• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

Africa's Anglicans applaud US move on gay bishops

Posted on: Thursday, 22 June 2006, 11:05 CDT

By Tume Ahemba

LAGOS (Reuters) - African bishops on Thursday applauded a decision by the U.S. Episcopal Church to avoid consecrating more openly gay bishops but said liberals must show true repentance if a rift in the Anglican community is to heal.

The U.S. arm of the community made the decision on Wednesday in an about-turn aimed at appeasing the worldwide church and avoiding a split with its more conservative parts, particularly in Africa.

Many African bishops condemn homosexuality as un-biblical, un-African and morally wrong.

In Nigeria, the Anglican Bishop of Lagos West, Peter Adebiyi, said the vote was a step in the right direction, but that gay bishops already serving in the United States should step down.

"It shows that they are repenting and that is good for the Church and it is also good for them," Adebiyi told Reuters. "It is a step forward for reconciliation. But they have to show us they are serious this time."

The consecration three years ago in New Hampshire of Gene Robinson, the first bishop in an openly gay relationship in more than 450 years of church history, threw Anglicans into turmoil.

The U.S. resolution fell short of the recommendations of a report issued at the behest of the church's leader, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, which suggested a formal moratorium on consecrations of gay bishops.

Williams said it was not clear how fully the U.S. decision would allay concerns raised by the world church's spiritual leadership. Africa's voice in the church is growing louder as membership in the region grows rapidly.

The Anglican Central African Province, which consists of Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Botswana, applauded the U.S. church for heeding God's word, rather than "human reasoning."

"This is what we have always asked and we are happy that the word of God is prevailing," said Father Eason Mpembamoyo, spokesman for the province's archbishop.

Daniel Yinkah Sarfo, the Anglican Bishop of Kumasi in Ghana, said the acceptance of gay bishops was chasing young people away and eroding the moral teaching at the heart of church's faith.

"Homosexuality is against our biblical teachings. We are not going to succumb to any compromise," he told Reuters.

"The Anglican Church is suffering because of it," he said. "We love the Episcopal Church in America, there is no doubt about that, but this is a matter of faith."

(Additional reporting by Mabvuto Banda in Blantyre and Orla Ryan in Accra)

Source: REUTERS

More News in this Category