c. 1998 Religion News Service

CANTERBURY, England _ A group of nearly 100 bishops, most from the United States and Britain, have apologized to gays and lesbians for”any sense of rejection”they might feel because of the Lambeth Conference’s condemnation of homosexuality and pledged to work for their”full inclusion”in Anglican churches around the world.

In a pastoral statement still being circulated for signatures Friday (Aug. 7), the bishops said the Anglican Communion _ the world’s 80 million Anglicans, including the U.S. Episcopal Church _”must not stop where this conference has left off”in discussing the role of gays and lesbians in the church.”We pledge that we will continue to reflect, pray, and work for your full inclusion in the life of the church,”said the statement, made public by Bishop Ronald Haines of Washington, D.C. As of Thursday evening, 22 American bishops had signed the statement.

The statement also apologized to gays and lesbians.”Within the limitations of this conference, it has not been possible to hear adequately your (gay and lesbian) voices, and we apologize for any sense of rejection that has occurred because of this reality,”the pastoral statement said.”This letter is a sign of our commitment to listen to you and reflect with you theologically and spiritually on your lives and ministries. It is our deep concern that you not feel abandoned by your church and that you know of our continued respect and support.” On Wednesday, the Conference, the three-week long meeting of some 750 Anglican bishops from around the world, adopted a resolution”rejecting homosexual practices as incompatible with Scripture.” The resolution also upheld”faithfulness in marriage between a man and woman in lifelong union”and called for abstinence on the part of those”not called to marriage.” While expressing the belief of a majority of bishops at the meeting, the resolution does not have the force of church law and cannot be imposed on churches that act counter to it.

Nevertheless, the resolution was hailed by conservatives in the Episcopal Church, where the fight over homosexuality has been especially intense.”This will be an enormous boost to Episcopalians in our country,”said Roger Boltz of the American Anglican Council, an independent group affiliated with the Institute on Religion and Democracy.”It will give orthodox believers both encouragement and courage to stand for the truth in our dioceses and parishes, because they know that they stand with the worldwide body of Anglicans.

But Integrity, the organization of lesbian and gay Episcopalians, said the vote”will have a negative impact on church growth in United States”and criticized what it called the conference’s”failure to respect the cultural context of the church in the United States.””Full inclusion of lesbian and gay ministries in the Episcopal Church will continue,”the group promised.”The life of the church in the United States is not going to come to a halt because bishops from other parts of the world refused to even listen to the stories of their gay and lesbian brothers and sisters.” Also Friday, the bishops finished discussing euthanasia and adopted a resolution condemning mercy killing while leaving open as a moral option the withdrawal of medical treatment from those in a permanent vegetative state.

Debate on the resolution had been postponed Thursday during a dispute over whether the conference could approve termination of life-support measures in some instances.

The bishops defined euthanasia as”the act by which one person intentionally causes or assists in causing the death of another who is terminally or seriously ill in order to end the other’s pain and suffering.”Such actions are”neither compatible with the Christian faith nor should be permitted in civil legislation,”they added.

But the resolution made a distinction between euthanasia and withholding, withdrawing, declining, or terminating”excessive”medical treatment and intervention,”all of which … may be consonant with Christian faith in enabling a person to die with dignity.” And it added:”When a person is in a permanent vegetative state, to sustain him or her with artificial nutrition and hydration may be seen as constituting medical intervention.” The bishops also unanimously adopted a resolution put forward by the Church of Pakistan calling for the repeal of that nation’s blasphemy law which Bishop Azad Marshall said hung”like a sword of Damocles over the heads of the Christian minority.” The law carries the death penalty for anyone speaking ill of the Prophet Muhammad and, by extension, the Koran, Islam’s holy book.”We started our journey as equal citizens of Pakistan alongside our Muslim brethren,”Marshall said.”Today, 50 years after independence, we are faced with discrimination, intolerance and legal and judicial processes which have successfully marginalized the religious minorities.” Bishop Samuel Azariah, moderator of the Church of Pakistan, who proposed the resolution, said the law has”become an instrument of victimization of various groups of people, especially religious minoritiesâÂ?¦ This law, we believe, is contrary to the teaching of the prophet of Islam.”

DEA END NOWELL