Bishops will meet to discuss gay clergy

THE Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, is to convene an extraordinary meeting of bishops to discuss the issue of the appointment of gay clergy.

Dr Williams, head of the Church of England and spiritual leader to Anglicans worldwide, said the effects of the row over the appointment of a gay bishop in the US were being felt throughout the church and there was a need for the bishops to meet to consider them.

“The anxieties caused by recent developments have reached the point where we will need to sit down and discuss their consequences,” he said. “I hope that we will find there are ways forward in this situation which can preserve our respect for one another and for the bonds that unite us.”