Anglican Leaders Rule on Gay Bishops
Pastor Dale Morgan
Feb 20, 4:17 AM EST
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Anglican Leaders Rule on Gay Bishops*
By ELIZABETH A. KENNEDY
Associated Press Writer
DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania (AP) -- Anglican leaders demanded Monday that
the U.S. Episcopal Church unequivocally bar official prayers for gay
couples and the consecration of more gay bishops to undo the damage that
North Americans have caused the Anglican family.
In a statement ending a tense six-day meeting, the leaders said that
past pledges by Episcopalians for a moratorium on gay unions and
consecrations have been so ambiguous that they have failed to fully mend
"broken relationships" in the 77 million-member Anglican Communion.
The Episcopal Church, the U.S. wing of world Anglicanism, must clarify
its position by Sept. 30 or its relations with other Anglicans will
remain "damaged at best."
"This has consequences for the full participation of the church in the
life of the communion," the leaders said.
The meeting in Tanzania was the latest of several attempts to keep
Anglicans unified despite deep rifts over how they should interpret the
Bible. The long-simmering debate erupted in 2003 when Episcopalians
consecrated the first openly gay bishop, V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire.
Anglican traditionalists believe gay relationships violate Scripture and
they have demanded that the U.S. church adhere to that teaching or face
discipline.
Supporters of ordaining gays believe biblical teachings on justice and
inclusion should take precedence. They have accused theological
conservatives of demanding a conformity among Anglicans that never
before existed. The communion was founded in the 16th century by King
Henry VIII and spread worldwide by the British Empire.
Discussions at the closed-door gathering this past week were so highly
charged that drafting the final statement for the 38 Anglican provinces
took hours longer than expected.
In 2005, Anglican leaders had asked the Episcopal Church to temporarily
stop electing gay bishops and developing official prayer services for
same-sex couples.
The top Episcopal policy making body, called General Convention,
responded by asking church leaders to "exercise restraint by not
consenting to the consecration" of candidates for bishop "whose manner
of life presents a challenge to the wider church." The request is not
binding.
On official prayer services, the convention rejected proposals for a
churchwide liturgy for gay partners. However, a small number of U.S.
dioceses have moved toward developing local prayers and some dioceses
have allowed priests to conduct the ceremonies privately.
Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, the spiritual leader of the
communion, does not have direct authority to force a compromise. He said
the requests contained in the document released Monday "will certainly
fall very short of resolving all the disputes, but will provide a way of
moving forward with dignity."
Canon Kendall Harmon of the Diocese of South Carolina, a leader among
Episcopal traditionalists, said the document "is not everything I would
have wanted," but he was encouraged that Anglican leaders "made specific
calls with specific deadlines."
However, the advocacy group Integrity, which represents Episcopal gays
and lesbians, accused the leaders of bigotry, and urged Episcopalians to
lobby their bishops to reject the demands.
Episcopal Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, who supports gay
relationships, said in a brief statement after she left the meeting that
talks among Anglicans must continue.
The final statement from Anglican leaders expressed worry over feuding
within the Episcopal Church and the wider communion. Some U.S. parishes
have left the Episcopal Church to affiliate with Anglicans in Africa.
Nigerian Archbishop Peter Akinola has set up a network for conservative
U.S. parishes as a rival to the Episcopal Church. Lawsuits have been
filed over Virginia-area churches that joined with Akinola and want to
take their property with them.
Anglican leaders called on all sides in the conflict to end their
lawsuits and recommended the creation of a pastoral council and a
special vicar to oversee the minority of conservative U.S. dioceses and
parishes that feel they cannot accept Jefferts Schori's leadership.
Among the goals of the plan is to create an alternative so U.S. parishes
stop affiliating with overseas Anglicans - a violation of communion
tradition.
Anglican leaders also released a draft set of common principles meant to
allow Anglican provinces to remain independent, but recognize their
actions have an impact on each other.
The proposed Anglican Covenant, which will likely be revised before it
is finalized years from now, states that a church could lose full
membership in "extreme circumstances" but could take steps to regain its
full member status.
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