Attack on Archbishop of Canterbury Created Furor : Critic of Runcie Believed to Be a Suicide

LONDON —  An Oxford University theologian who apparently committed suicide was identified by church officials Tuesday night as the author of an unprecedented attack on the Archbishop of Canterbury, Robert A. K. Runcie, that created a furor in the Church of England.

Gareth Bennett, 58, an Anglican canon and fellow in modern history at Oxford’s New College, was found dead Monday night in a car in the garage of his home in an Oxford suburb, with a hose leading from the exhaust pipe. Police Chief Inspector Laurie Fray said Bennett apparently died of asphyxiation.

Less than 24 hours later, Bennett was named as the writer of the preface to the 1987-88 edition of “Crockford’s Clerical Directory,” which last week launched a stinging attack on Runcie, spiritual head of the state Church of England and leader of the world’s 70 million Anglicans--including 3 million U.S. Episcopalians.

Bennett had denied writing the article, which drew widespread criticism.

Derek Pattinson, secretary general of the church’s General Synod, and James Shelley, secretary of the church commissioners who control investments, said they invited Bennett to write the preface.

“In accordance with Crockford’s tradition, the preface as published was the text as he gave it to them,” the statement said.

A police spokesman, who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with police regulations, said earlier, “All the indications are that he took his own life.”

Fray said that Bennett, a bachelor who lived alone, apparently left no suicide note.

The Church of England had no comment on the circumstances of the theologian’s death, but Runcie said: “I am appalled and shocked to hear this news. It is a tragic loss of an exceptionally gifted man.”

Crockford’s handbook lists the clergy and is published every two years by the Church of England.

Accused of Being Weak

The writer of the introduction accused Runcie of being weak, ineffectual and easily influenced by liberal pressure groups.

By tradition, the writer of the Crockford preface is guaranteed anonymity as a means of eliciting unfettered comment. But the latest preface, in the personal nature of its criticism, went far beyond anything previously published by the directory.

Bearing the imprimatur of an official church publication, the attack on Runcie caused a furor.

Runcie’s opponents called for his resignation. His supporters launched a media campaign to discover the identity of the critic, whom they accused of cowardice and maliciousness.

Despite his denials, suspicion fell on Bennett as the author because of his association with the church’s conservative wing, his influential position in the church and his academic distinction.

Bennett was on the General Synod’s Standing Committee, which sets the policy-making body’s agenda, and the secretive Crown Appointments Commission, which recommends bishop candidates to the prime minister.

Runcie, 66, archbishop since 1970, is expected to retire before his 70th birthday, according to church precedent. Some observers saw the criticism as an opening shot over the succession.

The Archbishop of York, John Habgood, the church’s No. 2 prelate and a likely successor, accused the writer of the preface of being “sour and vindictive.” Habgood is regarded as representing the church’s liberal faction.

The 453-year-old Church of England has been torn in recent years by doctrinal disputes between liberals and conservatives over such issues as women’s ordination and homosexual clergy.

Canon George Austin, a friend of Bennett, said in a radio interview before the author of the preface was identified that criticism of the Runcie attack and speculation Bennett wrote it may have driven the churchman to kill himself.