Religious Left

Ruth Gledhill, Religion Correspondent timesonline.co.uk The Archbishop of Armagh, the Most Rev Alan Harper, who is one of 38 primates in the worldwide Anglican Communion, said today that if “reason” were applied to the Bible texts that seem to condemn homosexuality, a different interpretation would be found. He challenged the intellectual rigour of conservatives who use St Paul's epistles — in particular the first chapter of his Letter to the Romans where the Apostle condemns men who commit “unnatural” acts with other men — to bolster their argument that homosexuality is wrong. Archbishop Harper, who will be among the most senior of the 700 bishops at the Lambeth Conference in Canterbury, Kent, this month said that it was “inappropriate” to “anathematise” homosexuals on the basis of what St Paul says in this and other texts. He gave as an example the Genesis account of creation, where the Bible says God made the world in seven days and that the first woman, Eve, was made from Adam...

Riazat Butt, religoius affairs correspondent and Peter Walker guardian.co.uk The Archbishop of Canterbury accused rebel Anglicans who have launched a breakaway faction within the global communion of lacking legitimacy, authority and, by implication, integrity. Breaking his silence over the threat to the unity of the 77 million-strong communion, Dr Rowan Williams warned leaders of the conservative coalition that "demolishing existing structures" was not the answer to their concerns. "It is ludicrous to say you do not recognise the Archbishop of Canterbury or the see of Canterbury - they are the defining characteristics of Anglicanism," one Lambeth palace official said. "By doing away with the role and the place, these people are becoming a Protestant sect." full article

U.S. Episcopal bishops, fed up with Anglican criticism of their support for gay priests, implored the Anglican spiritual leader to hear their side of the story -- in person. Starting Thursday, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams will be in New Orleans for that private talk, hoping he can hold together the increasingly fractured world Anglican family. Williams arrives in the U.S. facing a real danger that the global Anglican Communion could break up on his watch. http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-anglican-crisis,0,7650946.story .

Sept. 6, 2007 Dear Rowan, I am delighted that you have agreed to meet with the House of Bishops of the American Episcopal Church in September, even if you appear to be unwilling to come alone. It has seemed strange that you, who have had so much to say about the American Church, have not been willing to do so before now. Your office is still honored by Episcopalians in this country, so our bishops will welcome you warmly and politely. We have some amazingly competent men and women in that body, many of whom have not yet met you. There is clearly an estrangement between that body and you in your role as the Archbishop of Canterbury. I want to share with you my understanding of the sources of that estrangement. First, I believe that most of our senior bishops, including me, were elated, at your appointment by Queen Elizabeth II and Prime Minister Tony Blair. Most Americans are not aware that yours is an appointed, not an elected position. Those of us who knew you were keenly aware of yo...