Rowan through the looking-glass

From Get Religion-

How many times do you really want to read the word “nuanced”? You better like it a lot if you intend to glance at recent press accounts of Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan William’s recent statement in the wake of the Epspocpal Church’s decisions at General Convention. Denominational leaders removed canonical barriers to consecrating (more) gay bishops — and officially began the process of moving towards the creation of a gay-union liturgy. Some of the stories are a lot more detailed than others, some more balanced than others. And it’s safe to say that if anyone is happy with the Archbishop’s latest reflections, they aren’t quoted.

But all of the ones I’ve read, without exception, would have been broadened by some more diverse quotes.

The reporters elicit reaction from the usual suspects, reliable partisans geared to crank up the volume a bit in an already changeable situation. And while the articles attempt to interpret what Williams has said (admittedly, often a challenge), no one, outside of the parties most invested, is asked to analyze what it is the Archbishop hopes to achieve.

Here’s a sampling of some of the stories published and posted in the last few days.

Kudos to Julia Duin of the Washington Times for interviewing Archbishop Robert Duncan of the breakaway Anglican Church in North America, the Rev. Susan Russell of the Episcopal gay advocacy group Integrity and the Rev. Phil Ashey of the American Anglican Council, another separatist group. She gets some powerful quotes from them. Duin’s story also conveys well a sense of across-the-board impatience with Williams that certainly is reflected in many blogs and some of the British stories.

More here-

http://www.getreligion.org/?p=15634