Secular and church media, both from Canada and overseas, tried to pin the primate-elect down on where he stood on the controversial issue which is scheduled to be debated \u201d\u201c and perhaps decided \u201d\u201c by General Synod on June 23.<\/p>\n
But Bishop Hiltz would only voice his support for the \u201csynodical process,\u201d\u009d or the church\u2019s legal procedures, adding that he believed that the church needed to follow its processes and listen to the recommendations both of the Canadian church\u2019s St. Michael Report (which examined the issue of whether same-sex blessings were a matter of doctrine) and the international Windsor Report, which recommended ways of keeping the Anglican Communion together in spite of deep divisions.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need, as a church, to look at all the dimensions,\u201d\u009d said Bishop Hiltz, naming Scriptural study and matters of pastoral care as examples. \u201cI have personal views, but I am conscious of the office I hold as a bishop and as a primate-elect. I don\u2019t think it\u2019s appropriate to declare my position \u201d\u00a6 The conversation must go forward in the way that the church has decided it should go forward.\u201d\u009d<\/p>\n