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Gay News: Gene Robinson, the openly gay bishop whose appointment in 2003 threatened to split the Anglican Church, is to retire early in 2013
Gener Robinson
Openly gay bishop to retire early
8 November 2010
Robinson, who as Bishop of New Hampshire became the first non-celibate gay man to be appointed a Bishop, said the seven years of controversy over his appointment and sexuality had eventually proven too much to bear.
In a statement to his
“Death threats and the now worldwide controversy surrounding your election of me as Bishop have been a constant strain, not just on me, but on my beloved husband, Mark, who has faithfully stood with me every minute of the last seven years…
“While I believe that these attitudes, mostly outside the diocese, have not distracted me from my service to you, I would be less than honest if I didn’t say that they have certainly added a burden and certain anxiety to my episcopate.”
Robinson went on to say that he would not be retiring from public life and would continue to work with the wider community.
“I get the opportunity to make the case for God and for God’s church – either to those who have never known God’s unimaginable love, or to those who have been ill-treated in the name of a judgmental God, and who have left the Church.
“Recent news brings us the tragic stories of teenagers who have taken their own lives because religion tells them they are an abomination before God and who believe that their lives are doomed to despair and unhappiness.”
The issue of homosexuality still continues to destabilise the Anglican Church, with several communities, particularly in Africa and in some parts of the
However Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of
