Sydney bishops snub Anglican chief in gay row

SYDNEY's Anglican Archbishop, Peter Jensen, and his five assistant bishops have rebuffed the worldwide leader of the Anglican Church in his attempts to heal the bitter division in the international church over gay bishops and same-sex unions.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, had issued invitations to 800 Anglican bishops to attend a conference of Anglican primates next year in Britain.

But Dr Jensen and his bishops have delayed responding to the invitation, issued personally by Dr Williams, saying they hesitated to sit at the same table as those who supported the consecration of gay bishops and the blessing of same-sex unions.

Progressive Anglicans have accused Dr Jensen of seeking to embarrass the head of the Church of England.

The Archbishop of Canterbury did not invite two controversial American prelates to the conference, which takes place every 10 years - Martyn Minns, a breakaway priest from the Episcopal Church, and Gene Robinson, the openly gay Bishop of New Hampshire. But invitations were extended to most bishops in the Episcopal Church, including those who supported Bishop Robinson's consecration.

The Sydney bishops said they would wait until later in the year to reply, after the deadline set by primates of the Anglican Communion for the US church to cease same-sex blessings and the consecration of additional gay bishops.

"In view of the real hesitations that we experience in joining with those who have consecrated Bishop Gene Robinson, and with others who have allowed for the blessing of same-sex unions, and given the significance of these events, we feel that we cannot give an answer to your kind invitation until later in the year," the bishops said.

In an earlier letter published in The Church Times, Dr Jensen joined other evang

Sydney bishops snub Anglican chief in gay row
Sydney Morning Herald