Nomination of six gay and lesbian American priests as candidates to become suffragan bishops have ramped up tensions in the Episcopal church. Relations over homosexuality within the Episcopal Church, the American equivialent of the Anglican Church, were strained in 2003, when the Episcopals consecrated Gene Robinson of New Hampshire as the first bishop in Anglican history known to be in an openly homosexual relationship. The nomination comes just weeks after the Archbishop of Canterbury flew to California to urge Episcopal Church leaders to try to avoid any more tension. The ordaining of homosexual clergy has already prompted some congregations to leave the Episcopal fold and form a rival church that claims to have 100,000 members. Anglican churches in Africa have also broken ties with their more liberal American brethren.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Thursday, 6th August 2009 - 11:27am