ugnet_: African divisions over gay bishop-BBC

[Omar Kezimbira]

Last Updated: Monday, 8 September, 2003, 10:24 GMT 11:24 UK E-mail this to a friend Printable version

African divisions over gay bishop

Bishop Robinson was just being honest, says the archbishop A South African church leader has accused other African archbishops of arrogance over the issue of homosexuality. The Anglican archbishop of Cape Town, Winston Njongonkulu Ndungane, said his colleagues were being intolerant after the appointment in the United States of their first openly gay bishop. His comments in the British Guardian newspaper follow warnings from evangelical and conservative Anglicans that the appointment of Gene Robinson as bishop of New Hampshire could split the church. "It is very arrogant to assume that the people in America do not know what they are doing," he said. Mr Ndungane said there were other issues that should be priorities for the Anglican church - such as world hunger, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and Aids. Nigerian Archbishop Peter Akinola, backed by many other African church leaders, led criticism of Bishop Robinson's appointment in August, describing it as "a Satanic attack on God's church". Hypocritical? But Mr Ndungane urged Africa's leaders to be careful of appearing hypocritical. Africa's church is deeply conservative "There is a woman waiting to be stoned to death for adultery in Nigeria and yet we are not hearing any fuss from the leadership of the church there about that," he said. "It is no secret that there are gay clergy and there are gay bishops, and the institutional church seems to be turning a blind eye when we should be encouraging honesty. If Gene Robinson had kept quiet there would have been no issue." The spiritual head of the Anglican church, the Archbishop of Canterbury, has called an emergency meeting next month in London to discuss the impact of Mr Robinson's appointment. E-mail this to a friend Printable version

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