Monday, October 21, 2002
Blessing same-sex relationships could disrupt Anglican church says Archbishop of Canterbury
A story released today by the Canadian Press reports that a Vancouver bishop's decision to bless same-sex relationships could end up disrupting the Anglican church worldwide, the outgoing Archbishop of Canterbury warned Monday.
During a rare visit to Canada, Dr. George Carey said his successor will have to confront the global repercussions of Bishop Michael Ingham's controversial stand on same-sex unions.
Ingham was at a clergy conference Monday and couldn't be reached for comment. But a spokesman for the diocese of New Westminster said Ingham's decision to bless same-sex unions is a Canadian issue and shouldn't involve the Archbishop of Canterbury.
The issue will be a hot topic among Canadian bishops when they meet in Mississauga, Ont., next week for their regular meeting, held every two or three years, said Jim Boyles, spokesman for the Anglican Church of Canada in Toronto.
A majority of the churches in the southwestern B.C. diocese of New Westminster voted in June to support blessing gay marriages, prompting Carey to warn in a speech last month that the erosion of the Anglican church has reached crisis proportions.
Carey said Monday he is very proud of his worldwide evangelical work and doesn't want to see the Anglican church "drive people into the alternative arms of other groups."
While Carey said he couldn't see the Anglican church approving gay marriages in the foreseeable future, he wants to keep the dialogue open.
Next month, when Rowan Williams takes over for Carey, persuading the head of the Anglican church to accept homosexual couples may no longer be such a contentious issue.
