Paul Feheley, Archbishop Hiltz’s principal secretary, defended the pastoral letter by stating that the Anglican Church of Canada (ACC) understands that SSBs performed in Bp Ingham’s diocese are permissible under the Windsor Report.
He said the Canadian Church’s interpretation of the Windsor report was the moratorium forbid [sic] any bishop from giving any additional parishes the right to perform same-sex blessings.
In New Westminster, eight parishes were given permission by the diocese, but after the report was released in 2004 no additional parishes were given that authority. Those original eight churches continue to perform the rite.
That defence is difficult to accept for two reasons. First, even if it were true that the Windsor Report (TWR) allows SSBs in New Westminster to continue, why did Primate Hiltz not speak up when the synods of Ottawa, Montreal, and Niagara passed motions calling for SSBs in their dioceses? Why didn’t he say, “Sorry, old chaps, TWR doesn’t allow you to go through with that” (or words to that effect)? If he had, we might be able to give credence to Mr Feheley’s claim that the ACC actually desires to respect TWR.
Furthermore, TWR does not countenance SSBs anywhere in the Anglican Communion. If, for some reason, ACC leaders think that unclear from the text of TWR itself, the primates removed all uncertainty in the Dar es Salaam Communiqué.
Comprehension of the actual event will be greatly enhanced if the reader substitutes the word “twists” for “misinterprets.”