Subj: UK: I won't quit, says Holloway



Date: 24 Aug, 1999



Source: Scotsman, The  (UK)

     





I won't quit, says Holloway  



Leader of the Scottish Episcopal Church says his critics 

represent the views of only a minority of members  

DAVID MONTGOMERY  





THE BISHOP of Edinburgh issued a defiant challenge yesterday 

to critics who called for his resignation as leader of the 

Scottish Episcopal Church because of his controversial views 

on drugs and homosexuality.



Traditionalists among the 54,000-member Church have become 

increasingly concerned at remarks by the Most Rev Richard 

Holloway, which they say contradict Christian teachings.



Last week, the churchman admitted experimenting with 

cannabis and called for a Royal commission to review the 

issue at the launch of his book, Godless Morality.



This led to calls for his resignation, amid criticism that 

he had turned his back on trad-itional Christian teaching.



But yesterday Bishop Holloway, 65, said he had no intention 

of resigning and stood by his view that the Church had to be 

an inclusive one.



He said it was now up to his critics, led by the Rev Dr 

Kevin Scott, the rector of St Philip and St James' Church in 

Edinburgh, to decide if they wanted a church which included 

people who welcomed change.



Dr Scott claimed he had received widespread support for his 

criticisms but the bishop said: "Dr Scott has a perfectly 

valid point of view and has made a valid criticism, but the 

real point is: do we want a Church with Richard Holloway and 

Kevin Scott? "I am happy for Kevin Scott to be retained. He 

does not seem to want to retain me as bishop."



He added: "I think it's a valid point and I can see they 

feel very strongly about it, but the real issue for me is 

whether the Christian faith is wide enough to include people 

of my theological and ethical persuasion."



Bishop Holloway said that he was certain that his critics - 

whom he described as an authentic and important voice in the 

Christian tradition - represented the views of only a 

minority of the Church's members.



This interpretation, he said, was underlined by the numerous 

letters, phone calls and e-mails he had received yesterday 

from supportive members of the Church.



"I feel I have a great deal of support. People tell me I 

represent a version of Christianity that keeps them in the 

Church," he said.



"I also know I upset traditionalists. I do not like that and 

it saddens me, but the Scottish Episcopal Church, which I 

was born into, has always been a broad Church and an 

inclusive Church. If it wants to continuein that way, which 

I hope itwill, views like mine have a place, even if they 

are contradictory."



The reaction from clergy and parishioners followed remarks 

made by the bishop this year that sodomy between priests 

ought to be accepted and sadomasochistic sex should be 

tolerated, provided it was consensual.



Bishop Holloway said yesterday that, just as the ethical and 

doctrinal understanding of the Church had evolved in terms 

of the ordination of women, so it would on the issue of 

relations between gay and lesbian people.



He defended his theological viewpoint, which he said was 

perfectly acceptable and an entirely appropriate one for a 

bishop to hold.



"Many people have left the Church as they cannot, with any 

integrity, accept the kinds of opinions expressed by Dr 

Scott," he said.



"This has created a church in exile out there, but in many 

ways they are my parishioners just as much as the people 

back in the fold."



He said it was an important part of a bishop's ministry to 

reach out to these people.



The bishop said he did not think there would be any official 

attempt to remove him from office, such as a referendum or 

"some kind of trial".



Instead he was confident that the Church would be able to 

deal with the matter, even if the arguments were never fully 

resolved.



Dr Scott said that his public criticism of Bishop Holloway 

had been to show people that traditional Christian beliefs 

were still alive in the Episcopalian Church. He said that a 

lot of people had contacted him yesterday expressing 

appreciation at what he had said.



"What I wanted to do was to make it quite clear to the whole 

of our Church that there is still a strong and dependable, 

more traditional position of Christian belief," he said.



"The whole faith has not been taken over by Richard Hollo-

way's position. It was beginning to be thought that the 

Episcopalian Church was where Richard Holloway's position 

prevailed and not much else."



Dr Scott admitted that it would be "fruitless and very 

destructive" to try and remove the bishop from his position 

as head of the Church with a witchhunt.



Instead, he said his remarks had made people aware that 

there was a strong body of the Church that held fast to 

Christian values.



He added: "I do not believe his remarks are consistent with 

being a bishop. I think there's an inconsistency between his 

recent publication and his task as a bishop. But the problem 

will resolve itself anyway."



Dr Scott said by this he meant that Bishop Holloway was 

nearing retirement age and it was rumoured that he was "on 

the move" anyway.



"The Church is quite patient. We are quite happy to wait for 

a year or two. In the meantime I wanted to reassure people 

of the Church's solid Christianity and that they do not have 

to give up hope."