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UK: Schism closer as US Anglicans vote to overturn ban on gay ordinations
The Archbishop of Canterbury said comparisons with the Nazis should be used sparingly
By Ruth Gledhill, Religion Correspondent
From The Times
July 14, 2009
Dr Williams's tenure has been dominated by the fall-out from the consecration of Bishop Gene Robinson of New Hampshire
A formal split in the Anglican Church worldwide moved closer yesterday after clergy and laity in the US voted to allow the consecration of openly gay bishops.
The Archbishop of Canterbury expressed "regret" over a decision by Anglicans in the US that represents a blow to his hopes for Church unity. Dr Rowan Williams made clear his concern after the Episcopal Church voted at the triannual General Convention in California to overturn a moratorium on gay ordinations.
Clergy and laity in the US backed a motion that "acknowledges that God has called and may call any individual in the Church to any ordained ministry in the Episcopal Church, in accordance with the discernment process set forth in the Constitution and Canons of the Church".
This means that anyone will be able to be ordained regardless of sexuality if the US bishops back the move when they vote on it in the next few days, making formal schism inevitable.
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