New Archbishop of York is number 99, but also a first

New Archbishop of York is number 99, but also a first
Sydney Morning Herald (subscription), Australia

The first black archbishop in the Church of England, John Sentamu, has said he would be prepared to ordain women bishops and has condemned the language used by some in the Anglican communion about gay men and lesbians.

The Ugandan-born Dr Sentamu, 56, formerly Bishop of Birmingham, was confirmed in his appointment as Archbishop of York, the second most senior post in the hierarchy of the Church of England, at the church of St Mary-Le-Bow in London on Wednesday.

The new archbishop, who was a judge in Uganda in the mid-1970s before fleeing persecution by the regime of Idi Amin, now takes his place as Primate of England and Metropolitan at the head of the Church of England's 14 dioceses between the River Humber and the Scottish border.

He is the 99th such archbishop in a line stretching back to Paulinus in the year 625.

Before Wednesday's ceremony he commented on modern concerns afflicting the Anglican communion, which is in danger of self-destruction worldwide because of divisions over homosexuals in the clergy and whether women clergy could one day be bishops.

He said he disapproved of the language in which the gay debate is being conducted, particularly by some African archbishops.

"What is wrong in the world is that people are sinful and alienate themselves from God, and you do not have to be gay to do that," Dr Sentamu said. "To suggest that to be gay equals evil, I find that quite unbelievable."

He said he would consecrate women as bishops if permitted.

The Guardian