide whether he thinks those answers are satisfactory. I hope that he'll then be able to decide whether he proceeds with the consecration or not. Nick is not making any comment this week. As far as he's concerned, it is in Archbishop Malango's hands."
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FOOTNOTE: The "public airing on the Internet" the bishop was referencing was directed at VirtueOnline.
