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Asia clerics assail vote to approve gay bishop
International Hearld Tribune ^ | 8/06/03 | (Compiled by IHT Staff From Dispatches AP, Reuters

Posted on 08/06/2003 11:10:45 AM PDT by Dane

SYDNEY, Asian religious leaders on Wednesday condemned the appointment by the U.S. Episcopal Church of its first openly gay bishop, warning that regional Anglican bishops might consider cutting ties with their American sister church.

In Britain, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, who is spiritual leader of the Church of England and of the Anglican Communion, said that the bishop's confirmation would have a "significant impact" on the worldwide Anglican Communion, but he appealed to opponents not to react rashly.

The U.S. church reached its historic decision after rejecting accusations of sexual misconduct against the Reverend Gene Robinson.

In an election Tuesday, 62 of 107 American diocesan bishops voted to approve him.

Moments later, more than a dozen conservatives among the bishops denounced the decision as an affront to church teaching and said it would split the worldwide church in two.

Reaction from Anglicans around the world was not long in coming.

In Australia, Peter Jensen, the Sydney archbishop, said the new gay bishop would not be welcome in his diocese and urged opponents in the United States to fight the decision by withholding contributions to church coffers.

"For the first time, a branch of our Anglican church has knowingly appointed a person to this senior position who lives in breach of the Bible," he said.

"It impacts on all of us because when a branch of the church does this, its teachings become compromised."

He said the decision was "catastrophic" for the church, and the start of a "loosening of ties" within the Anglican communion.

"Practicing homosexuality is culturally and legally not acceptable here," said Bishop Lim Cheng Ean, the leader of the Anglican Church of West Malaysia.

Lim said Southeast Asian Anglican bishops might discuss cutting ties with the U.S. church at a previously scheduled meeting next week because of Robinson's appointment.

"We will be having a meeting of the bishops of the province next week. We may discuss this then and a decision may be taken then," he said.

There are four Southeast Asian dioceses- Kuching, Singapore, West Malaysia and Sabah.

John Dayal, vice president of All India Catholics Union, also denounced the decision.

"The election of a gay bishop is a blatant aggravation of societal norms, and in India it certainly will not be acceptable," Dayal said.

"Irrespective of denomination, Indian bishops and clergy in international forums have opposed both gay matrimony as well as the ordination and consecration of priests and bishops," Dayal added.

But the head of Australia's Anglican Church, Peter Carnley, rejected fears that the decision could tear apart the Anglican community.

"I don't think it's a communion-breaking issue," said Carnley, who is considered a liberal voice in Australia's Anglican community.

The Episcopal Church, with 2.3 million members, is the U.S. branch of the global Anglican Communion, which has 77 million members and has been debating the role of gays for decades.

Robinson, a 56-year-old divorced father of two, has been living with his male partner for 13 years and serving as an assistant to the current New Hampshire bishop, who is retiring. Parishioners there said they chose Robinson simply because he was the best candidate.

In Minneapolis, where the vote was held, conservative bishops decried the decision.

"The bishops who stand before you are filled with sorrow," said Bishop Robert Duncan of the Diocese of Pittsburgh.

"This body has divided itself for millions of Anglican Christians around the world, brothers and sisters who have pleaded with us to maintain the church's traditional teaching on marriage and sexuality. With grief too deep for words, the bishops who stand before you must reject this action."

Duncan, who had fought Robinson's approval for weeks, said he and his colleagues would call on the top leaders of the Anglican Communion - the 38 primates around the world - to intervene on the "pastoral emergency that has overtaken" the Episcopal Church.

"May God have mercy on this church," he said.

But others rejoiced in the decision, praising the popular bishop-elect for his work and saying the decision marked another barrier overtaken by church leaders

"It's a great day for the church," the Reverend Sandye Wilson, of the Minnesota Diocese, said.

"This is a church which has finally understood that men and women created in the vision of God can be the guardians of the faith - and be gay or lesbian."

Supporters say the decision will bring new people - especially young ones - into the church.

