Malawi Anglicans reject pro-gay UK bishop

By Mabvuto Banda

BLANTYRE (Reuters) – The Anglican Church in Malawi has
rejected the appointment of a liberal British vicar as one of
the country’s three bishops because of his support for gay
rights, a church statement said on Friday.

In a further sign of the split between African and Western
Anglicans over homosexuality, the Anglican Church of Central
Africa said Nicholas Henderson’s prior association with a
pro-gay church group “made him unsuitable for confirmation.”

The statement followed a special church court of
confirmation, composed of bishops from Malawi, Zambia, Botswana
and Zimbabwe, which considered a petition from church
conservatives to block Henderson’s elevation.

“The court declined to confirm Reverend Nicholas Henderson
as bishop of the Lake Malawi diocese on grounds that … (his)
active association as general secretary of the Modern Church
People’s Union made him unsuitable for confirmation,” the
statement said.

The Anglican church in Malawi has close to 2 million
followers and three dioceses.

Henderson is former chairman of the theologically liberal
and pro-gay Modern Church People’s Union. He was elected on
July 29 to head the Anglican Lake Malawi diocese in the largely
conservative African nation.

STATE OF SHOCK

Archbishop Bernard Malango, who leads the Anglican church
in central Africa, said Henderson’s rejection was directly tied
to his support for gay rights.

“I already informed him about his rejection yesterday and
he is in a state of shock,” Malango told Reuters.

African church leaders have strongly opposed moves by other
Anglican groups to extend broader recognition to gay rights —
spurring fears that the world’s second largest organized church
after Roman Catholicism might split.

The row gained steam amid a worldwide controversy that
engulfed the Anglican Communion following the appointment of
gay U.S. bishop, Gene Robinson, and a Canadian decision to
bless same-sex unions.

Henderson’s supporters in Malawi argued he would help raise
international funds for the church — a role he has played for
some time from his current position as a vicar in London.

His opponents, however, argued strongly against the
appointment, saying his “taboo” views, particularly on
homosexuality, were out of step with Malawi’s values.