Africa’s Anglican bishops were due to hold a two-day meeting in Nairobi from Wednesday to mull whether they can continue accepting donations from provinces that support the ordination of homosexual bishops, an official said on Tuesday.
”After the realignment caused by the gay bishop issue, the leaders have decided to find ways of funding themselves, rather than depend on cash from provinces that backed the gay bishop,” said an Anglican Church of Kenya official.
”They might even refuse such cash,” he said on condition of anonymity.
African Anglicans, led by Archbishop Peter Akinola of Nigeria, fiercely protested, with some threatening permanent schism, after last year’s decision by the United States Episcopal Church to name Gene Robinson, an avowed homosexual, as Bishop of New Hampshire.
About 70% of funding for the Council of Anglican Provinces of Africa (Capa), which organised the Wednesday meeting in Nairobi, comes from rich churches in the West, particulary in the US, according to the Anglican Church of Kenya official.
Bishops from the church’s Global South — Latin America, Asia and Middle East — were also due to attend the meeting organised by Capa, which has a membership of 42-million.
In September last year, African church leaders, like many others in the developing world, warned that unless the US bishops rescinded their decision to recognise Robinson’s ministry, they would remove themselves from the Anglican Communion fellowship.
Conservative members of the worldwide communion also warned that the consecration of Robinson (56), who had lived with his male partner for 13 years, would automatically plunge the faith into the worst turmoil in its 450-year history.
The Anglican Communion, a loose congregation of autonomous national and regional provinces around the world, has a population of about 70-million followers. — Sapa-AFP