Trinidad's Anglican Church withdraws invitation to pro-gay British bishop

Trinidad's Anglican Church has withdrawn an invitation to a British bishop because of his support for same-sex marriages--the first time it has recalled such an offer to a foreign priest. Bishop John Gladwin of Chelmsford was to preach at a family day celebration of Corpus Christi, the celebration of Christ's body, scheduled May 26. "The church did not want him preaching something which they were opposed to," the special assistant to the Caribbean Conference of Churches, the Reverend Knolly Clarke, said Wednesday. He said Trinidad bishop Calvin Bess rescinded the invitation after senior Anglican leaders took offense at Gladwin's support for North American clerics who want the church to bless same-sex marriages, including for clerics. "Bishop Bess recalled the invitation since the local church is opposed to that position," Clarke said. The Anglican Church has been divided over the consecration of an openly gay bishop in the U.S. Episcopal Church and a move by a Vancouver diocese in Canada to bless same-sex marriages. Many bishops in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Latin America, and the Middle East are furious over the developments, believing gay relations are banned by Scripture. About 11% of the 1.2 million people of Trinidad and Tobago, a former British colony, are Anglican. (AP)