> Brethren: It amazes me that those who are contra the designate +Cantuar are so because of homosexuality. There have been homosexuals & heretosexuals in the priesthood, probably since Whitsunday 33Ad, and many have lived chaste lives and been a great blessing to many as they exercised their sacerdotal apostolate. The issue, the great issue that is forgotten is that a woman CANNOT be a priest or a bishop ; she cannot receive Holy Orders and therefore she cannot absolve, bless or consecrate. Thus she cannot perform the central priestly acts (sacraments) and thus cannot bring objective grace to those who seek it from her. None of these things is true of homosexuals. Happily Forward in Faith (the English group) understands this. I wish some of those wasting time on so called 'gay controversy' would understand it as well. Please pray for the repose of the soul of Melvin. Blessings. GDVW+ ) Rift within Church over gays deepens > By Jonathan Petre, Religion Correspondent, The Telegrah > (Filed: oct. 3,2002) > > > The rift in the Church of England over homosexuality deepened last night > when two mainstream evangelical groups joined the growing chorus of > criticism of the new Archbishop of Canterbury's liberal stance on the > issue. > > In a sign that battle lines are being drawn up, the two groups, which > represent several thousand clergy and which are based in every diocese, > said that concern over Dr Rowan Williams existed far more widely than > among the relatively small "conservative" evangelical wing of the > Church. > > The Church of England Evangelical Council and the Anglican Evangelical > Assembly backed the move by the conservative evangelical network Reform > to urge Dr Williams to renounce his liberal views or resign, as > reported in The Telegraph last week. > > In an unprecedented move, Reform called on Dr Williams to condemn sex > outside marriage or step down as the successor to Dr George Carey, a > post he will not formally take up until the new year. > > Dr Williams, who has admitted to ordaining a practising homosexual, has > said that he will not abandon his views but he has sought to dampen > down the row by saying that he has no plans to impose them on the > Church. > > Evidence is growing, however, that a number of senior bishops are > becoming increasingly anxious about Dr Williams's views and the effect > they could have on the unity of the Church. > > The evangelical wing is also coming under mounting pressure to take > strong action from like-minded Anglican bishops in Africa and Asia. In > a letter, the two groups said that evangelicals across the worldwide > Church supported the stance of the 1998 Lambeth Conference, which > overwhelmingly condemned the ordination of practising homosexuals and > the blessing of same-sex unions. > > > > > _________________________________________________________________ > Chat with friends online, try MSN Messenger: http://messenger.msn.com > > > -- > To unsubscribe, send ANY message to > <faithandlife-unsubscribe@...> ----------------------------------------- This email was sent using FREE Catholic Online Webmail. Please tell your family, friends and children about COL Webmail! http://webmail.catholic.org/