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Anglican bishops insist US 'must repent' over gay bishop
Eric Johnston, Gay.com/PlanetOut.com Network
Gay.com Monday 31 January, 2005 10:05 | More from this date | Today's headlines
Conservative Anglican archbishops have criticized the US Episcopal Church once again, claiming that a letter issued by the Church expressing regret for consecrating an openly gay bishop isn't enough to heal the split between the worldwide Communion.
Fifteen archbishops from Africa, Asia and Latin American issued the critical statements following a weeklong meeting in Nairobi, Kenya.
In November 2003, the Episcopal Church installed the Rev V Gene Robinson, a gay man in a long-term relationship, as bishop of the New Hampshire Diocese, setting off a dissension over homosexuality within the 77-million-member Anglican Communion.
Many conservative Anglicans think homosexuality is a sin, although some church members in places such as the United States, Canada and Europe take a more progressive stance.
In a move aimed at reconciliation, last October an Anglican commission asked the US church not to elect any more gay bishops and to apologise for the consecration of Robinson.
US bishops followed up with a letter this month, expressing "sincere regret'' for consecrating Robinson as bishop without full consideration of other Anglicans' objections.
Despite that, Archbishop Peter Akinola of Nigeria said the US bishops had failed to repent for an act he said was contrary to their faith.
"America must repent, they must put a stop to that practice," Akinola told reporters. "If God says (homosexuality) is an abomination, they should say it is an abomination. ... If God says it is wrong, then it is wrong."
Not all the church leaders in Nairobi are as preoccupied with the issue of homosexuality. Archbishop Njongonkulu Ndungane of South Africa noted there are other pressing issues to be addressed, such as war, AIDS and poverty.
Meanwhile, the man at the centre of the debate encountered enthusiastic crowds this week during several speaking engagements in Northern California.
"There are 38 provinces (in the Anglican Church)," Robinson told the San Francisco Chronicle, "and each is free to govern itself by its own canon law. ... We're doing something that flies in the face of the majority opinion in the religious community. That doesn't mean it's wrong."
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