Post by AuntieSocial on Nov 26, 2003 22:26:34 GMT -5
Asian Anglicans Dismayed at Election of Homosexual Bishop
Click here to read the article on the original site
By: Patrick Goodenough
Published: August 7, 2003
Publication: CNS News
Pacific Rim Bureau (CNSNews.com) - The appointment of a homosexual as an Episcopal bishop in the United States has drawn concern and condemnation from related churches in Asia, with some conservative bishops warning of a possible schism.
Anglican and Episcopal leaders and their flocks in Asia are overwhelmingly conservative in outlook, as are the societies around them. News of Gene Robinson's appointment as bishop of New Hampshire has shaken many.
Although the 77 million-strong worldwide Anglican Communion, unlike the Roman Catholic Church, does not have a centralized structure, adherents in far-flung places fear the development in the U.S. will affect Anglicans everywhere.
That concern was expressed Thursday by Andrew Chan, provincial secretary of the Anglican Church in Hong Kong and Macau.
"Maybe people will think the whole Anglican Church accepts homosexuality in the church, and maybe some conservative members [in Hong Kong] may leave the church over this."
Speaking by phone from the Chinese-ruled territory, Chan said it was difficult for many people to understand how the church structure operates.
"We may suffer [as a result of] ... what is happening with our brothers and sisters overseas."
Chan said the church in Hong Kong and Macau, which has some 30,000 members, had not formally responded to the debate over homosexuality, because "in the Chinese culture, it's not easy for people to discuss human sexuality."
Moreover, the issue was not high on the agenda, as the church was focused on Hong Kong's many problems, arising from the economic crisis and recent SARS outbreak.
"There are other important issues rather than sexuality. It's not a priority for us."
The Anglican Church's Southeast Asia province, which includes Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and surrounding areas, is expected to take a unified position against Robinson's appointment at a meeting planned for next week.
One of the province's four bishops, the Rev. Made Katib of Kuching, said Thursday he could not speak on the issue now, but next week's meeting could well produce a unified statement.
Earlier, the Southeast Asia province issued a statement critical of another recent development in the church - the controversial decision by a Canadian diocese to approve same-sex unions.
The bishops said they were "saddened but also affronted" at that action, and could no longer be "in communion" with the Canadian bishop responsible for the decision.
The Episcopal bishop of the Northern Philippines, the Rev. Edward Malecdan, said Thursday the homosexuality problem had not affected the church in the Philippines directly.
As none of the country's seven Episcopal bishops was homosexual, he said, the issue "has not presented us with any serious problems or divided the church."
'A time for decision'
Two of Australia's most powerful Anglican leaders have also spoken out against Robinson's appointment, although they appeared to disagree over the likely repercussions for the church worldwide, and over what action should be taken in response.
The Anglican primate - or titular head - Archbishop of Perth Peter Carnley, said he thought the decision to appoint a homosexual bishop was premature, because issue had yet to be settled in the church.
"There is a debate going on, a continuing process of study, and I think that should go on before any decisions about who should or should not be ordained," he said.
But he also said the appointment was ultimately a matter for the Episcopal Church in the U.S., and expressed doubts that it would cause a split in the worldwide Anglican Communion.
"The Anglican Church has a knack of holding together people of very diverse points of view," he said.
By contrast, Archbishop of Sydney Peter Jensen called Robinson's election "catastrophic" and foresaw serious consequences.
"For the first time, a branch of our Anglican church has knowingly appointed a person to this senior position who lives in breach of the Bible," he said.
Jensen said the move "cannot simply be allowed to pass away into history as a one-off aberration. It represents a time for decision by mainstream, biblical Anglicans around the world, and undoubtedly will result in a significant realignment of relationship within the Communion."
He said Robinson would not be a welcome visitor to the diocese of Sydney.
Jensen also said he expected a special meeting of senior church leaders would be called soon to discuss the crisis.
Along with leaders in African dioceses, Jensen has emerged as a leading voice among conservative Anglicans opposed to what they see as attempts to dilute traditional church teaching on homosexuality and other matters.
Reaction to Robinson's election among Anglican churches in Africa has been even stronger than that in Asia.
Nigerian Archbishop Peter Akinola said the church in the West African country - which has more than 17 million members and is the Communion's second-largest after the "mother" Church of England - would have to consider its future relationship with the U.S. Episcopal church.
Similar warnings came from the 3.5 million-strong church in Kenya, whose leader, Archbishop Benjamin Nzimbi, said Robinson's election was "contrary to the clear teachings of the Holy Scriptures."
And the Episcopal Bishop of Egypt, Mouneer Anis, was quoted as saying: "We cannot comprehend a decision to elect as bishop a man who has forsaken his wife and the vows he made to her in order to live in a sexual relationship with another man outside the bonds of marriage."
