LILONGWE, Malawi — The Anglican Church of Central Africa has rejected the appointment of a British vicar as bishop in Malawi, saying it was because he supported gay rights.
A confirmation court made up of bishops from Botswana, Zambia, Malawi and Zimbabwe concluded Nicholas Henderson was “not of sound faith” because of his association with the Modern Churchpeople’s Union.
In a statement released Dec. 2, the church court in Malawi wrote it had “declined to confirm Reverend Nicholas Henderson as bishop of the Lake Malawi diocese” because his “active association as general secretary of the Modern Churchpeople’s Union made him unsuitable for confirmation.”
Archbishop Bernard Malango, primate of Central Africa, told the BBC World Service’s “Focus on Africa” program that Henderson “has actively demonstrated that he was not of sound faith. That’s what the Court of Confirmation decided.” Bishop Pete Broadbent of Willesden, England, denounced the decision, writing that Henderson had become a casualty in the war between “African fundamentalism and Western liberalism” in a letter posted to the Web site Thinking Anglicans. (TAB)
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