Gay US bishop not invited to key Anglican conference
LONDON -- The Archbishop of Canterbury, spiritual head of 77 million Anglicans worldwide, has not invited two American bishops to a major conference next year, a move expected to intensify debate in the deeply divided communion.
Archbishop Rowan Williams has sent invitations to more than 800 Anglican bishops asking them to attend the Lambeth Conference in July and August 2008, but did not include V. Gene Robinson and Martyn Minns.
Robinson's consecration as bishop of New Hampshire in 2003, in which he became the Anglican Church's first openly gay bishop, led to deep divisions among Anglicans.
Robinson said he was deeply disappointed by Williams's decision. "How does it make sense to exclude gay and lesbian people from the discussion?" he asked in a statement. "Isn't it time that the bishops of the church stop talking about us and start talking with us?"
Minns, a deeply conservative Episcopalian, was installed last year as the head of a new Nigerian-based church branch in the United States designed as a refuge for orthodox believers. The Anglican Communion does not recognize his position.
"This crisis in the Anglican Communion is not about a few individual bishops, but about a worldwide communion that is torn at its deepest level," Minns said.
Williams said in his statement: "I have to reserve the right to withhold or withdraw invitations from bishops whose appointment, actions, or manner of life have caused exceptionally serious division or scandal within the communion."
"I do not say this lightly, but I believe that we need to know as we meet that each participant recognizes and honors the task set before us and that there is an adequate level of mutual trust between us about this."
It is possible that others will have their invitations withdrawn before the conference takes place if anything "untoward or unacceptable" occurs, an Anglican spokesman said.
"There are one or two other cases where the archbishop is currently seeking further advice," Tim Livesey, the head of public affairs for Lambeth Palace, said.
Next year's Lambeth Conference, the 14th to be held since 1867, is expected to involve intense discussion on ideological and doctrinal issues that have caused serious rifts within the communion in recent years. The African church is generally becoming more conservative, and other parts are breaking away.
Events such as the Lambeth Conference, which does not determine church doctrine, are supposed to be a forum for reflection and discussion and an opportunity to overcome internal problems.
While the noninvitation of Robinson and Minns is expected to provoke debate, particularly in the United States and Africa, Livesey said, it was possible Robinson, at least, could be allowed to come as a "guest" of the conference -- a minor concession that might temper criticism.
