|
Episcopal Church (USA) breaks with Christianity over gay bishop
Kenneth
Lamb
10/09/2003
They took a vote, and Jesus lost.
That sums up the overwhelming majority of worldwide reaction to the Episcopal Church USA (ECUSA) convention in Minneapolis. Departing from more than 40 centuries of Pre-Christian Jewish and Christian era doctrine, just over 100 Episcopalian bishops voted to elevate a practicing homosexual man to be bishop of their New Hampshire diocese.
Gene Robinson, 56, divorced his wife 13 years ago to live with Mark Andrew, 50. Robinson has never claimed his is in a celibate relationship with Andrew.
While the libertine-fringe faction of the ECUSA rejoiced at his election, Anglican leaders around the world said the ECUSA was apostate. In effect, they said the ECUSA was imitating Robinson's divorce from holy matrimony to put his gay lifestyle first by divorcing itself from Christianity and the Anglican Communion, to pursue the "homosexual agenda."
The BBC reported, "In South America, Archbishop Gregory Venables, primate of the Province of the Southern Cone (South America), called the decision to ratify the election of Mr. Robinson a 'slap in the face of the Anglican Church around the world.'"
In another story, the BBC ran this quote: "'This body willfully confirming the election of a person sexually active outside of holy matrimony has departed from the historic faith and order of the Church of Jesus Christ,' said Pittsburgh Bishop Robert Duncan."
The most animated reaction came from Africa, where nearly 50 per cent of all the world's Anglicans reside. The BBC wrote, "The Nigerian Bishop of Owerri, Cyril Okoracha, said the appointment was insensitive, and the American church had, in effect, removed itself from the Anglican Communion . . . He added that Gene Robinson's claim that God called him to be a bishop did not alter the fact that Bishop Robinson was defying the written word of God."
The Nation, the leading daily in Kenya, said, "Anglicans in Kenya threatened to sever links with a US diocese that elected a practicing homosexual as its bishop. Church leaders condemned the Americans' decision, saying homosexuality was unacceptable."
Reaction from the world's newspapers reflected the high anxiety Robinson has caused the Anglican Communion.
Here, in rapid-fire order, is a sample from around the world you didn't get to read in the US media's coverage, as reported by BBC Monitoring: "The Anglican Church in Chile rejects the appointment of homosexual bishop in the United States ... Bishop Hector Zavala, chief of the Church in Chile deeply regrets the decision ... it is contrary to the clear teachings of the Holy Scriptures." (Chile's Tercera de la Hora); "The gay bishop has caused a scandal in the Anglican Church ... Jeffrey John [the gay priest who refused to take up his appointment as Bishop of Reading] had declined his own election in light of his scandal, but with the Americans, it's another story." (France's Le Monde); "Gay bishop tears the Anglican Church ... Gene Robinson's election has provoked an earthquake in the Anglican world." (France's Liberation); "The election of Gene Robinson is expected to fuel the debate in US society, which is split over the issue of homosexuality and partnerships between people of the same gender." (Sweden's Expressen); "Gene Robinson has become the first openly-homosexual bishop in history ... The issue of legalizing same-sex marriages is one of the most pressing in America today ... The topic is of just as much interest to society as the problems of a post-war settlement in Iraq, curbing the nuclear ambitions of North Korea or reviving the US economy." (Russia's Izvestiya).
At press time, within days of when you receive this month's issue, the Archbishop of Canterbury, titular head of the Anglican Communion, will host
a meeting of the world's Anglican primates. Watch and see their reaction to their "American cousins."
What do you think of this article? Write a letter to the editor: http://www.bulletinboards.com/view.cfm?comcode=gulf1msw
Kenneth E. Lamb
Email
Comments
Gulf
One
mya_ep_112002.html
|
