A Curious Eye

LONDON — Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams has admitted he didn’t do enough to prevent sharp divisions within the Anglican church over homosexuality.

Williams, who is stepping down in December, spent much of his decade as archbishop trying to hold the diverse Anglican Communion together after the ordination of the first openly homosexual Anglican bishop, American Gene Robinson, split traditionalists, such as African churches, and liberals.

“I don’t think I’ve got it right over the last 10 years. It might have helped a lot if I’d gone sooner to the United States when things began to get difficult about the ordination of gay bishops, and engaged more directly,” he told Britain’s Daily Telegraph newspaper in an interview published Saturday. “I know that I’ve, at various points, disappointed both conservatives and liberals.”

The archbishop reiterated the church’s opposition to gay marriage but said it had been “wrong” in its past treatment of homosexuals.

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