US Anglicans seek to engage their anti-gay critics
-10/04/06
A special commission of b
US Anglicans seek to engage their anti-gay critics
-10/04/06
A special commission of bishops, clergy and senior lay people set up by the US Episcopal Church (ECUSA), in advance of its decision-making general convention in June 2006, is recommending ìvery considerable cautionî over the ordination of more gay people as priests.
The move is being interpreted as an ìolive branchî to the strongly anti-gay majority in the worldwide 77-million strong Anglican Communion ñ many of whom have been ostracising ECUSA since the ordination of Bishop Gene Robinson of New Hampshire ñ and openly gay man in a permanent, long-term relationship.
Controversy has also been stoked against those categorised as ëliberalsí who have sanctioned same-sex partnerships, blessed lesbian and gay unions, and argued that equality of regard for homosexuals is compatible with the main tenets of Christian and biblical belief.
The special commission recognises and regrets the argument and division occasioned by the actions of some in the Episcopal Church. But it suggests that they are acting out of good, albeit contested, faith. And there is no direct indication of the ërepentanceí which has been demanded.
Hard-line anti-gay groups within the Anglican Church have immediately begun to attack and spin against the report, which has yet to be fully viewed and digested by many.
They will seek further support for a rejectionist stance from Archbishop Peter Akinola, head of the 24-million strong Nigerian Anglican Church, who has distanced himself from the See of Canterbury and has backed attempts to ëre-evangeliseí the Episcopal Church in the USA.
In earlier writings and speeches, Dr Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, has said that he personally believes there can be a place for committee gay relationships and homosexual priests in the church.
But he has distinguished his own explorations as a scholar from his relatively new role as spiritual head of the worldís Anglicans, seeking to reflect the existing views of the church and to recognise the will of the majority.
Dr Williams has therefore disappointed gay activists by his refusal to side with them, though he has called for love, courtesy, justice and respect towards gay people ñ and has criticised the often vituperative arguments over sexuality within the Church.
Opponents of gay relationships say that it undermines traditional biblical teaching. Advocates say that the Bible says nothing about the kind of modern partnerships they support, and cite the biblical justification for slavery being subsumed by the Gospel as a model for rethinking the issue.
The ECUSA special commission also strongly affirms the bond of unity which holds the Anglican Communion together, arguing that disagreements should be handled within this context rather than being allowed to divide Christians.
US Anglicans seek to engage their anti-gay critics
-10/04/06
A special commission of bishops, clergy and senior lay people set up by the US Episcopal Church (ECUSA), in advance of its decision-making general convention in June 2006, is recommending ìvery considerable cautionî over the ordination of more gay people as priests.
The move is being interpreted as an ìolive branchî to the strongly anti-gay majority in the worldwide 77-million strong Anglican Communion ñ many of whom have been ostracising ECUSA since the ordination of Bishop Gene Robinson of New Hampshire ñ and openly gay man in a permanent, long-term relationship.
Controversy has also been stoked against those categorised as ëliberalsí who have sanctioned same-sex partnerships, blessed lesbian and gay unions, and argued that equality of regard for homosexuals is compatible with the main tenets of Christian and biblical belief.
The special commission recognises and regrets the argument and division occasioned by the actions of some in the Episcopal Church. But it suggests that they are acting out of good, albeit contested, faith. And there is no direct indication of the ërepentanceí which has been demanded.
Hard-line anti-gay groups within the Anglican Church have immediately begun to attack and spin against the report, which has yet to be fully viewed and digested by many.
They will seek further support for a rejectionist stance from Archbishop Peter Akinola, head of the 24-million strong Nigerian Anglican Church, who has distanced himself from the See of Canterbury and has backed attempts to ëre-evangeliseí the Episcopal Church in the USA.
In earlier writings and speeches, Dr Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, has said that he personally believes there can be a place for committee gay relationships and homosexual priests in the church.
But he has distinguished his own explorations as a scholar from his relatively new role as spiritual head of the worldís Anglicans, seeking to reflect the existing views of the church and to recognise the will of the majority.
Dr Williams has therefore disappointed gay activists by his refusal to side with them, though he has called for love, courtesy, justice and respect towards gay people ñ and has criticised the often vituperative arguments over sexuality within the Church.
Opponents of gay relationships say that it undermines traditional biblical teaching. Advocates say that the Bible says nothing about the kind of modern partnerships they support, and cite the biblical justification for slavery being subsumed by the Gospel as a model for rethinking the issue.
The ECUSA special commission also strongly affirms the bond of unity which holds the Anglican Communion together, arguing that disagreements should be handled within this context rather than being allowed to divide Christians.