Brazilian deposed bishop and wife killed at home
Conservative Brazilian bishop Robinson Cavalcanti, who broke away
from the established Anglican church, and his wife Miriam were killed
February 26 at their home in Olinda in northeastern Brazil, said his
diocese, known as Anglican Church–Diocese of Recife.
Reports from
conservative Anglican media said that Cavalcanti was returning from a
parish visit and that the couple's adopted son, Eduardo, was a suspect
in the stabbing deaths.
After the U.S. Episcopal Church in 2003
approved the election of a gay bishop, V. Gene Robinson of New
Hampshire, Cavalcanti asked the House of Bishops in Brazil to express
its opposition. Brazil's bishops refused, and Cavalcanti pulled away
from the official Anglican Church of Brazil.
The bishop also broke
his ties with U.S. dioceses but took part in irregular actions,
including confirmations in Ohio in 2004, without the diocesan bishop's
permission, according to Episcopal News Service.
In 2005,
Cavalcanti was deposed from the Anglican Church of Brazil. Archbishop
of Canterbury Rowan Williams attempted to mediate the dispute, but to no
avail. When Cavalcanti left, he took 32 clergy and their congregations
with him, said the Episcopal News Service. The bishop claimed church
properties and refused to relinquish many diocesan documents.
When Brazil legalized gay marriage in 2011, Cavalcanti wrote that his country had legalized sin and "immorality."
