Archbishop's US Trip to Ease Anglican Gay Tensions

The Archbishop of Canterbury is scheduled to travel to the US in September to ease the growing tensions within the Anglican Communion over gay bishops.

|PIC1|With the threat of a schism hanging over the worldwide body since the consecration of the first openly gay bishop Gene Robinson to the US Episcopal Church in 2003, Dr Rowan Williams has been desperately trying to reconcile liberals and conservatives who remain at loggerheads over homosexuality.

Over the past week, developments have further angered those on the traditional side of Scripture, after the openly lesbian Episcopalian priest Rev Tracy Lind was listed among five nominees for next the Bishop of the Chicago Diocese within the US Episcopal Church.

This week has also seen two American bishops appointed by the Anglican Church in Kenya to guide conservative US Anglicans who have turned to the Kenyan Church for oversight.

Dr Williams will fly to New Orleans later this month to meet Episcopal bishops and discuss previous demands that the US Church withhold from allowing any other openly gay clergy consecrations until the entire Communion agrees upon a precise stance.

If the US Church does not agree to these demands by 30 September, it will be extremely difficult for the Archbishop to halt some serious long-term divisions within the Communion.

Dr Williams has stated how serious he believes the current situation is: "It could take decades to restore some sort of relationship."

On BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs in 2002, he was asked by presenter Sue Lawley if gay rights should be acknowledged by the Church of England. At that time he said, "It's certainly no part of my programme to change this or even to push it as a matter of discussion but there it is on the table, we have to think about it.

"My hope is simply that we think about it without too much rancour, too much prejudice or too much fear."