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Episcopal Bishop Criticizes Pope on Gays By RACHEL ZOLL, AP Religion Writer Wed Nov 9, 4:34 PM ET The first openly gay Episcopal bishop insisted Wednesday he was not encouraging Roman Catholics to leave their church when he criticized its view of homosexuals during a recent speech in London. New Hampshire Bishop V. Gene Robinson, at a service Friday commemorating the 10th anniversary of Changing Attitude, a British group which advocates full inclusion of gays in the Anglican faith community, noted during his talk that many Catholics in his home state were becoming Episcopalian. "Pope Ratzinger may be the best...

This past year I received an email from someone who said “My wife and I have become Catholic as we could in no way support the ECUSA and the division which has taken place.” As is my practice, I wrote back and said I appreciated hearing from them and asked for their prayers. I also wrote this person back and asked him if he could say more about why he did what he did.Here is his response to my request–KSH.“I became an Episcopalian around 1979 when many changes were taking place in the church, but frankly I was not aware...

A liberal Episcopal group is crafting a strategy to disenfranchise about 16 conservative bishops if the denomination's pivotal General Convention next year in Columbus, Ohio, results in a church split. Informally named the "Day After" for the aftermath of the June 13-21 event, the strategy outlines a way to file canonical charges against conservative bishops, unseat them from their dioceses, have interim bishops waiting to replace them and draft lawsuits ready to file before secular courts for possession of diocesan property. The strategy was revealed in a leaked copy of minutes drafted at a Sept. 29 meeting in Dallas of...

The first openly gay bishop in the Episcopal Church is predicting a division in the Anglican Communion two years after U.S. church leaders triggered global outrage by approving his election.“This is at least as much about power and control as it is about theology and Scripture,” New Hampshire Bishop V. Gene Robinson told The Associated Press in an interview. “It’s about who’s going to be calling the shots, and who’s going to be in and who’s going to be out….”The Rev. Martyn Minns, an American Anglican Council board member, notes the U.S. church confirmed Robinson despite being asked not to...

SACRAMENTO -- For Assemblyman Simon Salinas — a moderate, middle-ground hugging Democrat — deciding how to vote on the gay marriage bill was a stark proposition. "On the one hand, the people have voted for Prop. 22; they've said that marriage is between a man and a woman," Salinas, who is considering a run for higher office, said Wednesday. "On the other, I've always been a strong supporter of civil rights. Sometimes you just have to make unpopular decision. I just figured it was time." Salinas, from the Monterey County town of the same name, was one of three lawmakers...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Hurricane Katrina delivered a heavy political blow to President George W. Bush, potentially crippling his second-term domestic agenda and undermining Republican prospects in next year's congressional elections, political analysts said on Tuesday. ....

The images of New Orleans are still fresh. Most of us are overwhelmed with a sense of rage and shame. Our government's failure renews feelings that haven't been part of the national conversation since the days of Jimmy Carter. Carter's administration was defined by helplessness in the face of rising gas prices, America held hostage in the Middle East and a tanking economy. President Bush now finds himself in almost the same position. Thirty years ago, Carter told the nation to turn down the thermostat and wear sweaters. President Bush said fill up your car only when you really need...

Not only is the Diocese of Northwest Texas in a cash “crunch” for the present, but “it appears that without help from individual members of the diocese, our situation will continue to deteriorate,” according to the bishop, the Rt. Rev. C. Wallis Ohl, Jr., who issued an appeal to individual members on Aug. 15. “In the eight years I have been bishop of Northwest Texas, I have refrained from asking our people to support the budget above their parish giving,” Bishop Ohl said. “However, the time has come for those of us who are able to assist with a one-time...

Church size and a limited number of available priests challenge the Episcopal Church in Iowa. The Rev. Kate Campbell is an Episcopal priest who served Grace Episcopal Church in Charles City for 18 years until the end of May. “It came down to dollars,” said Ron Noah, warden. Numbers dwindled at the parish, he said. It wasn’t possible to continue supporting her at the same level. Members hope their church, which was established in the 1870s, will be able to remain open although it currently has fewer than 20 members, Noah said. The tiny congregation continues to meet for morning...

After almost two years of "going it on our own," West Virginia Anglicans has officially affiliated with the American Anglican Council! We are now officially part of the largest and fastest growing orthodox Anglican advocacy group in the Episcopal Church. We are honored and proud to be working alongside the brave folks in the AAC! Click on "Continued . . . " below to read the full press release.TRADITIONAL WV EPISCOPALIANS AFFILIATE WITH AMERICAN ANGLICAN COUNCIL ATLANTA, GA – Earlier this month, the American Anglican Council (AAC), an Atlanta-based national advocacy group for Episcopalians who continue to believe that the...

LONG BEACH - When All Saints Church in Belmont Heights split from the Los Angeles Episcopal Diocese in October, it became part of a rich, fractious tradition that dates back to when King Henry VIII created the Church of England and cut ties with the Roman Catholic Church. Biblical, doctrinal and social schisms have been a part of Anglicanism and the Episcopal Church ever since. So have defections. In the late 1970s, the issue of ordination of women into the clergy rocked the Episcopal Church of the United States of America. Approval of the ordination of women, along with proposed...

