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Anglicans
meet on gay saga in Tanzania
 15
Feb 2007 - Anglican Church leaders yesterday gathered at a Dar es
Salaam beach resort for a key conference as the denomination faces a
schism threat over the ordination of homosexual bishops and same-sex
unions.
About 40 clerics met amid tight security at the Jangwani Beach and
Resort Hotel for a weeklong discussion on the future of the crisis-
ridden church.
Journalists were blocked from entry and guards told them that the
clerics were in a closed-door meeting. "We are under instructions not to
allow anyone inside," a senior guard told journalists.
It was not immediately clear how many clerics were attending the
gathering and what was on the agenda. "But is it is just an ordinary
meeting," said Most Reverend Jongonkulo Ndungane, the Archbishop of Cape
Town.
Earlier, on Tuesday, the host archbishop insisted that clerics were
holding an ordinary internal meeting. "This is an internal meeting and
we will discuss and hope to resolve our issues,"
Donald Mtetemela told reporters.
The conference was expected to be a showdown between the Global South
conservatives from Asia, Africa and Latin America and liberals from the
West. The Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, the spiritual head
of the 77-illion- strong Anglican Communion, is attending the meeting.
On his arrival on Tuesday, Williams conceded that the church was in dire
straits, but hoped that the meeting would forge a united front.
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