The conservative Church's desperation to stop the liberal tide could be damaging

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2008/06/23/do2306.xml

[Telegraph] 24 Jun 2008--It's five years since Gene Robinson became the Anglican Church’s first gay bishop and yet the wounds appear as fresh as ever.

The American bishop has accused Dr Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, of dehumanising gays in his refusal to endorse the appointment, while African leaders provocatively claim they risk being "enslaved" by the liberal agenda of the West.

There have been countless threats of schism, but the war of words seems to be stepping up a gear as around 250 conservative bishops meet to discuss the future of the Anglican Communion.

For them, the increasing acceptance of homosexual clergy and lifestyles in the Western Churches marks a point of no return.

They have chosen to meet in Jerusalem rather than be tarnished by association with the "apostates" as they call them, who will be meeting in Canterbury next month for the Lambeth Conference.