Anglican bishop: Gays must repent

LONDON, July 5 (UPI) -- An Anglican bishop who is resigning in protest over the church's stance on homosexuality says gays must "repent and change."

Bishop of Rochester Michael Nazir-Ali is quitting his post in September and is starting a conservative movement called the Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans. In an interview with The Sunday Telegraph, he said the Church of England should be welcoming to homosexuals but press them to give up their lifestyles.

"We welcome homosexuals, we don't want to exclude people, but we want them to repent and be changed," he told the newspaper, adding that it is not just homosexuals who need to acknowledge their sins, but everyone who has strayed from the Bible's teachings.

"We want to hold on to the traditional teaching of the church," Nazir-Ali said. "We don't want to be rolled over by culture and trends in the church. We want a movement for renewal. We need a reformation of the church and the life of the communion."

Nazir-Ali's new coalition of evangelical and Anglo-Catholic parishes will get under way Monday. Critics say it is an attempt to create a "church within the church."