SANTA ANA, Calif. - A judge tentatively ruled Thursday that a Newport Beach parish that left the Episcopal Diocese in a dispute over a gay bishop's ordination is the rightful owner of its building and property. Superior Court Judge David Velasquez delayed a final decision until Monday, when he will hear more arguments. His initial ruling sided with attorneys for St. James Church in Newport Beach who argued that a lawsuit in which the Episcopal Diocese is seeking control of the property interfered with St. James parishioners' freedom of speech. The judge said the church had initially demonstrated that "they...

In light of Archbishop Akinola’s statement on the Church of England’s new policy permitting same-sex civil partnerships, it seems the cracks in the Anglican Communion are growing wider. Back on May 30th , I expressed my amazement at ++Rowan Williams’ support of this new policy and painted in stark terms its implications for the Communion. I would probably be slightly more tactful now, but I wrote: I seriously doubt any reasonable hope remains of keeping the Anglican Communion together save the Queen asking him to step down, which I don’t expect. Up to now, the Global South clergy could say...

WRITTEN ON THE WIND – PART 2 : Iraqi USE of WMD During Present Conflict In Part One , it was stated the Iraqis had launched theater ballistic missiles-some loaded with “kill shots” of dangerous biotoxins: anthrax, botulinum, ricin,and aflatoxin. These didn’t hit any Coalition troops – in large part, because the troops weren’t where Saddam expected them to be ( thanks,in part, to a clever deception carried off by US Counter-Intelligence agents.) There was another factor: bad weather. On March 25,2003-right after the Iraqi missile launches,one of the worst sandstorms in recent memory swept through the country: slowing the...

WRITTEN ON THE WIND – WMD USE IN IRAQ (Part One) Dedicated to the “Bush-Lied-People-Died “ Crowd : Greg Palast, Michael Moore ,Gerald Pressler, Mark Yannone,ANSWER,and MoveON. Before the dust of battle settled in Baghdad ; while lovable Baghdad Bob was still telling rapt BBC reporters Saddam was in control of the situation,a chant began to rise-here and abroad. Where are the Weapons of Mass Destruction ? Show us the WMDs ! For all your self-proclaimed intelligence, you were asking the wrong question: the right one being “Where is the rest of Saddam Hussein’s ammunition ?” (The answer – “...

One of six Episcopal priests who had opposed the Connecticut Anglican bishop’s support for the ordination of a gay bishop was temporary banned from his church Wednesday. The Bishop who took this first step toward defrocking blamed an unauthorized sabbatical for the move; the six priests blamed the Bishop. Bishop Andrew D. Smith “inhibited” the Rev. Mark Hansen – rector of St. John’s Church since 1990 – from his duties for the next six months. Hansen had been on sabbatical since April 10 – a move the bishop said was detrimental to the church. In Hansen’s place, the bishop installed...

He's a movie star now. Yes, Arizona senator and aspiring presidential candidate John McCain recently made his cinematic debut in this summer's bawdy romantic comedy "Wedding Crashers." The cameo appearance may create a big-screen problem for McCain, though, and it doesn't have anything to do with his Clinton-defending cameo co-star James Carville. It has to do with the flick's thoroughly warranted R rating. In the movie, Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn portray divorce mediators who crash weddings and seduce bridal attendants. There's a fast-moving montage in the film, done in the style of a music video, where Vaughn and Wilson's...

The Episcopal Church Self-Destructs over Homosexuality Episcopalians Defend the Consecration of a "Gay" Bishop By Allan Dobras The Episcopal Church has been flirting with a disastrous schism for the last thirty-five years, and now a formal breakup seems inevitable following an unapologetic June 17–22, 2005, appearance before the Anglican Consultative Council (ACC) in Nottingham, England. The purpose of the meeting was to hear the church's defense of its consecration of "gay" Bishop V. Gene Robinson. Over the years, the denomination continued to hang together as it blundered through several divisive issues while causing its rolls to plummet by about 1.3...

Nearly 300 Church of England clergy are unsure of the existence of God, according to a report released today. The study refers to "very fragile fault-lines along which the Church of England could be torn apart." 97 percent of committed Anglicans are clean about the existence of God and have no hesitation in verifying His existence. However, one out of every 33 clergy members doubt God’s existence. This means that nearly 300 clergy among 9,000 from the Church of England could doubt the existence of God. Compared to the liberal clergy, the congregations are more conservative. Eight out of ten...

Another Episcopal congregation leaves ECUSA.News Release Elizabethtown Congregation Leaves Episcopal Church More than 100 former members of Christ Church, Elizabethtown, KY are leaving the Episcopal Church to form a new Anglican parish. The new congregation, Holy Apostles, will begin worshipping at the Gallery of the State Theater in downtown Elizabethtown. Their first service will be celebrated July 10th at 10:00 a.m. According to the Reverend Kent Litchfield, pastor of the new church, the recent practices and teaching of the Episcopal Church are in violation of scripture and go against the tradition, faith and order of Anglicanism and Christianity. "The Episcopal...