We believe that the response from the House of Bishops of The Episcopal Church to the three central questions asked by the Primates\u2019 Meeting in Dar es Salaam has been \u201d\u02dcyes, no, and no\u2019:<\/p>\n
\u201d\u00a2 Yes to the withholding of consent to the consecration to the episcopate of people living in same-sex unions
\n\u201d\u00a2 No to the cessation of the practice of some bishops covertly allowing the blessings of same-sex unions, even though a public rite has not been authorised
\n\u201d\u00a2 No to the proposed Pastoral Scheme and Pastoral Council, even though a scheme of Episcopal Visitors is still being clarified<\/p>\n
Furthermore, we believe that there is a series of further \u201d\u02dcno\u2019s to the other concerns that Primates wanted them to address, in particular a complete silence on the Covenant process.<\/p>\n
This follows from our careful analysis of the House of Bishops statement and a detailed comparison of it with the requests made by the Primates\u2019 Meeting in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.<\/p>\n
We conclude that the Archbishop of Canterbury should:<\/p>\n
\u201d\u00a2 underline the sections in his invitation to the Lambeth Conference concerning the importance of the Windsor Report and the Covenant process
\n\u201d\u00a2 disinvite the bishops of the Episcopal Church who are not willing to work with these tools
\n\u201d\u00a2 work forwards from here with the \u201d\u02dcWindsor Bishops\u2019 of the Episcopal Church, who have done their best to hold the high middle ground, to provide acceptable pastoral oversight for conservative parishes and dioceses
\n\u201d\u00a2 urge again the cessation of litigation on all sides<\/p>\n