Anglican leaders have rejected the appointment of a British reverend to head a diocese in southern Malawi over his support for gay rights, an official said on Friday.
Bishops meeting in the capital Lilongwe last week found that reverend Nicholas Henderson was ”unsuitable for confirmation” as bishop of the diocese of Lake Malawi, said Archbishop Bernard Malango, who heads the Anglican church in Botswana, Malawi, Zimbabwe and Zambia.
Malango cited Henderson’s ”active association” as the general secretary of the Modern Church People’s Union, which advocates gay rights, as one of the reasons for the rejection.
”This actively demonstrated that he was not of sound faith. Quite a number of people were doubting if Reverend Henderson is a man of sound faith and we have found out that he is not,” said Malango in a statement.
He argued that Henderson’s ”links” with the pro-gay movement was ”not compatible with our tradition and faith”.
The church’s provincial court, comprised of bishops from Botswana, Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe, made its ruling after three Christians petitioned the church to block Henderson’s confirmation.
Henderson was elected bishop of the diocese of Lake Malawi in July and was set to be consecrated in October, but concerns about his views on gay rights started to grow within the Malawi church.
The Anglican church has two million followers in Malawi, the third largest Christian church after the Catholic and Protestant churches.
Traditionalist Anglicans including many in Africa were angered last year when United States Episcopalians ordained Gene Robinson as the world’s first openly gay bishop. – Sapa-AFP