Vicar of Battersea (Southwark) and Prolocutor of the Convocation of Canterbury in General Synod, Canon Simon Butler, an openly gay priest, told us he has not interpreted the actions of the Primates\u2019 Meeting as primarily an attack on The Episcopal Church (TEC USA) or on LGBT people, but instead has come to see it as reaffirmation of the bonds of communion from the Primates.<\/p>\n
He said it was a statement of love and fellowship that steadfastly refuses to exclude American Anglicans, including those who are LGBT, while at the same time reaffirming \u201d\u02dcwhat cannot be but obvious to most people\u2019 \u201d\u201c that the majority of the Communion\u2019s member Churches have not reached the point where they can go along with TEC\u2019s position.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Primates\u2019 \u201d\u02dcconsequences\u2019 should not, I believe, be seen as punitive, but as a reflection of the current state of play in the Communion with respect to marriage equality,\u201d\u009d he said.
\u201cThe same must be true of the current situation in the Church of England,\u201d\u009d he said. \u201cLike it or not, those who wish to see our Church change its position have to accept that we have not done so yet. That may be an offence to the Gospel for some of us \u201d\u201c and an enormous mission challenge among the under-40s in most of our urban and graduate cultures \u201d\u201c but it is the reality.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have not yet changed enough minds.\u201d\u009d<\/p>\n