Do black and Archbishop go together?

[Salu]

Interesting question.

I overheard a conversation this lunchtime about the appointment of the first ever black Archbishop of York. One was saying cynically "Its a politically correct appointment as the annoucement came from No.10 and not the Church of England or Queen. The other was saying what has the colour of skin got to do with anything?

What do you think? The pope was a very democractic appointment. I have no idea how the decision was reached for this chap but maybe someone here has? Is there a political agenda here or is this conspiracy nonsense?

[BBKing]

1) No. 10 always appoints Bishops
2) He was previously Bishop of Birmingham, so he's hardly an unknown
3) Africa isn't exactly short of Anglicans (Desmond Tutu, for instance) and their voice is increasingly important in the Church - having an African (he's from Uganda) in a high position in the Church could be seen as a political appointment rather than a politically correct one.

[Ramrod]

Presumably the choice was primarily made by the church hierarchy so he's probably the best man for the job. His colour, imo, has nothing to do with his faith--how could it?

[punky]

It wouldn't suprise me if it was politically correctness motivated.

There does seem to be a premature push to break boundaries that haven't been broken before, with whoever seems to be around, just to say they have been broken. A black this, a female that, rather than just waiting for it to happen naturally and getting the best possible person for the job. That said, he could well have been the best possible person for the job. How would we know?

Interestingly, some countries seem to trying to avoid that. The US is one good example. If a minority or female ever ran for presidency, they would win easily (even if it was H. Rodham Clinton), but they all seem to be avoiding running for office, because noone wants to be the first. It will set a baseline, for all future minority/females to be judged against, and if it is a failure, the public would be more against it the second time around. So they would rather sit around bitching we will never see a minority/female US president, rather than trying to do something about it.

[orangebird]

Well, apparently Jesus wasn't white, so I can't see the problem with having a black archbishop, regardless of why he was appointed. As long as he does a good job, what's the issue?

Last time I saw a black bishop was when I was kicked in the nether regions during a game of football.............