A line drawn in sand?

A line has been drawn in the sand by the Bishop of London's decision to ask Pete Broadbent, the Bishop of Willesden, to withdraw from public duties as a result of his facebook comments about the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton.

As several commentators on the decision have noted, bishops in the Church of England and the Anglican Communion "can refuse to attend the Lambeth Conference, criticise the Archbishop publicly, announce how much they hate the CofE and that they intend to leave it, even liken supporters of women's elevation to the episcopate to Nazis" (Alan Frazer) and "claim that married couples who choose not to have children are selfish (Michael Nazir-Ali, former Bishop of Rochester); that Muslims are creating “no-go” areas for non-Muslims in Britain (also Nazir-Ali); and that the Cumbrian floods were in part caused by God's judgment on civil partnerships (Graham Dow, Bishop of Carlisle)" (Symon Hill); all with apparent impunity. But, as Alan Frazer writes, "the one thing that finally provokes unequivocal condemnation and 'suspension' is a Bishop's semi-private moan about a royal wedding."

Together with Symon Hill I think it is clear that, through this decision, the Church of England has given the impression that it regards insults to members of the Windsor family as a more serious offence than those routinely traded in debating these other issues. It would be valuable, although probably unrealistic, to seek to eradicate the culture of insulting opponents in debate but, in the absence of such a development, seeking to establish a hierarchy of those who can and cannot be insulted, as the Bishop of London seems to be doing, is entirely the wrong way to proceed.  

This whole incident also reinforces one of the main points made by the Bishop of Willesden in his original comments and that is the disproportionate power possessed by the media which can destroy reputations and careers (and, as the Bishop was predicting, marriages) with apparent impunity.

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The Clash - Wrong 'Em Boyo.