Gene Robinson became the ninth Bishop of New Hampshire
Posted on 10/18/2004 9:56:17 AM PDT by NYer
The call was made by the Lambeth Commission, set up after the ordination of Gene Robinson threatened to split the worldwide Anglican church.
Commission chairman Irish Anglican leader Robin Eames concluded: "There remains a very real danger that we will not choose to walk together."
The report called for a moratorium on the consecration of gay candidates.
It demanded an explanation from the Anglican Church in the US, known as Episcopalian, about "how a person living in a same gender union may be considered eligible to lead the flock of Christ".
Scripture must be used to back up the explanation, it added.
'Condemnation'
Many conservative clergy believe the Bible explicitly condemns homosexuality, and African church leaders have also argued it is a strong cultural taboo in many areas on the continent.
However, the report urged all members of the church to work together, while acknowledging that serious divisions exist.
Dr Eames insisted Monday's report was not a judgment but part of an ongoing process.
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There has been talk of crisis, schism and realignment - voices and declarations have portrayed a communion in crisis
Robin Eames
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"It is part of a pilgrimage towards healing and reconciliation."
The report urged the 50 bishops who attended the ordination of Gene Robinson last November as Bishop of New Hampshire to apologise for their actions, but adds that they should not be expelled.
In consecrating Bishop Robinson, the report said, the Episcopal bishops had "acted in the full knowledge that very many people in the Anglican Communion could neither recognise nor receive the ministry as a bishop in the church of God of a person in an openly acknowledged same-gender union".
Dr Eames told BBC World Service's Newshour: "There could have been much more consultation before they took a step that was obviously contrary to the views of a great many Anglicans."
He added: "In a world Anglican family there are no rules, no constitution, to control our relationship with each other.
"While autonomy is important, we have to be realistic that there are certain limitations to it.
"Those limitations turn on when it affects the beliefs, the practice, the confidence of others."
'Express regret'
Conservatives, particularly in the African sections of the church, were outraged over the ordination and several broke ties with the US. Many are still demanding the suspension of the US church.
The report invited the Episcopal Church "to express its regret that the proper constraints of the bonds of affection were breached" in appointing Canon Robinson.
Until there was an apology, those who took part should consider whether to withdraw themselves from functions of the Anglican Communion, the commission said.
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ANGLICAN CHURCH FACTS
70 million baptised members worldwide
38 self-governing Churches
500 dioceses, 30,000 parishes, 64,000 congregations in 164 countries
26 million members in the United Kingdom
17.5 million members in Nigeria
2.5 million members in the US
Most computers will open PDF documents automatically, but you may need to download Adobe Acrobat Reader.
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Dr Eames said: "Since the 1970s, controversies over issues of human sexuality have become increasingly divisive and destructive throughout Christendom."
He said the ordination of Canon Robinson and the blessing of same-sex unions in Canada had uncovered "major divisions throughout the Anglican Communion".
"There has been talk of crisis, schism and realignment. Voices and declarations have portrayed a communion in crisis."
But he told Newshour: "I am confident that we will find our way through this difficulty.
"It will take immense patience, immense courage, but I do believe that there are the seeds already today for a way forward."
'Toothless'
But the Church Society branded the report "toothless" for lacking clear direction over the issue of homosexuality.
"Everyone stressed how important the communion was but not what you do when people undermine that," said the society's Reverend David Phillips.
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HAVE YOUR SAY
The Church must move with the times
Alex K, London. UK
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"I am pretty disappointed with this. I was expecting something much more definite and clear."
Reverend Martin Reynolds, of the Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement, praised the report's "conciliatory " tone.
"This is a document we can work with, this is a church we want to continue to be a part of. We see this as the beginning of the real debate."
I didn't know this about the Anglican Church. This must have been from Christ's e-mail on the Mount.
Or maybe the translation got mixed up...when Christ asks Peter if he loves him, three times, maybe the Anglican translators mixed up "Agape" with "Adobe"
Excellent post! And so true. Many do not know the history of the split in the Episcopalian Church of the past. But the traditional Anglican-Episocpalian church yet lives, thrives, and continues to grow!
>>>Reverend Martin Reynolds, of the Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement, praised the report's "conciliatory " tone.
In case it wasn't clear from the article, this tells you who won.
This document is simply buying time in hopes that conservative anger will die out over time, and like frogs in a pot of boiling water, the Anglicans will get used to it. This is pretty much what I expected from the leadership here.
patent
Ah, the good Bishop Robinson. He had the courage of his concupiscence.
Yet more controversy regarding The Gay Gene.
ANd thus a great communion dissolves into meaninglessness.
We will pray for our brain-dead, lamented and lost brethren.
Having been a lifelong Episcopalian and senior warden of
of the oldest Episcopal church in west Tennessee, I saw the
destruction of a once great church starting almost 10 years ago.
I have not set foot in an Episcopal church in five years,
and have no plans to ever return.
Homosexual Agenda Ping - (thanks, NYer) - there's so much to comment on here I don't know where to start.
Here's the deal - the radical (and remind me again how most homosexuals are just like you and me, conservative, taxpaying, buttoned down churchgoing peaceful monogamous family style folks who don't agree with the "gay" agenda....crickets chirping....) homosexuals push and push, and when conservatives don't want to be pushed quite as far as the homosexuals want, the perverts claim that the conservatives are being divisive.
Then the conservatives have to apologize for not kowtowing 110% to the "gay" agenda and made to go stand in the corner and recite "I will not be a mean hateful homophobe" 100 times.
Keeping some organization together that calls itself a church isn't worth a pinch of nothing if it means denying the absolute morality that God Himself instructed. It's like trying to keep a marriage intact when one spouse abuses the other and cheats continuously. At that point it's not a marriage, even if the pair are living in the same house.
Let me and Scripter know if anyone wants on/off this pinglist.
And to those Anglicans who are disgusted and outraged by the homosexual agenda, more power! They're the real Christians - meaning followers of Christ. The others are imposters - bogus frauds.
This is good, but the left wing dark siders who voted for the perverted one and pushed for gay marriage will ignore it just like Kerry ignores his evil past.
Guess they got tired of all the Episcopalian Chess jokes....
"He added: 'In a world Anglican family there are no rules, no constitution, to control our relationship with each other.'"
Someone please tell me that this is a misquote.
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