Politics
Monday October 1, 2007
See today's LifeSiteNews stories
US Anglican Branch Vows No Backing Away from Homosexual Support
Expected to lead to schism within Anglican Communion
By Hilary White
SAN FRANCISCO, October 1, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The Presiding Bishop of the US Episcopal Church (ECUSA), has said that there will be no reversal of the church's pro-homosexual direction taken in recent years.
Speaking to a standing room-only audience at San Francisco's Grace Cathedral, the Most Rev. Katherine Jefferts Schori, the most senior official of the American branch of the Anglican Communion, announced that the Episcopalians would continue to "bless" same-sex unions and consecrate active and unrepentant homosexuals to the episcopate.
"[We are] not going backward, but willing to pause," Jefferts Schori said. "All people, including gay and lesbian Christians and non-Christians, are deserving of the fullest regard of the church."
The statement comes at a deadline placed on the American branch of the Worldwide Anglican Communion at a meeting in Tanzania in February 2007. At that meeting, the bishops gave ECUSA an ultimatum and deadline saying the ultra-liberal American branch must reassert its adherence to Christian teaching by the end of September 2007 in order to retain full membership in the Communion. The bishops' statement of principles said churches and provinces of the Communion must adhere to the "faith which is uniquely revealed in the Holy Scriptures."
The news that ECUSA will not accept the provisions of the 2004 Windsor Report and that there will be no moratorium on ordaining active homosexuals, is expected to lead to a schism within the Anglican Communion. It has been widely reported that "conservative" or traditionally Christian bishops of the Church of England have met with their counterparts in the US to provide episcopal oversight for Episcopalians who wish to retain their connection to historic Christianity.
In support of the ECUSA decision, Bishop Thomas Ely of the Diocese of Vermont said, "This House is committed to the full participation of gays and lesbians in the life of the church."
"We have ... work to do" he said, to bring the rest of the Anglican Communion into line with the so-called "liberal" opinion.
Schori, a radical feminist, is an enthusiastic supporter of normalizing homosexuality within Christianity. She troubled many in the Anglican Communion when she preached, at the closing service of the 2006 Episcopal Convention at which she was elected Presiding Bishop, using the term "Our mother Jesus" who "gives birth to a new creation."
Of the world's 77 million Anglicans, over half live in the developing world, in which traditional Christian teaching finds broad support among the lay faithful. Bishops of the "global south" have been the most vocal supporters of the traditional Christian teachings within Anglicanism.
The bishops of the Anglican world will meet next year for the Lambeth conference where decisions regarding the Worldwide Communion are taken. The Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, has said that Gene Robinson, the open homosexual whose consecration started the crisis in 2003, will be allowed to attend the 2008 conference, but will not be allowed to participate or vote. Williams has yet to make a statement on the ECUSA announcement.
Read related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:
Anglican Hierarchy ~ US Anglicans Have Seven Months to Shape up or Ship Out
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2007/feb/07022007.html
Back to TopSHARE THIS STORY: E-mail Print Newsvine Digg Reddit Del.icio.us Facebook
Latest Headlines
- Human Rights Commission Drops Complaint Against Catholic Magazine
- Canada's Catholic Bishops United in Opposition to Order of Canada Being Awarded to Morgentaler
- Highlights from Canada's Debate on the Morgentaler Order of Canada Fiasco
- Golden Arches Awash in Rainbow Colors: Family Group Boycotts McDonalds for Support for Homosexual Agenda
- Bishops Investigate Report: 39 Abortions, 9684 Sterilizations Performed in Texas Catholic Hospitals
- President Bush and Senator McCain Address National Right to Life Conference
- Formal Request Filed to Terminate Morgentaler's Appointment to the Order of Canada
- UK Catholic, Muslim Doctors May be Forced to Refer for Abortion
- UK Contraception and Abortion Promoters calling for Sex Ed for Four Year-Olds
- LAPD Sued for Alleged Discrimination against Officer's Religious Beliefs
- Foremost Expert on Contraception Says the Pill is Not Working - It's "Outdated"
- Letters to the Editor for Friday, July 4
- Morgentaler Order of Canada Protest Set for July 9 in Ottawa
- LifeSiteNews Now on Facebook - Join Our Group, Spread the Word
Most Read this Week
- Archbishop Calls All Catholics to Demand National Award to Abortion Doc be Revoked
- Pro-Life Groups Horrified by Morgentaler's Appointment to the Order of Canada
- Pro-Life Group Appalled that Abortionist Morgentaler Would Even be Considered for Order of Canada
- Online Polls Ask Whether Morgentaler Should Have Been Awarded Order of Canada
- Confirmed: Advisory Council Has Voted to Award Order of Canada to Abortionist Henry Morgentaler
- Numerous MPs Condemn Morgentaler Order of Canada Decision
- Order of Canada Members Return their Awards Over Morgentaler Decision
- Official Announcement of Arch-Abortionist Morgentaler Receiving Order of Canada
- National Group Launches Petition Calling for Morgentaler Order of Canada Appointment to be Revoked
- Morgentaler Order of Canada Protest Set for July 9 in Ottawa
MORE NEWS: 
LifeSiteNews.com Home Page Last 10 Days Archives Special Reports
Copyright © LifeSiteNews.com. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivatives License. You may republish this article without request provided the content is not altered and it is clearly attributed to "LifeSiteNews.com". Any Internet re-publishing of original LifeSiteNews articles MUST additionally include a live link to www.LifeSiteNews.com. Republishing of articles on LifeSiteNews that have come from other news sources as noted is subject to the conditions of those sources.