The Most Rev Justin Welby, in his frankest remarks on the subject to date, said that there could be “a sort of temporary separation”.
The archbishop, who has visited all of the fractious union’s 38 provinces over the past 18 months, said he found himself disagreeing “profoundly” with views espoused by some of them.
“I think, realistically, we’ve got to say that despite all efforts there is a possibility that we will not hold together, or not hold together for a while,” he told The Times. “I could see circumstances in which there could be people moving apart and then coming back together, depending on what else happens.”
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I am not a subscriber to The Times, but the excerpt here is very telling. He certainly makes no effort to paint over the real differences or speak of them as cosmetic or just things that entail misunderstanding.
The timing with the ACC meeting is also interesting.
I think it’s interesting that he’s now preparing the ground for formal fracture within the Communion.
‘Below the fold’:
At issue, for example, was the question of whether, and when, to call another Lambeth Conference, the regular summoning to Canterbury of all the leaders of the Communion. Technically, the Archbishop said, this remained his call. But he was now hoping that the decision could instead be taken by all the primates together. He suggested this new arrangement in his talks, and the other primates agreed. “A move towards a more collegial, collective responsibility was popular.”
[blockquote]“I went out thinking the Archbishop of Canterbury must no longer lead the Communion. And I said it everywhere we went, and virtually everywhere we went, people said ‘No, no, no, that’s completely wrong.’ So there’s going to be something in which the Archbishop of Canterbury is still the first among equals. Exactly how the links work is yet to be decided.â€[/blockquote]
The people want a leader, but he ain’t it. A leader would have said, “Here is how it is going to work.”