Archbishop apologises to lesbian and gay worshippers
February 11th, 2010 by Martina.Booth
The Archbishop of Canterbury has issued a “profound” apology to lesbian and gay worshippers.
In an address to the General Synod, Dr Rowan Williams apologised for appearing to undervalue the contribution of lesbian and gay people to the Anglican Church.
The Archbishop used to openly support equal rights for gay people within the Church. However, he has recently adopted a more conservative line in a bid to avoid a schism, which he warned would represent a betrayal of God’s mission.
Referring to gay ordinations, he said: “The debate over the status and vocational possibilities of LGBT people in the Church is not helped by ignoring the existing facts, which include many regular worshippers of gay or lesbian orientation and many sacrificial and exemplary priests who share this orientation.
“There are ways of speaking about the question that seem to ignore these human realities or to undervalue them.
“I have been criticised for doing just this and I am profoundly sorry for the carelessness that could give such an impression.”
The contentious debate over gay ordinations, which threatens to divide the Church further, will continue in May with the expected consecration of Canon Mary Glasspool, a lesbian, as a bishop in Los Angeles.
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