You are here
Archbishop tells warring Anglicans "cool it"
Dec 1, 2005
By Paul Majendie
YORK (Reuters) - Britain's first black archbishop, conceding that the Anglican church could face schism over the divisive issue of gay clergy, bluntly urged the warring factions to "cool it, just cool it."
Ordained on the day the racist killer of a black teenager was convicted, Ugandan-born John Sentamu also told people to be vigilant so the scourge of racism can be stamped out.
Interviewed by Reuters at the mediaeval palace that is his new home, the number two in the Church of England hierarchy was brutally frank about the dark clouds gathering in the 450-year-old Anglican church.
Asked if he thought the church could be headed for schism, the 56-year-old archbishop said: "It may happen. I have got to be realistic."
Two years of deepening divisions among the world's 77 million Anglicans were sparked by the ordination of gay American bishop Gene Robinson and the blessing of same sex marriages in Canada.
"What I would say to the two sides is cool it, just cool it," said Sentamu, who could be uniquely positioned to act as a bridge between North American liberals and the traditionalists, particularly from Africa.
Almost half of the world's Anglican archbishops, with Nigeria's Peter Akinola in the forefront, have mutinied over the issue, demanding that their spiritual leader, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, act over "unrepentant sexual immorality" in the church.
Sentamu, seeking to soothe bitter rivalries, said: "It is just like a family that has decided to have a mighty row. If you are having a mighty row, it is better to cool it."
"I hope I will allow the two sides that seem to be polarised to be able to listen to one another," he said in Thursday's interview.
FIGHT AGAINST RACISM
Sentamu, who worked as a barrister and judge in Uganda before fleeing the regime of former dictator Idi Amin in 1974, has been in the forefront of the fight against racism in Britain.
He worked with two inquiries probing notorious London murders -- the 1993 racist killing of teenager Stephen Lawrence and the stabbing of Nigerian schoolboy Damilola Taylor in 2000.
The police were accused in the past of "institutionalised racism" but Sentamu believes the situation has improved with racist killings now being thoroughly and speedily investigated.
On Wednesday, the day that Sentamu was being ordained in York's Gothic Cathedral, one of the killers of black student Anthony Walker was convicted in a case that had shocked Britain. The other killer had already admitted his guilt.
Walker's mother Gee said after the trial she was satisfied with the verdict and would forgive her son's killers.
Sentamu, rich in praise of her stance, said: "That is the most powerful thing anybody could say."
Sentamu, who received hate mail smeared in human excrement when his appointment was announced, said of racism: "People have to be vigilant. There is a dark side to all of us."
"May their hearts be turned around," he said of the anonymous letter writers.
"I am an action man. I wish I could know who they are and invite them round for a cup of tea and a proper conversation."
END
