Roundup- Archbishop warns ordination of gay clergy could lead to two-tier church

From the London Guardian-

The archbishop of Canterbury today reiterated his opposition to ordaining gay clergy and authorising same-sex blessings, warning liberal churches that such practices would lead to isolation and relegation in the Anglican communion.

Rowan Williams was responding in a statement today to developments in the US Episcopal church which earlier this month voted to open the ordination process to gay people and to consider developing blessings for same-sex couples.

In typically lengthy and nuanced prose, the archbishop said that the church's stance on these matters was unlikely to "repair the broken bridges in the life of the other Anglican provinces" and that "very serious anxieties had already been expressed" in the communion.

Same-sex blessings were "at the very least analogous" to Christian marriage and people living in such unions could not "without serious incongruity" have a representative function in a church whose public teaching was "at odds with their lifestyle", he said.

This disparity in theology and practice between conservatives and liberals – exacerbated by the consecration of Gene Robinson in 2003 as the communion's first bishop in a relationship with another man – would lead to a "twofold ecclesial reality", he added.

"Perhaps we are faced with the possibility of a two-track model, two ways of witnessing Anglican heritage, one of which had decided that local autonomy had to be the prevailing value."

More here-

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/jul/27/archbishop-canterbury-opposes-gay-clergy

and the LA Times

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-episcopal28-2009jul28,0,6891826.story

and the London Telegraph

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/religion/5919068/Archbishop-of-Canterbury-foresees-two-track-church-to-avoid-gay-schism.html

and the Washington Times

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/jul/28/anglican-leader-foresees-two-paths/

and USA Today

http://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/2009-07-27-anglican-episcopal-gay_N.htm

The London Times

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article6729180.ece