CANTERBURY, England – The head of the Anglican church in Sudan said on Tuesday that unity could be restored to the troubled Anglican Communion only when the openly gay Bishop Gene Robinson resigns or confesses he has "made a mistake" in embracing homosexuality.
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(Photo: AP Images / Sang Tan)Gene Robinson, center, openly gay bishop of New Hampshire, United States, acknowledges the applause from the congregation during a Sunday service at St Stephen's Field in Canterbury, England, Sunday, July 20, 2008. The service is held, as an alternative to the Lambeth Conference's Sunday service held at Canterbury Cathedral earlier, to celebrate the gifts of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Christians in the Anglican Communion.
The Most Rev. Dr. Daniel Deng Bul told reporters at the Lambeth Conference, the once-a-decade gathering of Anglican bishops, that Robinson “should resign for the sake of the Church.”
“We consider him as a human being. We are not throwing him away. But he is supposed to resign to allow the Church to be united,” he said. “The norms of the Anglican Communion have been violated.”
He added that those involved with Robinson's consecration also had to confess.
"We as Christians always forgive one another and confess whenever we make mistakes. If they could do that that would help the Anglican world."
Just under a quarter of Communion's bishops have boycotted the Conference in protest of the attendance of pro-gay clergy. The absent bishops, largely conservative church leaders from the Global South, held an alternative summit in Jerusalem last month, the Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON).
“I think there is already a breakdown of the Anglican Communion,” the Sudanese archbishop said. “Three hundred bishops have stayed away from this conference because of Gene Robinson. Shouldn’t Gene Robinson resign to allow the 300 bishops to come back to the house?”
In an official statement issued earlier on Tuesday, the Episcopal Church of Sudan said that it could not accept church leaders who practice contrary to the biblical teaching on sexuality.
The Archbishop reaffirmed that position to reporters, saying: "God is not making a mistake creating Adam and Eve. He would have created two Adams if he wanted. But we are saying now God is wrong in creating the different sex. That is a concern.”
Conservative leaders had called for a "heartfelt repentance" and "genuine change" from the U.S. Epsicopal Church in the years following the 2003 consecration of Robinson. Last September, The Episcopal Church offered to exercise restraint by not consenting to the consecration of openly gay candidates, while still committing to the rights of gays and lesbians and their full inclusion. Many conservatives were disappointed and saw no change in the U.S. church's position.
Still, the Sudanese Archbishop stressed that he and other conservative leaders in the Global South wanted the Anglican Communion to remain united.
“I am here to say let the Anglican world be united. That is my position. I am calling even GAFCON to come back to the Anglican world.”
He also warned that the ordination of homosexual clergy and blessing of same-sex couples in the U.S. Episcopal Church had damaged the standing of the Bible and Christians in majority-Muslim countries.
“We are called infidels by the Islamic world … It will give them an upper hand even to kill our people,” he said.
More than 600 bishops have gathered at the University of Kent in Canterbury for the Lambeth Conference. The meeting will run until August 3 and cover a range of issues, including social justice, the environment, human sexuality and the draft Anglican Covenant.
Comments
Oh wait, sorry, didn't read the article properly: Rev. Dr. Daniel Deng Bul is the orthodox clergyman.
Robinson is aka. Broke Back Rob
Mike2685,
"Shameful and deplorable? HA! I bet someone could say the same about yours if they were to only focus on your shortcomings."
That may be, but I do not rationalize my shortcomings. Rather, I acknowledge them and repent of them.
The Most Rev. Dr. Daniel Deng Bul aka. 'Broke Back Gary'
Lol.
Shameful and deplorable? HA! I bet someone could say the same about yours if they were to only focus on your shortcomings.
Mike2685,
"I'm well aware of what scripture says, regardless, its clear you don't know many gay people of you're walking around putting the blanket statement of perverse on us."
If you are aware of what scripture says, then your gripe is with Jesus, Paul, and the church in general - not me in particular. As for me clearly not knowing many gay people... how many do I need to know? Actually, I've known several who I knew quite well; a good friend of mine from college was gay; one of my uncles was gay. And while they are wonderful, caring people, their homosexual lifestyle was shameful and deplorable.
Mike,
No one is arguing whether it is a pleasant thing or not. We are simply stating it is a sin according to God and you hurt yourself, your partner, and possibly others. To walk in a lifestyle of sin is to walk in darkness and not light.
Yes, but for anyone who truly knows and loves someone who is gay (i.e. my parents) they come to see that there is nothing bad about my relationship, although they once thought so because they didn't know anyone who is gay. Something like alcoholism or pedophilia you know is bad because you can see that damage it does to the person you love, but my family can only see love growing between my partner and I.
Mike, just because someone recognizes an action as bad does not mean that person does not know or love people who do that action.
I'm well aware of what scripture says, regardless, its clear you don't know many gay people of you're walking around putting the blanket statement of perverse on us.
Mike 2685,
Scripture calls homosexual behavior as acts against nature, shameful lusts, shameless acts, perversity, etc; i.e., gravely depraved.
mike2685,
"I always love the wording "gravely depraved." It makes gays sound like a bunch of monsters that go around sucking the life out of the people they sleep with."
Only if you don't understand what 'grave' and 'depraved' mean. Nevertheless, that is what homosexual acts are. Of course, this does not preclude God's immense love for you, or how he longs for you to come to him with godly sorrow which leads to repentance... to come in response to his gracious invitation in heartfelt faith, pleading the blood of His Son in atonement for your sins. God loves you and desires that you come to the knowledge of the truth.
I always love the wording "gravely depraved." It makes gays sound like a bunch of monsters that go around sucking the life out of the people they sleep with.
Mike2685,
As a Catholic, you are bound by sacred scripture and apostolic tradition as presented to you by the Catholic Church, and the Catholic Church clearly and unambiguously teaches that homosexual acts are gravely depraved and can in no way ever be approved. So regardless of whether you read the scriptures yourself or your priest reads it to you during the Mass, the result is the same.
As for Jesus coming down to shake you one way or the other, He already has. When teaching on the issue of marriage to His disciples, He states, "that God made them at the beginning made them MALE and FEMALE, and for this reason, a MAN shall leave his father and mother and cleave to his WIFE, and the two shall become one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, let no man separate."
Why was my post from this morning flagged?
James,
Thanks for that good summary of what I was saying.