Gay bishop should resign for good of the church, says African archbishop

Riazat Butt
religious affairs correspondent,
guardian.co.uk
Tuesday July 22, 2008

The gay bishop of New Hampshire should resign in order to save the Anglican Communion, a senior African archbishop said today.

The call came from the Rt Rev Dr Daniel Deng, the archbishop of Sudan, and followed a strongly worded statement that accused the US Episcopal church of exposing Anglicans to ridicule and damaging their credibility in a multi-religious environment.

African bishops who signed the statement rejecting homosexual practice said they could not accept it as part of their church. They reiterated their opposition to developments in the US and Canada, where gay clergy are ordained and where same-sex relationships are blessed.

"This has not only caused deep divisions within the communion but it has seriously harmed the church's witness in Africa, opening the church to ridicule and damaging its credibility in a multi-religious environment."

The statement was endorsed by more than 150 bishops attending Lambeth, who represent 17 of the 38 provinces in the Anglican Communion. the rest