Orombi, leader of more than nine million Ugandan Anglicans, called for "unity" among those seeking a more faithful and orthodox expression of the Anglican tradition in North America. He urged those present to pray constantly for present and future leaders of the new reborn church.

Speaking for a number of overseas archbishops, Orombi said there was no need to be concerned about the possibility of Africa, Asian and South American archbishops setting up permanent enclaves in North America. "We regarded you as refugees, and brought you into our homes, but when you no longer need this shelter we shall send you home."

In a statement issued by the archbishop's office, Orombi ripped The Episcopal Church saying that it was "severely compromised" and that it had clarified its commitment to continue on their path to abandon the Biblical and historic faith of Anglicanism.

"They, in fact, have decided to walk apart, and we are distressed that they are trying to take the rest of the Anglican Communion with them.

"We cannot take seriously a statement from TEC that merely pledges 'as a body' to not do something. TEC betrayed the Anglican Communion when it elected and confirmed as bishop a divorced man living in a same-sex relationship. We were further betrayed when its Presiding Bishop [Frank Griswold] agreed to the Communique from the 2003 emergency Primates' Meeting that he deeply regretted the 'actions of the...Episcopal Church (USA),' and immediately proceeded to assert at a press conference that he would preside at that consecration." He then explained that the Primates believed their statement "as a body," but individual primates were free to disagree.

"Now, TEC has told us that they pledge 'as a body' not to 'authorize public rites for the blessing of same-sex unions.' We have every reason to believe that individual bishops will feel free to disagree and continue to permit blessings of same-sex unions in their dioceses, rationalizing it as part of the breadth of their pastoral response, and all the while denying their complicity. This is unacceptable.

"TEC has lost the right to give assurances of their direction as a church through more words and statements. They write one thing and do another. We, therefore, cannot know what they mean by their words until we see their meaning demonstrated by their actions.

"The report of the Joint Standing Committee to the TEC House of Bishops meeting represents precisely the reason I declined to attend. The report is severely compromised and further tears the existing tear in the fabric of our beloved Anglican Communion. It is gravely lamentable that our Instruments of Communion have missed the opportunity in this moment to begin the healing that is so necessary for our future.

"Our Dar es Salaam communique did not envision interference from the Communion in the American House of Bishops while they were considering our requests. Yet, members of the Joint Standing Committee met with Presiding Bishop Schori in the course of the preparation of their House of Bishops' statement in order to suggest certain words, which, if included in the statement, would assure endorsement by the Joint Standing Committee. Presiding Bishop Schori's participation in the evaluation of the response requested of her province is a gross conflict of interest. We wonder why she did not recuse herself.

"The report is severely compromised, and the gross conflicts of interest it represents utterly undermine its credibility."

END