Anglican and Catholic ecumenical leaders examined moral discernment and homosexuality at their current round of dialogue where they explore the positions of the Catholic and Episcopalian churches on theological issues.
The meeting of the Anglican-Roman Catholic Theological Consultation in the USA (ARC-USA) held the sixth meeting of its current dialogue in Berkeley, California, February 28-March 1. Bishop Ronald P. Herzog of the Catholic Diocese Alexandria, Louisiana and Bishop John Bauerschmidt of the Episcopal Diocese of Tennessee chaired the meeting.
Dialogue members continued to study the theme of the current round, “Ecclesiology and Moral Discernment: Common Ground and Divergences,” and considered a preliminary draft of some sections of a statement on this theme that they expect to adopt. Members also heard a paper by Rev. Matthew S. C. Olver summarizing the discussions so far in this round and outlining areas of disagreement and convergence.
My older son’s godfather responded to this item as follows:
Nothing has “led our churches to come to very different conclusions” on this subject. One church (the Church) has not come to any conclusion, it merely believes what it always has believed (and, indeed, what the other church used to believe). The other church has indeed come to a new conclusion, one which represents a total volte face from what it previously believed.
[blockquote]“One of the primary tasks of this round of dialogue is to examine what has led our churches to come to very different conclusions regarding the morality of certain actions,
especially in the area of human sexuality,†Bishop Herzog explained. “We also acknowledge that we agree on many other moral questions. I have been impressed by the way in which both sides have been listening to each other with a spirit of patience and generosity as we search for common ground on these vexing moral issues.†[/blockquote]
My first reaction is that this is another waste of time. The conclusions on human sexuality are mutually exclusive and cannot be reconciled.
On the other hand, Berkeley is a nice place to visit at that time of year.