Oh, Sweet Schadenfreude

The Lead reports that Archbishop Akinola has been denied entry into Jordan, where the GaffeProne conference was to begin. They report:

This is an embarrassing beginning to the GAFCON conference of conservative Anglicans who now plan to leave Jordan for Jerusalem three days early.
The GAFCON planners have issued a press release saying that the archbishop flew into Tel Aviv, but was not allowed to cross into Jordan because "previously granted permission was deemed insufficient." The Jordanians apparently told Akinola that he needed clearances beyond those afforded by his diplomatic passport.
Readers of the Café will remember that Akinola, a fierce critic of Islam, has refused to answer questions about his knowledge of, or involvement in, the retributive massacre of some 700 Muslim in the town of Yelwa in northern Nigeria in 2004.

It may be that Akinola has encouraged terrorism. Without a doubt, Akinola is a leading "bad guy" on the human rights front, as even the Bush administration and the United Nations have decried his support for draconian measures against those who might advocate gay rights in Nigeria.

So … Jordan has found "something amiss" and won't let him into the meeting where some of us believe he was expecting coronation as the Leader of the Really Truly Orthodox Bible-Believing Twig of the Anglican Communion^TM. Wouldn't it be nice if the U.S. government would take similar actions to this hate-spewing man?

No … That's too much to hope.

For now, I'll just enjoy the Jordanian action.

Ruth Gledhill also has the story, including this:

So the 100 or so who are at the small, behind-closed-doors meeting in Amman are packing their bags and tomorrow morning, getting on a bus to Jerusalem. The plan originally was not to go to the Holy Land until Sunday.
….
Sources at the conference tell me that the Nigerian delegation landed in Tel Aviv and went to the northern crossing point. Archbishop Akinola was travelling on his diplomatic passport. After being questioned for four hours, he was turned back, although the rest of the Nigerian delegation was allowed in. He got his passport back, and apparently was told that they needed a particular clearance on a diplomatic passport which he did not possess.

Wouldn't you love to know what motivated that four-hour period of questioning?

Incidentally, remember that language on the GAFCON registration pages said the conference organizers wouldn't be liable for any financial losses? Well … now that the whole gang is going to hustle off to Jerusalem earlier than planned (in hopes, I suppose, that Akinola can get into Israel), I wonder how many prepaid travel costs will be forfeited. … I'm just wondering …

Gledhill also quotes a report from the infamous David Virtue as saying:

Nigerian Archbishop Peter Akinola was not given a visa to Jordan, even though he holds a diplomatic passport, thus throwing the leaders of the consultation into dismay because of the important role he was to play at this assembly of orthodox Anglicans.

Now, because these are Really Truly Orthodox Bible-Believing Anglicans^TM, I suspect they are decamping to Jerusalem without any worldly goods, carrying only the clothes on their backs.

Yes, I'm guilty of schadenfreude. The Anglican Bishop is Jerusalem and the primate in the Middle East begged Akinola and GAFCON not to bring their hate into that troubled region, but the Really Truly Orthodox Bible-Believing Twig of the Anglican Communion^TM would not be dissuaded.