Where’s Gene?

July 28, 2008 – 7:00 am

The fears expressed internally by some Lambeth organizers that Gene Robinson, the openly gay bishop of New Hampshire who was excluded from the Lambeth Conference, would take the attention away from the conference are looking more and more unfounded each day. Sure, he has stepped foot at the conference Marketplace, which is open to the public,  (and it happened when we were in the middle of a press conference at the other end of the sprawling University of Kent campus), has held an alternative Opening Service at a local church here, and has been giving interviews to some media (our requests have gone unanswered, so far.)

But other than that, he hasn’t been seen walking around the campus. Accredited Media are barred from covering the bishops’ and most spouses’ sessions but are quite free to walk around the campus and eat in the restaurants. Not so, Gene Robinson, since he isn’t here on any conference capacity.
It’s quite sad, really, but predicting where Gene Robinson will be has resembled the “Where’s Waldo?” game. At a briefing prior to the bishops’ walk in London, someone asked, “Will Gene Robinson be there?” Those who know him say it would have been totally out of character for him to show up like an apparition in the streets of London and take the attention away from the important message of the day: the advocacy for the poor. So, show up, he didn’t.
Anyway, I was talking to my daughter about Gene Robinson the other day and the reasons why he hasn’t been invited and all that, and she noted how painful it must be for him to be excluded. Her comment: It’s so high school.