I think Rowan has a to keep perspective that spans beyond the US and the UK. If he had said “immediate justice right now” then there would be no possibility of progress, witness, and support for the struggle for justice in other places in the Anglican Communion. Does this mean that Rowan and other Anglican leaders must sometimes fail to demand immediate justice for everyone, right now? Of course. Sadly. And perhaps cruelly.

However, the struggle for justice is different in other places. In many countries, as you know, the mere conversation about sexuality will get one beaten or jailed. In these places, the ongoing relationship with the US church is vital. It might be a matter of life and death. When I was in Tanzania, we met with local GLBT Tanzanians, who were greatly bolstered by our presence. These relationships would have been severed if Anglicans said that the American view must be agreed immediately.

I say all this as a person who benefits from every possible category of privilege. It is not my place, nor is it my intention, to suggest that anyone should just sit quietly in the proverbial back seat. Rather, my intention is to suggest that the global context makes this all vastly more complex.

I think of Florence Li Tim-Oi, Martin Luther King, and others. The struggle for justice was — I think — always loving and rooted in the conviction that justice needed to be for all not some.

Perhaps history will judge Rowan poorly. Or perhaps it will be said that he kept things together so that lives could change in Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda, and yes, even America.

I’d welcome other thoughts.

Peace,
Scott

P.S. I want to be clear that I don’t think Rowan is perfect. Far from it. Rather, he is not the moral and leadership failure that both the far right and the far left say.