Gay US Anglican bishop speaks of physical threats against him
LONDON (AFP) — Gene Robinson, the openly gay American bishop whose appointment has sparked furore within the Anglican church, said in an interview Monday he had received physical threats in recent years.
Speaking to the BBC while in Britain ahead of this summer's Lambeth Conference of Anglican bishops, Robinson said the controversy surrounding his appointment was "deeply troubling".
Robinson, who will be attending the fringes of the Lambeth Conference but has not been officially invited, told the broadcaster: "I'll be coming to the Lambeth Conference, and there have already been threats against me and others."
Asked whether he regarded the threats as serious, he replied: "Absolutely. This has been going on ever since I was elected Bishop of New Hampshire, and I have to take them seriously. Certainly the authorities take them seriously."
He said he did not relish the attention put on him by the controversy, adding that "the pain that this has caused is deeply troubling to me, but ... pain should not be a surprise to Christians."
"Jesus says that every time we try to follow in God's way, we will pay a price."
Robinson, who will be entering a civil union with his partner later this year, said he did not think the Anglican Communion had permanently split, noting that he had "great hopes" for it.
"I want my brothers and sisters around the world in this church with me, and we need each other so that we can offer a model for the world of how to hang together, even when we disagree about this," he said.
His appointment in 2003 by the US Episcopal branch of the Anglican church has sparked division in the communion, with Uganda's branch announcing in February it would not attend the July 16-August 3 Lambeth Conference.
The conference, held every 10 years, brings together bishops from all 38 provinces of the Anglican Communion in Canterbury, southeast England, to discuss and make resolutions that will govern the church.
Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams will preside over the meeting.
