Should the Archbishop Resign?

Archbishop of Canterbury ‘should resign’ over Sharia row

Well, this is probably not a big surprise to most people, but there are now senior members of the Church of England’s governing body, the Synod, calling for Archbishop Rowan William’s resignation. They don’t think it will happen, but they are trying to show just how much opposition he has these days.

So, what do you think? Is the Archbishop wrong? Has he become incompetent? Or is he just trying to start a debate?

Here is a brief excerpt from the article linked above:

The senior Synod member, who insisted on remaining anonymous, told The Times: “A lot of people will now have lost confidence in him. I am just so shocked, and cannot believe a man of his intelligence could be so gullible. I can only assume that all the Muslims he meets are senior leaders of the community who tell him what a wonderful book the Koran is.

“There have been a lot of calls today for him to resign. I don’t suppose he will take any notice, but yes, he should resign.”

The Bishop of Southwark, the Right RevTom Butler, also challenged the Archbishop’s comments. “It will take a great deal more thought and work before I think it’s a good idea,” he said.

Although the means of forcing an archbishop out of office are so costly and arcane — short of his committing a criminal act, he could never be made to go — the row represents the most serious threat to the authority of his office since he became Archbishop five years ago.

It comes on top of the disintegration of the Anglican Communion in the dispute over homosexuality, with up to a quarter of the world’s 800-plus Anglican bishops intending to boycott the 2008 Lambeth Conference at Kent, and insiders are wondering if Dr Williams’s moral authority has now been damaged almost beyond repair.