A decision by the Anglican mission society the USPG to end its funding to Latin America and the Caribbean has been criticised by bishops in the region….
When the changes were first mooted in March, the Primate of Brazil, the Most Revd Mauricio Andrade, and ten other Brazilian bishops wrote to the society’s trustees to express “surprise and disappointment”.
They had not been consulted, they said, and it was “unjustifiable” to “completely eliminate an entire conÂtinent from your sphere of mission”. This demonstrated a “lack of conÂcern for Latin America and the CaribÂÂbean within the Anglican ComÂmunion”, and smacked of “colonial favouritism”. The cuts would force them to “abandon” projects. They called for period of transition.
The Bishop of Peru, the Rt Revd Bill Godfrey, described the decision to “cut off this whole part of the world as extraordinary and regretÂtable”. He said that he had “been on USPG’s books for 25 years”. While he acknowledged that the USPG had to balance its books, he said: “I find it hard to believe the only answer is to withdraw funding. There have always been good times and more difficult times financially, but we pass through them.”
He, too, spoke of a lack of conÂsultation….
Well, if the USPGS abandons Latin America, it provides an opportunity to ECUSA to further build up its pretence/apparent ambition of being an ‘international’ church rather than a ‘national’ church.
It also opens the door for ACNA and the Global South to ‘fill the gap’ left by the USPG.
This can lead to a widening of the incipient schism within the Anglican Communion.
I encourage those interested in Anglican work in Latin America to check out the SAMS South American Missionary Society website and support SAMS.
Sad to see the grand old USPG struggling financially, but it’s hardly surprising given the terrible economy. I note that while many of the Brazilian bishops are on the TEC payroll and ++Mauricio Andrade is notoriously liberal, the same can’t be said of +Bill Godfrey of Peru, who is staunchly conservative.
David Handy+