Church condemns election of openly gay bishop

The Archbishop of the Church of Rwanda, Rt. Rev. Emmanuela Kolini has strongly criticized and condemned the decision of an Anglican diocese in the United States of America to elect an openly gay clergy as the bishop of Diocese of Los Angeles. In a close-to-call election that took seven ballots, the Diocese of Los Angeles elected an avowed lesbian, Rev. Canon Mary Douglas Glasspool to be the next Bishop of the diocese, setting off another storm around the Anglican community six years after the election of Gene Robinson, a non-celibate homosexual, as the Bishop of New Hampshire. Speaking to The New Times, Kolini condemned the election and said the fact that Mary is a lesbian was against the will of God to place such a person in position of religious leadership. “I condemn not only the act of electing Glasspool to the position, but also lesbianism as an act against the will of God,” Kolini said, adding that it only contributes to divisions in the global Anglican society. The election of Rev. Canon Mary Douglas Glasspool, 55, has created a theological rift between The Episcopal Church of America and the vast majority of Anglicans worldwide. According to Kolini, placing such a person in a position of leadership makes it worse because she will only give wrong directives to the society. “God did not plan the creation of different sex for enjoyment, he had a plan, he wanted man to multiply and feel the world.” Glasspool is one of only two women to be appointed the position of Bishop in Los Angeles in over 100 years, and is also the first gay woman. The American church set off a debate within the world Communion when it confirmed Robinson as bishop-elect of the Diocese of New Hampshire. Anglican bishops in Africa, Asia and Latin America condemned the vote, with some threatening to sever ties with the U.S. church. Robinson, a 56-year-old divorced father of two, has lived with his partner, Mark Andrew, for more than 15 years. Ends

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Church condemns election of openly gay bishop