The Last Gay Bishop

Sex. Money. Power. Race.

The conflict in the Anglican Communion has it all these days.

If today's Washington Post is correct, Gene Robinson will be the last openly gay bishop in the Anglican Communion. Or the Communion will be shattered.

A request for an apology for Robinson's consecration (but not a call for his removal) is also expected.

Here's the most vital part of the story.

Opposition to his consecration has come not only from conservatives in this nation, but also from Anglican leaders in Africa, Asia and South America who accuse the U.S. church of breaking faith with Christians in the developing world. Nigeria alone has seven times as many Anglicans as the United States, and theology and worship practices in the Third World tend to be more traditional than in Europe and North America.

Will the first world church accept a rebuke from the third world church? Will it cede it's leadership role to the third world, or use it's money and power to them "back in their place." Or will the first world church, the American church, stick to its guns? Is the recognition of the "rights" of gays in the church more important that keeping the Communion together?

Stayed tuned.

More on the story is at Virtuosity Online
, a conservative Anglican portal.