Bishop apologizes for Church's treatment of LGBTQ2S+ community
TORONTO, June 25, 2021 /CNW/ - On Friday, June 25, the Right Reverend Andrew Asbil, Bishop of Toronto, apologized to the LGBTQ2S+ community in the Anglican Diocese of Toronto for the ways in which the Church has harmed its members. Bishop Asbil spoke to invited guests at St. James Cathedral in downtown Toronto, while many more watched the live stream.
The apology followed months of intentional consultation and conversation with members of the Diocese, and for Bishop Andrew personally, decades of walking alongside LGBTQ2S+ Anglicans.
"Words of welcome and inclusion, and written policies that support them, are critically important, but there are other words that need to be said," Bishop Asbil said on Friday.
"I apologize for the teachings, words and actions that have diminished your humanity, sexuality and identity and perpetuated the sins of homophobia and transphobia in the Church."
He also called on the Church to "reach out to those who have been marginalized by teachings, words and actions that have inflicted wounds and hurt, and to offer words of remorse in sincerity and truth."
A video of the apology is available on the Diocese's YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/tordio135.
The Anglican Diocese of Toronto, founded in 1839, is the largest diocese in the Anglican Church of Canada by population and membership. Bishop Andrew Asbil is the chief pastor of the Diocese, with oversight of 202 parishes in the Greater Toronto Area and beyond.
SOURCE Anglican Diocese of Toronto
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