BY ITS own unusual lights, the Lambeth conference of Anglican bishops was a great success. Its self-imposed task was to avoid any nasty rows between 650 purple-clad gentlemen (and a few purple-clad ladies) who hold widely diverging views on issues which they see as matters of principle, not detail. And a “surprising level of sheer willingness to stay together” was finally reported, on August 3rd, by Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury””after nearly three weeks of well-choreographed confraternity in which participants took no votes and made no firm decisions. (Such a luxury would hardly be possible for a body like, say, the International Telecommunication Union, where success is judged by earthly yardsticks.)
Still, the Anglican leader’s own standing as a mediator, doing his best to hold together the almost irreconcilable, rose as a result of the gathering. And in a very Anglican way, the thorny issues facing the church were artfully concealed by euphemism and arcane procedures that will unfold over several years. Minds were distracted from trickier subjects by a hyper-inclusive march against poverty.
Nice to see a mainstream publication call out Gene Robinson for his obsession with martyrdom (see last paragraph of the article).
Sorry, but by MY lights, the conference was a waste of time, money, and effort. Nothing has changed, nor will it. No decisions were made…..by design…..and that was its greatest failing.
The Universal Church is still the Universal Church in the minds of the orthodox laity. They are faced with only two options. They can either leave the Anglican Communion or they can try to align with a parish that aligns with a province which remains in the Universal Church of Christianity. That is their concern. Not what a bunch of men in purple shirts tried to sidestep at Lambeth. I’m sorry, but the boarder crossing issue moratorium will not satisfy this laity. They are looking for temporary help and safety. It is a total misrepresentation of the facts that bishops from the Global South are raiding the US and Canada. They are just offering sanctuary to the persecuted.
For a body that claims 77 milliom members bishops and archbishops representing about 44 million plus, boycoted the meeting. Thus the bishops present were dominantly from the provinces that have generated the problem, the United States and Canada. No togetherness when the vast bulk of the communion are not even in communion with these provinces.
[blockquote]And in a very Anglican way, the thorny issues facing the church were artfully concealed by euphemism and arcane procedures that will unfold over several years. Minds were distracted from trickier subjects by a hyper-inclusive march against poverty. [/blockquote]
These sort of statements are becoming canards. I read a tidal wave of coverage on the internet and hardly anyone at the meeting seemed to be pretending that everything was fine. True, certain people were in very deep denial about certain things, but no-one that matters was throwing around euphemism and fudge like they have in the past.
We must give credit to the policy against resoultions, which seemed to give people some breathing room. Like it or not, fudgemaking and deliberate inaction are two separate things.
[blockquote]
Brighton: [as Damascus falls and burns] Look, sir, we can’t just do nothing.
Allenby: Why not? It’s usually best.
[i]Lawrence of Arabia, 1962[/i][/blockquote]