Thursday, July 17, 2008

Snub a mistake, says bishop

THE first openly gay Anglican bishop has said the decision to bar him from a church leaders' conference was a "mistake".

The Right Reverend Gene Robinson, the Bishop of New Hampshire in the US, whose consecration in 2003 and relationship with another man, Mark Andrews, has pushed the Anglican communion to the brink of schism, said he sympathised with the position of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams.

But he said that his absence meant the Lambeth Conference would not benefit from the presence of a gay voice.

Due to start tomorrow with the arrival of 650 bishops, the 10-yearly meeting comes as the Anglican communion splinters over homosexuality and female clergy.

Despite the snub, Bishop Robinson will be in Lambeth throughout the conference.

On BBC TV's Andrew Marr Show on Sunday, he said: "I think a mistake was made in not including me in those conversations. I was the only openly gay voice that might have been at the table. But I will do all I can from the fringe. Miracles happen when people who are divided by something get to know one another."

He felt that Dr Williams' position was almost untenable. "No matter what he [Dr Williams] does he will make someone mad."

Bishop Robinson delivered a sermon at St Mary's Church in London on Sunday, and was to appear at the Southbank Centre last night to host with Sir Ian McKellen the British premiere of a US documentary about homosexuality and the Bible, For The Bible Tells Me So.

McKellen accused the church of homophobia, saying religious leaders shared the same attitude as the armed forces and schools. "That particular problem is homophobia and, having it, they [search] the Bible for the bits that seem to be relevant."

The issue of homosexuality is not on the agenda, yet it threatens to dominate Lambeth.

About 230 Anglican bishops are boycotting it because Dr Williams invited representatives from the US Episcopal Church who supported Bishop Robinson's consecration.

Last month senior figures from churches in Africa and Australia launched the Global Anglican Future Conference, a movement for those unhappy with the progressive agendas of churches in the northern hemisphere.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Disclaimer

No responsibility or liability shall attach itself to either myself or to the blogspot ‘Clerical Whispers’ for any or all of the articles placed here.

The placing of an article hereupon does not necessarily imply that I agree or accept the contents of the article as being necessarily factual in theology, dogma or otherwise.

Sotto Voce