Posted on 10/19/2003 12:28:01 PM PDT by ahadams2
Anglicans near split over Bishop 'A huge crisis':
Diocese leader says 'religious prejudice' is the real divide
Joseph Brean
National Post, with files from The Daily Telegraph
Saturday, October 18, 2003
The worldwide Anglican Church stands ready to split over a Vancouver diocese's approval of same-sex unions and the imminent ordination of a gay American bishop.
Dr. Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury, said yesterday "a huge crisis" over homosexuality remains unresolved and could lead his Church to splinter, despite a crisis meeting of the leaders at a 13th-century London palace this week.
It was called in part because the diocese of New Westminster in British Columbia gave its approval earlier this year to same-sex unions, which are sanctioned by the diocese but not legally binding.
The 37 church leaders, called primates, said in a statement the decision has caused "profound pain and uncertainty," and that "these actions threaten the unity of our own Communion."
Michael Ingham, Bishop of New Westminster, said yesterday he feels no regret over his firm stance on the matter, despite its dire effects on the Church.
"If [the primates' statement] is a rebuke against us, then we accept it on behalf of gay and lesbian people," he said.
"It's not inclusivity that's dividing the Communion, it's religious prejudice.... The great tragedy, of course, of those who want to split the Communion, is that they want to silence the voices of people they disagree with."
A group of 10 churches rejected Bishop Ingham's acceptance of same-sex unions and now regard him as a "rogue bishop."
A spokesman for these churches, which represent about a quarter of all B.C. Anglicans, said a split is inevitable unless Bishop Ingham budges and accepts the traditional teachings of the Church against homosexuality.
"The idea that the Church could split gives us no satisfaction, it gives us no joy," Lesley Bentley said.
Conservative regions of the Church, notably much of Africa and Southeast Asia, have said they will break ties with the U.S. wing in two weeks, upon the Nov. 2 ordination of Gene Robinson, the gay bishop-elect of New Hampshire. A conservative faction of churches in the United States also intends to denounce the ordination and dissociate itself from its liberal brethren.
The New Hampshire diocese intends to proceed, though, saying his sexual orientation is "incidental to his call to serve as our bishop."
"This will tear the fabric of our Communion at its deepest level," the primates said in a statement, adding the situation in Canada has played an equally divisive role.
The worldwide Anglican Church, known in the United States as Episcopalianism, is divided into provinces, which retain significant autonomy in matters of canon law and religious practice. However, unlike in the Roman Catholic Church, bishops do not retain control over individual parishes.
This has contributed to the crisis, with the 10 churches appealing to a more conservative bishop in Yukon to take over their religious administration.
Dr. Williams said the conference of the primates encouraged them to try to stick together despite their differences.
"What we have achieved is at least to find some way of talking through the crisis without instantly jumping into what appear to be quick solutions," he said.
Asked whether he believed Rev. Robinson should become a bishop, he replied: "No, I don't, because I believe that on a major issue of this kind, the Church has to make a decision together."
Dr. Williams said the issue left the Church "with a huge challenge about co-ordinating its discipline and its legal systems across the world, which we have never had to do before."
ANGLICAN CHURCH MEMBERSHIP WORLDWIDE:
England 26M
Nigeria 17.5M
Uganda 8M
Australia 3.8M
Sudan 5M
U.S. 2.4M
Kenya 2.5M
Tanzania 2M
Southern Africa 2M
South Africa, Mozambique,
Namibia, Lesotho, Swaziland
West Indies 777,000
Canada 686,000
South Central Africa
600,000
Botswana, Malawi
Zambia,
Zimbabwe
New Zealand 584,000
Source: BBC News
Oh, liability, I disclaim thee!
If only we could mute the gay lobby. For such a small percentage of the population they sure have a large marketing department. That and the useful idiots that take up every "social justice" cause forcing us to listen to their depravity from every housetop.
Discusting! Arrogant! Belligerant!
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