Archbishop of Canterbury’s support for gay marriage revealed

(PinkNewsUK)

Correspondence between an evangelical Christian and Rowan Williams has been uncovered which reveals his support for gay marriage.

The letters were written in 2000 and 2001, when Dr Williams was the Archbishop of Wales, and confirm his liberal stance on homosexuality.

He stated in his correspondence with Deborah Pitt, an evangelical who lived in his then-Archdiocese, that parts of the Bible relating to homosexual acts are not aimed at people who are born gay but “heterosexuals looking for sexual variety in their experience.”

“I concluded that an active sexual relationship between two people of the same sex might therefore reflect the love of God in a way comparable to marriage, if and only if it had about it the same character of absolute covenanted faithfulness,” read one letter, quoted in The Times.

Archbishop Williams quoted the theologian Jeffrey John to back his position.

In 2003 Dr John was asked to stand down from his appointment as Bishop of Reading by Dr Williams, by then Archbishop of Canterbury, after conservative Anglicans objected to the fact that he was in a gay relationship.

Under House of Bishops guidelines, clerics are allowed to enter into a civil partnership as long as they are not engaging in sexual relations.

Lambeth Palace, when asked for a comment on the letters to Ms Pitt, quoted a recent interview in which the Archbishop said:

“When I teach as a bishop I teach what the Church teaches. In controverted areas it is my responsibility to teach what the Church has said and why.”

The ordination of Gene Robinson, an openly gay man, as Bishop of New Hampshire, was the catalyst for the ongoing crisis in the Anglican communion over gay issues.

At an event in Edinburgh last night Bishop Robinson said he felt personally “disrespected” by the way the Archbishop of Canterbury ignored his letters and banished him from a meeting of Anglican leaders.

“He is no longer the Rowan we once knew. I don’t know how he sleeps at night,” said Bishop Robinson.

At the conclusion of the Lambeth Conference last week Dr Williams said the “pieces are on the board” for a settlement.

The conference, held once every ten years, is a meeting of the leaders of the Church from around the world.

This year more than 200 bishops boycotted the event.

He also called on American churches not to elect any more gay bishops.

In a sermon on the final day of the Lambeth Conference in Canterbury, Dr Williams said: “In these days together we have not overcome our problems or reinvented our structures: that will still take time.”

But despite there still being “many questions” on the issue, a Covenant to bind the Communion together is needed, he said: “We may not have put an end to all our problems – but the pieces are on the board.”

The Covenant could mean churches with new gay bishops could be expelled from the Anglican Communion.

In a reference to the bishops who refused to attend the Conference Dr Williams said: “In the months ahead it will be important to invite those absent from Lambeth to be involved in these next stages.”

He added that the Communion must not just be “an association of polite friends,” rather, it must “embrace deeper and more solid ways of recognising and trusting each other.”

already a clean sweep for China in Olympics

China Works To Clear Country of Protesters Day Before Olympics

(Huffington Post)-On the same day that China condemned President Bush’s speech on its human rights policies, the country tried to hide an undercurrent of protest ready to burst in the limelight of the Olympics.

Read below about the documented arrests and deportations that occurred yesterday:

From The Washington Post:

China’s intense efforts to block any protest that would mar the Olympic Games were challenged Wednesday by foreign activists equally bent on diverting attention to issues as varied as Tibetan independence, the crisis in Darfur and religious freedom.

Two American and two British protesters slipped through a smothering Olympic security net, climbed a pair of lampposts and unfurled banners demanding freedom for Tibet near the new stadium where the Beijing Games are to open Friday night. In Tiananmen Square, three American Christian activists spoke out against China’s rights record and protested its population control policies. The four pro-Tibet protesters have been deported, while a second demonstration by Christian activists on Thursday was disrupted when plainclothes police removed the protesters from Tiananmen Square.

Germany hails ‘bullet-proof bra’

(BBC)

It is being dubbed the new “bullet-proof bra”, a new kind of Wonderbra which could help protect thousands of women police officers here in Germany.

It may sound like a joke, but this is a serious matter – the policewoman who came up with the idea said normal bras can be dangerous when worn in combination with a bullet-proof vest.

“The impact of a bullet can push the metal and plastic bits of the bra into an officer’s body, causing serious injury,” said Carmen Kibat, an adviser on equal opportunities for the Hamburg-based Bundespolizei – Germany’s federal police force.

“I always thought normal bras posed a safety risk and I wanted to change that,” she said.

“These new bras are very important and they will help all our women officers.”

Dozens of German policewomen have already tested the new bras and, after a two-month long trial, the underwear is being issued to officers as part of their uniform.

Under a vest

So what do the new bras look like?

Well, looking similar to sports bras, the new bras are white, made from cotton or polyester and padded. They also have the word “Police” printed at the bottom.

Crucially, though, the bras do not have any under-wire or fastener made out of metal or plastic.

From now on, women police officers will be allowed to pick three bras from a range of designs, varying in size and style.

“These new bras represent pioneering work,” said Ruediger Carstens, a spokesman for the Bundespolizei. “It shows that the safety of our officers is a top priority.”

In all, more than 3,000 front-line women police officers across Germany are being encouraged to wear the new bras on duty.

So that includes female officers deployed at airports, train stations, or those deployed at border crossings.

But at the end of the day, it is up to each individual officer to decide whether she will go for the latest “bullet-proof” lingerie – a police spokesman was keen to point out that the new bras “are optional”.