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 Editorials | Issues | October 2007 
Archbishop's Gay Plea
 Yakub Qureshi - Manchester Evening News
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| | The Archbishop Of Mexico, The Most Revd, Carlos Touche-Porter with The Most Revd Idris Jones, Primus Of Scotland. |
Manchester, England - An outspoken clergyman has hit out at opponents of gay tolerance in the Anglican Church.
Carlos Touche-Porter, Archbishop of Mexico, said the church should become more inclusive during a meeting of gay and lesbian Christians in Manchester.
His comments followed a crunch vote in America where US bishops decided to continue appointing openly gay clergy.
Liberal and conservative members of the Church have been divided since the ordination in America of openly gay bishop Gene Robinson in 2003. Following pressure, US leaders said they would show more restraint in making a similar appointment - but stopped short of banning same-sex blessings. Now conservative leaders have vowed to break away from the Anglican Church, which claims 77 million members worldwide, and set up their own churches.
Speaking at a summit at Manchester Cathedral, the Most Rev Touche-Porter welcomed the decision in America but said he hoped that the disagreement would not end in a split.
Hopeful
He said: "I'm not optimistic but I'm hopeful that the Church will not split. How many times in the past have we talked about the Church breaking up and it hasn't happened? The same thing was said when women were first ordained."
"We want to remain a base of prayer for all people not only some."
"My goal is for all of us, wherever we stand on this issue, to remain as one. We have the right to disagree and still stand together."
Although he leads a church of only 100,000 members in the predominantly Catholic Central American state, he said most of his congregations `would be accepting' of gay church ministers. He said: "Mexican society is open and tolerant and our Church reflects this."
The 57-year-old bishop is one of the most prominent advocates for gay tolerance in the Anglican Church.
He is a patron of the Inclusive Church charity, which hosted the weekend event in the city.
The Rev Rogers Govender, Dean of Manchester Cathedral, said: "The cathedral sits at the centre of a diverse and vibrant city."
"One important aspect of the cathedral is to help people debate and encourage communities to share and grow." |
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