Bishop Gene Robinson v. The Church of England over Gay Clergy

by Michael Jones · 2009-08-28 09:25:00 UTC
Topics:

Bishop Gene Robinson

Bishop Gene Robinson, the first openly gay Episcopalisn Bishop in the United States and the person that delivered the opening remarks at President Barack Obama's Inauguration event this past January, has a few choice words for the Church of England over the treatment of gay and lesbian clergy.  In fact, it's not just a few choice words, but an accusation that the Church of England sees gay and lesbian clergy as a problem and threat to the faith, and not as a full and equal member in the church.

Robinson gave an interview to the Guardian where he calls out the Church of England for not fully embracing gay and lesbian pastors. He cited recent comments by Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, who suggested that the worldwide Anglican Church might have to come up with a two-tier system that places churches who refuse to ordain gay and lesbian clergy ahead of churches that do.  That, Bishop Robinson says, would be an affront to religion and a sign that the worldwide Anglican Church believes in the philosophy of separate and unequal.

"I can't imagine anything that would be more abhorrent to Jesus than a two-tier church," Robinson told the Guardian.  "Either we are children of God and brothers and sisters in Christ, or we aren't. There are not preferred children and second-class children. There are just children of God."

The full interview will appear tomorrow.  But Robinson's words indicate that the U.S Episcopal Church is leaps and bounds beyond where the Church of England stands on equality, at least as an institution.

Michael Jones is a Change.org Editor. He has worked in the field of human rights communications for a decade, most recently for Harvard Law School.
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