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Church leader 'not against' gay bishops
Source: Agencies |
September 26, 2010, Sunday
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THE Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, is not opposed to the appointment of gay people as bishops if they pledge to remain celibate, he told the Times newspaper yesterday.
Williams, spiritual leader of the Anglican Communion, told the UK paper that he could in future support the appointment of homosexual bishops -- but not those in active sexual relationships.
"To put it very simply, there's no problem about a gay person who's a bishop. It's about the fact that there are traditionally, historically, standards that the clergy are expected to observe. So there's always a question about the personal life of the clergy," Williams said.
The archbishop has been accused by equality campaigners of inconsistency because celibacy is not regarded as compulsory for heterosexual clergy.
Differences over the elevation of gay clergy have caused turmoil within the Anglican Communion -- an association of churches with 80 million members in about 160 countries. Some conservatives have quit the association in protest, while the US Episcopal Church -- the branch of the Anglican Communion in the United States -- has appointed two gay bishops since 2003.
Last year, the Vatican put forward plans to make it easier for Anglicans upset over the appointment of female priests and gay bishops to join the Catholic Church, whose teaching holds that homosexual activity is sinful.
Williams earlier this year blocked the appointment of the Very Reverend Jeffrey John, a celibate gay cleric, to the post of bishop of Reading, and imposed sanctions on the US Episcopal Church over the elevation of Mary Douglas Glasspool, a lesbian, to a position as an assistant bishop.
Williams said the issue of homosexuality had become "a wound in the whole ministry" since his appointment as archbishop in 2002.
He said that in the past he ruled against endorsing gay relationships for clergy, and against John's appointment, because "the cost to the Church overall was too great to be borne at that point."
Williams, spiritual leader of the Anglican Communion, told the UK paper that he could in future support the appointment of homosexual bishops -- but not those in active sexual relationships.
"To put it very simply, there's no problem about a gay person who's a bishop. It's about the fact that there are traditionally, historically, standards that the clergy are expected to observe. So there's always a question about the personal life of the clergy," Williams said.
The archbishop has been accused by equality campaigners of inconsistency because celibacy is not regarded as compulsory for heterosexual clergy.
Differences over the elevation of gay clergy have caused turmoil within the Anglican Communion -- an association of churches with 80 million members in about 160 countries. Some conservatives have quit the association in protest, while the US Episcopal Church -- the branch of the Anglican Communion in the United States -- has appointed two gay bishops since 2003.
Last year, the Vatican put forward plans to make it easier for Anglicans upset over the appointment of female priests and gay bishops to join the Catholic Church, whose teaching holds that homosexual activity is sinful.
Williams earlier this year blocked the appointment of the Very Reverend Jeffrey John, a celibate gay cleric, to the post of bishop of Reading, and imposed sanctions on the US Episcopal Church over the elevation of Mary Douglas Glasspool, a lesbian, to a position as an assistant bishop.
Williams said the issue of homosexuality had become "a wound in the whole ministry" since his appointment as archbishop in 2002.
He said that in the past he ruled against endorsing gay relationships for clergy, and against John's appointment, because "the cost to the Church overall was too great to be borne at that point."
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