Anglican prelates warn rift with U.S. church remains

AP via Philadelphia Inquirer ^ | January 29, 2005 | Tom Maliti

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Anglican prelates warn rift with U.S. church remains The Episcopal Church's apology for consecrating a gay bishop isn't enough, conservative clerics said.

NAIROBI, Kenya - Anglican archbishops from Africa, Asia and Latin America said yesterday that an apology from the U.S. Episcopal Church did not go far enough to heal the rift among Anglicans over the consecration of the denomination's first openly gay bishop.

The Anglican Communion - the international association of churches that trace their roots back to the Church of England - fears its unity is threatened by deep disagreements over homosexuality. Conservative clerics from Africa, Asia and elsewhere have harshly criticized the U.S. branch's 2003 consecration of V. Gene Robinson as bishop of New Hampshire.

Nigerian Archbishop Peter Akinola noted that U.S. bishops had apologized to individual church members in a letter issued earlier this month that expressed "sincere regret" for consecrating Robinson without fully considering other Anglicans' objections. But Akinola told journalists that the U.S. prelates had failed to repent for an act he said was contrary to their faith.

"That gives us a very big question mark whether we are together or not," Malawi's Archbishop Bernard Malango said.

Akinola spoke after a weeklong meeting to discuss recommendations by an Anglican commission to resolve discord within the communion over homosexuality.

In a report issued in October, the panel urged the U.S. branch not to elect any more gay bishops and called on conservative African bishops to stop meddling in the affairs of other dioceses.

In Nairobi yesterday, church leaders were circumspect about their views on the recommendations, saying they did not want to preempt a meeting of all Anglican archbishops in Ireland next month.

Some African prelates, including South African Archbishop Njongonkulu Ndungane, have questioned why the communion is spending so much time on the issue of homosexuality when there are pressing issues such as war, AIDS and poverty to be addressed on the continent.

Akinola said it was a question of faith.

"I didn't create poverty. This church didn't create poverty," he said. "These are two separate things."