But opponents say that the reverse will occur; they fear that people will stay away from their churches this weekend, stop giving donations and wonder what the church has come to represent

Robinson said that his approval was a "tiny sign" of a broader movement in the church and across the United States in the acceptance of gays and lesbians.

"I think we're seeing the moving into a mature adulthood" about the treatment of gay people, he said.

The presiding bishop, Frank Griswold, said the decision did not resolve the issues about homosexuality for the church.

"What it does do," he said, "is place squarely before us the question of how a community can live in the tension of disagreement." (AP, NYT)


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: 62to45vote; 62votes; asia; australia; condemned; fallout; homosexualbishop
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"It's a great day for the church," the Reverend Sandye Wilson, of the Minnesota Diocese, said.

"This is a church which has finally understood that men and women created in the vision of God can be the guardians of the faith - and be gay or lesbian."

The above passage sounds like a Hillary campaign slogan.

1 posted on 08/06/2003 11:10:45 AM PDT by Dane
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To: Dane
Ichabod is being painted over their doors as we speak!
2 posted on 08/06/2003 11:11:33 AM PDT by LiteKeeper
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To: Dane
Isn't it great that these so-called "Turd Worlders" (according to many paleos on FR) are now more doctrinally sound than most mainstream Western churches? Maybe someday (if we're lucky) they'll send their missionaries to save us.
3 posted on 08/06/2003 11:13:33 AM PDT by Texas_Dawg ("...They came to hate their party and this president... They have finished by hating their country.")
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To: LiteKeeper
Excuse me for not knowing, but who or what is Ichabod.

JMO, but the Episcopalians are now unitarians.

4 posted on 08/06/2003 11:15:21 AM PDT by Dane
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To: Dane
How very sad, the church of C. S. Lewis, how sad....
5 posted on 08/06/2003 11:20:13 AM PDT by reflecting
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To: Texas_Dawg
Isn't it great that these so-called "Turd Worlders" (according to many paleos on FR) are now more doctrinally sound than most mainstream Western churches? Maybe someday (if we're lucky) they'll send their missionaries to save us

JMO, but to some of the paleos on FR, the color of skin determines ones character, rather than the content of their religious beliefs.

6 posted on 08/06/2003 11:20:30 AM PDT by Dane
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To: Texas_Dawg
There are several foreign evangelical church organizations which already send their missionaries here.

My aunt is a charismatic missionary, and travels to africa and India quite often, and what they tell her is that they're praying for the church in the USA.
7 posted on 08/06/2003 11:23:22 AM PDT by Guillermo (Proud Infidel)
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To: Dane
JMO, but to some of the paleos on FR, the color of skin determines ones character, rather than the content of their religious beliefs.

Yep.

8 posted on 08/06/2003 11:23:23 AM PDT by Texas_Dawg ("...They came to hate their party and this president... They have finished by hating their country.")
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To: Dane
Ichabod is a Hebrew word that means "Where is the Glory," a reference to an Israelite who was given that name after the Philistines captured the Ark of Covenant.
9 posted on 08/06/2003 11:25:04 AM PDT by Angelus Errare
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To: reflecting
How very sad, the church of C. S. Lewis, how sad....

That's been one of my most frequent thoughts through all this. Gay? How about the fact that he's unapologetically divorced as well? Have any of these people supporting this guy even read C.S. Lewis? Do they even know who he was? Do they even have a clue what the Gospel is about?

10 posted on 08/06/2003 11:25:12 AM PDT by Texas_Dawg ("...They came to hate their party and this president... They have finished by hating their country.")
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To: reflecting
How very sad, the church of C. S. Lewis, how sad....

And why "mere Chrisianity," however laudable, is incomplete.
11 posted on 08/06/2003 11:26:36 AM PDT by polemikos (Ecce Agnus Dei)
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To: Dane
SYDNEY, Asian religious leaders on Wednesday condemned the appointment by the U.S. Episcopal Church of its first openly gay bishop, warning that regional Anglican bishops might consider cutting ties with their American sister church.

Warnings are only effective before the fact. They have fired on us. Now only action counts.

