Unlike many drearily pontificating prelates whom I have met over the years, Gene Robinson stands out as a charismatic figure in his own right. He is friendly, not aloof.
Small and neatly dressed, he speaks clearly and winningly in the language of every day discourse, not in heavy theological jargon. Unlike many other senior churchmen too, he does not duck hard questions which he constantly relates to his religious beliefs as a devout biblical-based Christian. If it was not for his sexual orientation, he would be regarded as a completely orthodox churchman.
When I interviewed him recently in Dublin on his way to Kent, where the conference is being held, he admitted that he was personally disappointed that he alone of the Anglican Communion’s 800 bishops had not been invited by Archbishop Williams to take part in the Lambeth talks.
However, he said that he understood that some of the more conservative national churches would have objected to his official presence. Indeed, almost a quarter of his fellow bishops have refused to attend the Lambeth proceedings and are on the brink of breaking away from mainstream Anglicanism. Bishop Robinson is no stranger to verbal abuse from his colleagues and congregation members.
[i][Bishop Robinson] admitted that he was personally disappointed that he alone of the Anglican Communion’s 800 bishops had not been invited by Archbishop Williams to take part in the Lambeth talks.[/i]
Given the other Bishops who were not invited, this comment does help reveal that Bishop Robinson is not quite the “completely orthodox churchman” Mr. Cooney tries to paint him as. For with a completely orthodox churchman, it wouldn’t be “all about me.” [blockquote]Robinson, however, held firm. He refused, and continues to refuse to recant of his ‘sins’.
He is not the only gay bishop in the Anglican Communion, or for that matter in the Roman Catholic Church. His uniqueness is that he is the only bishop with the moral courage to make his homosexuality an open affair. [/blockquote]Ah, yes, the “moral courage” of a “orthodox churchman.” Seems to me a journalist, of all people, ought to be able to see that while “selfless” and “selfish” may sound similarly, they reflect quite different spirits.