The Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, issued a “profound apology” to the lesbian and
gay Christian community today, in a bid to avoid a schism.
In what's largely considered a PR move, he claimed that any divide in the church would "represent a betrayal of God’s mission."
Referring to the debate of gay ordinations, he said: “There are ways of speaking about the question that seem to
ignore these human realities or to undervalue the. I have been criticised for doing just this and I am profoundly sorry for the
carelessness that could give such an impression.”
He added that the issue had been stifled by those who ignored the fact that many
worshippers were gay, as well as many “sacrificial and exemplary priests”.
He also pleaded for anti-gay Anglicans to cease fighting, admitting that he and other
bishops might have to settle for a two-tier communion.
The comments come just two months after Williams denounced Uganda's Anti-Homosexuality Bill. In an interview with the Daily Telegraph,
the 59-year-old claimed: "Overall, the proposed legislation
is of shocking severity and I can’t see how it could be supported by
any Anglican who is committed to what the Communion has said in recent
decades.
“Apart from invoking the death penalty, it makes pastoral care
impossible – it seeks to turn pastors into informers,” he continued.