Wednesday, May 23, 2007

Gay bishop not invited to Anglican gathering

When the archbishop of Canterbury sent out more than 800 invitations to the once-a-decade worldwide Lambeth Conference, two names were conspicuously missing: Martyn Minns, the Virginia bishop of a conservative break-away group, and V. Gene Robinson, the gay bishop of New Hampshire whose appointment has embodied the Anglican Church's fracture.

From the NY Times:

Bishop Robinson said he was extremely disappointed at his exclusion and asked in a statement, “At a time when the Anglican Communion is calling for a ‘listening process’ on the issue of homosexuality, how does it make sense to exclude gay and lesbian people from the discussion?”

The archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Rev. Rowan Williams, who has expressed liberal views on homosexuality in the past, has been determined to keep the communion intact. In his invitation letter, Archbishop Williams wrote, “I have to reserve the right to withhold or withdraw invitations from bishops whose appointment, actions or manner of life have caused exceptionally serious division or scandal within the communion.”

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