Anglican Church
head appoints team of advisers on homosexuality issue

The spiritual head of the Anglican Church has appointed a team of four advisers to aid him with what The Christian Post refers to as "the homosexuality crisis engulfing the church body." The names of Archbishop Rowan Williams's advisers have not been announced, but they are expected to include a liberal archbishop from Wales and a conservative archbishop from Central Africa. The Christian Post reports that the team will play a pivotal role following the June convention of the American branch of Anglicanism, the Episcopal Church. Many within the church say the convention will be a critical test. Williams has said that if the Episcopal Church agrees to "repent" for its past behavior--which includes ordaining an openly gay man as bishop--the "fragile unity" within the worldwide Anglican faith can hold up. It's expected Williams's advisers will be influential in how the church reacts to whatever decision follows from the Episcopal convention. Last weekend, in electing a new bishop, California's oldest Episcopal diocese avoided controversy by not choosing any of the three gay or lesbian candidates from the ballot of seven. Many say a gay or lesbian election by the Diocese of California could have created a rift even wider than the one caused by the 2003 ordination of gay bishop V. Gene Robinson in New Hampshire. (Sirius OutQ News)