ugnet_: Kenyan Church rejects UK gay bishop-BBC

[Omar Kezimbira]

Last Updated: Tuesday, 1 July, 2003, 14:57 GMT 15:57 UK E-mail this to a friend Printable version

Kenyan Church rejects gay Bishop

Dr John says his relationship is a 'gift from God' The head of the Anglican Church of Kenya (ACK), Archbishop Benjamin Nzimbi, has said that his Church will neither recognise nor support the plan by the Church of England to consecrate an openly gay Bishop. He said the ACK will maintain that position even if it means losing financial support from the parent church. "When it comes to making decisions we go by the Bible, we go by what the word of God says, with money or without money," Archbishop Nzimbi told BBC News Online. The Archbishop says that homosexuality is against God's teachings and the consecration of a gay Bishop threatens the Unity of the Worldwide Anglican Communion. People will ask - what is wrong with the mother Church in England? Archbishop Benjamin Nzimbi Head of Anglican Church of Kenya "It will bring confusion in the Church," says Archbishop Nzimbi. "The Archbishop of Canterbury will preside over the consecration and people will ask - what is wrong with the mother Church in England?" Violation of canon law The row in the Anglican Church centres on the appointment of Canon Jeffrey John as the Bishop of Reading. Dr John has described as a "gift from God" his relationship with another man, but said the partnership had not been sexual for some time. A gay wedding in Canada also sent shockwaves through the church But Archbishop Nzimbi has ruled out the possibility of the Anglican Church of Kenya recognising the decision by its spiritual head, the Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams, "to violate canonical laws by consecrating a homosexual". However, he has said the ACK will not ostracise lesbians and homosexuals in the church because this would be against its obligation of pastoral care. The Archbishop of the Church of Nigeria, Peter Akinola, has threatened that his church would break ties with the Diocese of Oxford if the appointment was not rescinded. Archbishop Nzimbi has urged Kenya's regional counterparts, Tanzania and Uganda, to oppose the move by the Church of England. Kenya is one of the 38 affiliates that make up the 70 million-member global Anglican church. E-mail this to a friend Printable version

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