Phillip Aspinall: It’s true. There is no power to expel, other than possibly the Anglican Consultative Council, and that’s a long and somewhat complicated process itself. No, the question here is not someone coming in with a big stick and a quick fix to sort it all out. What we’re dealing with is a family of committed people, struggling together to discern the truth and find the way forward. No-one is expecting a quick fix and once-and-for-all solution for all time from the meeting this week in the United States. Rather we hope that in conversation and prayer and mutual discernment, we might be able to see constructive next steps.
Stephen Crittenden: We’ve been told that the Archbishop of Canterbury intends to ask the Episcopalian Bishops two questions in New Orleans. Presumably those two questions are likely to be Do you have any intention to stop consecrating gay bishops and Do you have any intention to stop blessing same sex unions?
Phillip Aspinall: Yes, I haven’t been advised by the Archbishop of Canterbury about two particular questions that he intends to ask, though clearly the meeting is in response to the requests made by the Primates in Dar-es-Salaam earlier this year, and certainly the Primates did seek clarification on those two matters you raise from the American House of Bishops, and conversations will go on about those two things. The first one, in relation to the moratorium on the consecration of active gays that was in the Windsor report and followed up by the Primates, there’s a fairly clear indication already been given by the General Convention last year. The General Convention resolved to call on bishops to exercise restraint by not consenting to the election of such people. Now what the Primates have asked is for the House of Bishops to indicate that that resolution is one that they take seriously and will stick by, and I think if that kind of assurance is given, then the substance of that request will be met.
Stephen Crittenden: But that could well be tested in the near future with this election in Chicago.
Phillip Aspinall: Yes I think we need to understand that there have been several Episcopal elections in the United States since the Windsor Report was published and since the Primates issued their requests. As I understand it, there have been gay candidates in several of those elections and none of those candidates have been elected. So in fact, a moratorium has been instigated at least to this point.
Read it all and note the earlier discussion on why B033 does not do what the Windsor Report asks.
A moratorium has been instigated? Please. For whatever reason diocesan conventions have not yet elected another gay bishop. Hardly a moratorium.
“So in fact, a moratorium has been instigated at least to this point.”
Typical reappraiser dishonesty and non-logic. They are either incredibly arrogant to think the rest of the world is stupid enough to buy this, or they themselves are stupid enough to think it’s actually true. I would love to hear from a reappraiser which is actually the case.
And what’s with that last part? “…to this point”? So, at any point, an active homosexual could be elected against the demands of the Anglican Communion, and THEN what would he say?
A complete joke.