12 posted on 08/06/2003 11:26:37 AM PDT by GOP Jedi
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To: Dane
1 Samuel 4:21 And she called the boy Ichabod, saying, "The glory has departed from Israel," because the ark of God was taken and because of her father-in-law and her husband.
13 posted on 08/06/2003 11:28:10 AM PDT by LiteKeeper
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To: polemikos
And why "mere Chrisianity," however laudable, is incomplete.

Not really. This isn't even Christianity as these people clearly don't understand who Jesus Christ was. And I don't say that just because they support homosexuality but because by their very words it is so clear they don't know the Lord.

14 posted on 08/06/2003 11:29:52 AM PDT by Texas_Dawg ("...They came to hate their party and this president... They have finished by hating their country.")
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To: All
There has been a long and often close relationship between
the Anglican and Catholic Churches. In certain situations
there remains a mutual recognition of the validity of key
doctrines, liturgies, and practices. And the Catholic
Church continues to hold the faith and moral teachings as
taught by the Apostles.

I understand that there is also an Anglican Use liturgy
within the Catholic Church, wherein the Book of Common Prayer
(with minor updates) is used for the Mass. So there is no need
to lose the liturgy Anglicans are familiar with.
This Mass is valid for all Catholics as well.

Resources for those interested in understanding the Catholic faith:

Catholic Answers
www.catholic.com
A superb site for clearing away the myths propagated by too many.
Offers free on-line library that examines all the major issues,
free on-line archive of over 1,500 hours of radio/audio material,
plus magazines, books, pamphlets, tracts, videos, and more.

Coming Home Network
www.chnetwork.org
Provides fellowship, encouragement and support for Protestant
pastors and laymen who are somewhere along the journey or
have already been received into the Catholic Church.

Biblical Evidence for Catholicism
www.biblicalcatholic.com
Dave Armstrong's monster site. Eclectic, fun, exhaustingly
detailed, personal, moving, and more.

May the Word be a lamp unto your feet and a light unto your path.
15 posted on 08/06/2003 11:31:19 AM PDT by polemikos (Ecce Agnus Dei)
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To: reflecting
How in God's name can they Bishop's accept a direct denial of the Biblical teachings. Both old and new testaments, Genesis, Leviticus and in the new Romans identify the abomination and great sin that homosexual activity projects in the eyes of the Lord. They claim to follow the teachings of Jesus, I think not this is Satan that they are following. God have mercy on their souls.
16 posted on 08/06/2003 11:35:25 AM PDT by gakrak
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To: Dane
"The bishops who stand before you are filled with sorrow," said Bishop Robert Duncan of the Diocese of Pittsburgh.

He was standing there when he should have been walking out.

17 posted on 08/06/2003 11:41:22 AM PDT by uglybiker (I think I drink more beer than anything. Ever try to drink a case of Cokes?)
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To: Dane
"This is a church which has finally understood that men and women created in the vision of God can be the guardians of the faith - and be gay or lesbian."

The queer-supporting bishops believe that God didn't make Adam and Eve but Adam and Steve and Amy and Eve to operate their churches and teach their religious beliefs. An example of satanic thinking.
18 posted on 08/06/2003 11:42:48 AM PDT by lilylangtree
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To: gakrak
For them the Bible is not true, it is sort-of-kinda-true-sometimes-maybe, thus it is a tiny step for them to embrace the common culture of homosexuality.

What puzzles me is why hold on to the trappings of a church at all...for the beauty of the buildings or the lovely music....??? what is the motivation.....?

I keep thinking of Lewis's last volume of his space trilogy....the corrupted language, the soft spoken gentle heresy.

19 posted on 08/06/2003 11:57:54 AM PDT by reflecting
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To: gakrak
For them the Bible is not true, it is sort-of-kinda-true-sometimes-maybe, thus it is a tiny step for them to embrace the common culture of homosexuality.

What puzzles me is why hold on to the trappings of a church at all...for the beauty of the buildings or the lovely music....??? what is the motivation.....?

I keep thinking of Lewis's last volume of his space trilogy....the corrupted language, the soft spoken gentle heresy.

20 posted on 08/06/2003 11:58:04 AM PDT by reflecting
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