The tenure of Rowan Williams has been notable for the failure of his unceasing efforts to find an Hegelian synthesis or middle ground in every either/or conundrum with which he has been faced. It didn’t work with the battle over actively homosexual priests and bishops, with the blessing of same-sex unions or with the mushy Anglican Covenant, but Williams thought he’d give it another go with the division over women bishops in the Church of England.

It didn’t work.

He seems to suffer from a congenital inability to take a side: even his private opinions about homosexual marriage are at odds with the official view his position compels him to maintain. The resulting theological schizophrenia seems to have spilled over into his entire ministry creating the boggy quagmire from which only his retirement can extricate him – but not his church – at the end of this year.

From here:

The Archbishop of Canterbury made a humiliating apology to the Church of England yesterday for the latest fiasco over women bishops.

Dr Rowan Williams spoke of ‘penitence’ as the bishops asked the Church’s parliament, the General Synod, for another three months to make up their minds over how to draw up a new law about the place of women.

It would allow women priests to be promoted for the first time to the leadership ranks of the bishops. It has already taken the CofE 12 years of agonising to get to the brink of consecrating its first woman bishop.

But yesterday the Synod voted for another delay after Dr Williams admitted that, together with his fellow bishops, he had badly misjudged an attempt at a compromise.

Supporters of women bishops were so angry that they were poised to vote down the new Church law.