Click here to read the article on the original site
By: Patrick Goodenough
Published: August 7, 2003
Publication: CNS News
Pacific Rim Bureau (CNSNews.com) - The appointment of a homosexual as an Episcopal bishop in the United States has drawn concern and condemnation from related churches in Asia, with some conservative bishops warning of a possible schism.
Anglican and Episcopal leaders and their flocks in Asia are overwhelmingly conservative in outlook, as are the societies around them. News of Gene Robinson's appointment as bishop of New Hampshire has shaken many.
Although the 77 million-strong worldwide Anglican Communion, unlike the Roman Catholic Church, does not have a centralized structure, adherents in far-flung places fear the development in the U.S. will affect Anglicans everywhere.
That concern was expressed Thursday by Andrew Chan, provincial secretary of the Anglican Church in Hong Kong and Macau.
"Maybe people will think the whole Anglican Church accepts homosexuality in the church, and maybe some conservative members [in Hong Kong] may leave the church over this."
Speaking by phone from the Chinese-ruled territory, Chan said it was difficult for many people to understand how the church structure operates.
"We may suffer [as a result of] ... what is happening with our brothers and sisters overseas."
Chan said the church in Hong Kong and Macau, which has some 30,000 members, had not formally responded to the debate over homosexuality, because "in the Chinese culture, it's not easy for people to discuss human sexuality."
Moreover, the issue was not high on the agenda, as the church was focused on Hong Kong's many problems, arising from the economic crisis and recent SARS outbreak.
"There are other important issues rather than sexuality. It's not a priority for us."
The Anglican Church's Southeast Asia province, which includes Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and surrounding areas, is expected to take a unified position against Robinson's appointment at a meeting planned for next week.
One of the province's four bishops, the Rev. Made Katib of Kuching, said Thursday he could not speak on the issue now, but next week's meeting could well produce a unified statement.
Earlier, the Southeast Asia province issued a statement critical of another recent development in the church - the controversial decision by a Canadian diocese to approve same-sex unions.
The bishops said they were "saddened but also affronted" at that action, and could no longer be "in communion" with the Canadian bishop responsible for the decision.
The Episcopal bishop of the Northern Philippines, the Rev. Edward Malecdan, said Thursday the homosexuality problem had not affected the church in the Philippines directly.
As none of the country's seven Episcopal bishops was homosexual, he said, the issue "has not presented us with any serious problems or divided the church."
'A time for decision'
Two of Australia's most powerful Anglican leaders have also spoken out against Robinson's appointment, although they appeared to disagree over the likely repercussions for the church worldwide, and over what action should be taken in response.
The Anglican primate - or titular head - Archbishop of Perth Peter Carnley, said he thought the decision to appoint a homosexual bishop was premature, because issue had yet to be settled in the church.
"There is a debate going on, a continuing process of study, and I think that should go on before any decisions about who should or should not be ordained," he said.
But he also said the appointment was ultimately a matter for the Episcopal Church in the U.S., and expressed doubts that it would cause a split in the worldwide Anglican Communion.
"The Anglican Church has a knack of holding together people of very diverse points of view," he said.
By contrast, Archbishop of Sydney Peter Jensen called Robinson's election "catastrophic" and foresaw serious consequences.
"For the first time, a branch of our Anglican church has knowingly appointed a person to this senior position who lives in breach of the Bible," he said.
Jensen said the move "cannot simply be allowed to pass away into history as a one-off aberration. It represents a time for decision by mainstream, biblical Anglicans around the world, and undoubtedly will result in a significant realignment of relationship within the Communion."
He said Robinson would not be a welcome visitor to the diocese of Sydney.
Jensen also said he expected a special meeting of senior church leaders would be called soon to discuss the crisis.
Along with leaders in African dioceses, Jensen has emerged as a leading voice among conservative Anglicans opposed to what they see as attempts to dilute traditional church teaching on homosexuality and other matters.
Reaction to Robinson's election among Anglican churches in Africa has been even stronger than that in Asia.
Nigerian Archbishop Peter Akinola said the church in the West African country - which has more than 17 million members and is the Communion's second-largest after the "mother" Church of England - would have to consider its future relationship with the U.S. Episcopal church.
Similar warnings came from the 3.5 million-strong church in Kenya, whose leader, Archbishop Benjamin Nzimbi, said Robinson's election was "contrary to the clear teachings of the Holy Scriptures."
And the Episcopal Bishop of Egypt, Mouneer Anis, was quoted as saying: "We cannot comprehend a decision to elect as bishop a man who has forsaken his wife and the vows he made to her in order to live in a sexual relationship with another man outside the bonds of marriage."
