Anglican Head: Homosexuals Should Change Their Behavior
Correction appended
LONDON – The spiritual leader of world Anglicanism has told homosexuals who come into the Church that they should change their behavior, emphasizing that the tradition and teaching of the Church has in no way been altered by the consecration of the Anglican Communion's first openly homosexual bishop.
In a newspaper interview last week, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams rebuked those who argue it is high time the Church accepted gay relationships. "We don't say 'Come in and we ask no questions'. I do believe conversion means conversion of habits, behaviors, ideas, emotions," he said, according to the Dutch news agency Nederlands Dagblad.
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"Ethics is not a matter of a set of abstract rules, it is a matter of living the mind of Christ. That applies to sexual ethics."
The archbishop also tried to distance himself from a controversial essay he wrote 20 years ago, in which he defended same-sex love. "That was when I was a professor, to stimulate debate," he claimed. "It did not generate much support and a lot of criticism – quite fairly on a number of points."
Williams has previously distanced himself from his one-time liberal support of gay relationships.
While liberals who had previously hailed William’s appointment said they are dismayed that he appears to have turned his back on an agenda that he previously championed, the archbishop's comments received strong support from traditionalists.
The Rev Rod Thomas, a spokesman the evangelical network Reform, said: "There is no doubt that he is distancing himself from the views that he has previously expressed. He's right to want to see people converted. The fact that he's saying this is a hugely welcome development."
However, the Rev Giles Goddard, the chairman of the liberal Inclusive Church, said the archbishop's comments revealed an "astonishing" change in his position. "The implication is that there is no justification in scripture for the welcome of lesbian and gay people. It appears that he has moved into the conservative camp," he added.
Chris Bryant, a homosexual Labour MP, said that many people would feel betrayed by the archbishop's comments. "The Church of England wouldn't survive without gay clergy in inner cities,” he stated.
"People will feel this is a huge betrayal. Rowan has refashioned the Church of England into a narrow-minded, conservative sect."
The archbishop has said that he is determined to preserve the unity of the Church from being destroyed by the warring factions in the gay crisis. Williams has asked six Episcopal bishops to meet in New York next month to try and resolve differences over homosexuality tearing at their church. The six invited bishops reflect the spectrum of belief across the American church, including conservatives who disagree about whether their dioceses should break from the national denomination.
Christian Post reporter Joseph Alvarez in Washington contributed to this report.
Correction: Tuesday, September 12, 2006:
An article on Tuesday, August 29, 2006, which referred to statements made by Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams on homosexuality and the Church incorrectly reported that Williams had stated in an interview that homosexuals must change their behavior if they are to be welcomed into the Church. According to Nederlands Dagblad, which featured the interview, Williams "rebuked those who argue it is high time the Church accepted gay relationships" and said homosexuals who come into the Church should change their behavior.
