Episcopal bishops ask Anglicans to forgive a slight

The bishops issued their statement after a private, two-day meeting in Salt Lake City, where they discussed recommendations from an emergency Anglican panel on how the 77 million-member Anglican Communion can remain unified despite deep disagreements over homosexuality.

The 2.3 million-member Episcopal Church is the US branch of Anglicanism.

''We as the House of Bishops express our sincere regret for the pain, the hurt, and the damage caused to our Anglican bonds of affection by certain actions of our church," the bishops said. ''We express this regret as a sign of our deep desire for and commitment to continuation of our partnership in the Anglican Communion."

Utah Bishop Carolyn Tanner Irish said the statement was not an apology for consecrating New Hampshire Bishop V. Gene Robinson, who lives with his longtime male partner, but for the tensions that his election created within the Communion.

Last October, an Anglican panel released recommendations for resolving discord within the communion over homosexuality in a document known as the Windsor Report. It will be discussed in several worldwide meetings before any action is taken. Anglican leaders are to gather next month in Northern Ireland for that purpose.

Conservative bishops who had boycotted earlier bishops' meetings participated in the Salt Lake gathering, but left disappointed that no further action was taken.