July
23, 2002
Official
Statement from the Episcopal Bishop of Southeast Florida, The
Right Reverend Leo Frade, on the appointment of Rowan Williams
as the 104th Archbishop of Canterbury
We
are indeed very pleased with the appointment of Rowan Williams,
the present Archbishop of Wales, as the 104th Archbishop
of Canterbury. He is the first bishop from outside the Church
of England to rise to the post for more than 300 years. He was
born and raised in south Wales. He is married to Jane Paul,
daughter of a missionary bishop in India and they have two children,
a fourteen year old, Rhiannon and a six year old, Pip.
I
had the pleasure of meeting him personally and was extremely
impressed with him when we worked together during the 1998 Lambeth
Conference on the issue of the World Debt. My impression of
Rowan is that he is a very unassuming person, with great humility,
and is very accessible. When he speaks he engages his listeners
and involves you in dialogue. He has the ability of making religion
interesting to all, even those who may disagree with him. He
also has strong views on issues of social exclusion and war.
He is known as a good pastor for his bishops, clergy and laity,
and also as a very bright theologian, preacher and teacher.
He taught both at the universities of Cambridge and Oxford and
is the author of several books on theology, as well as poetry.
Archbishop
Williams is familiar with the United States, as he has visited
us many times.
I
consider his theology very orthodox and also very pastoral,
making him the appropriate person to deal and help to heal this
broken world of ours as he leads the Anglican Communion to fulfill
God’s will for us. I ask your prayers for the new Archbishop
of Canterbury
