The presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church, Katharine Jefferts Schori, said she was gratified by the panel\u2019s conclusions. \u201cThe Joint Standing Committee report has recognized the hard work of the House of Bishops,\u201d\u009d Presiding Bishop Jefferts Schori said in a statement, \u201cand that our responses reflect our repeatedly expressed desire to remain in full communion with the rest of the Anglican Communion.\u201d\u009d<\/p>\n
But a conservative member of the committee immediately took issue with the report, saying his input was not included.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe response of the House of Bishops of the Episcopal Church represents a superficial shift from their previous position,\u201d\u009d the committee member, the Most Rev. Mouneer Hanna Anis, primate of the Province of Jerusalem and the Middle East, wrote in an e-mail statement. \u201cTherefore I strongly disagree with the report.\u201d\u009d<\/p>\n
Committee members traveled to New Orleans with the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, the communion\u2019s spiritual leader, to talk to the Episcopal bishops about the tensions in the communion.<\/p>\n
The Joint Committee submitted its report to Archbishop Williams, and he has sent it to all the primates and members of the Anglican Consultative Council, a representative body of bishops, priests and lay people. They are to respond to the archbishop by the end of the month.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is one voice, and other voices need to come in and say whether the Episcopal Church has indeed satisfied\u201d\u009d the primates\u2019 demands,\u201d\u009d said Canon James M. Rosenthal, spokesman for the Anglican Communion Office.<\/p>\n