Anglican primates warn U.S. bishops_110303

Posted: 10/31/03

Anglican primates warn U.S. bishops

LONDON (RNS)–Leaders of the Anglican Communion announced they would not discipline the Episcopal Church for its approval of an openly gay bishop, but they warned that Episcopal policies on homosexuality threaten to “tear the fabric of our communion at its deepest level.”

A two-day emergency summit of Anglican leaders produced a warning that the future of the Anglican Communion “will be put in jeopardy” if Gene Robinson is installed as the next bishop of New Hampshire. The service was set for Nov. 2.

The Episcopal Church is the U.S. branch of the 77-million-member Anglican Communion, which is led by the archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams.

The 37 Anglican primates, or presiding bishops, also rebuked the U.S. church–along with the Vancouver-based Diocese of New Westminster–for allowing the blessing of same-sex unions.

“These actions threaten the unity of our own communion as well as our relationships with other parts of Christ's church, our mission and witness, and our relations with other faiths, in a world confused in areas of sexuality, morality and theology,” the primates said in a joint statement.

The primates, responding to criticisms from the Vatican and some Muslim groups, said the U.S. and Canadian policies do not change Anglican teachings on sexuality. They upheld a 1998 Anglican policy that opposed gay ordination and same-sex blessings and ruled homosexual acts “incompatible with Scripture.”

“We must make clear that recent actions in New Westminster and in the Episcopal Church do not express the mind of our communion as a whole, and these decisions jeopardize our sacramental fellowship with each other,” the primates said.

Still, despite the strong verbal condemnations, the primates did not impose the “severe sanctions” called for by U.S. conservatives.

The primates urged each province to minister to “dissenting minorities” but declined to give bishops the power to bypass traditional lines of authority. Each bishop must respect “the autonomy and territorial integrity of dioceses and provinces other than their own,” the primates said.

The primates asked Williams to appoint a commission to advise the primates on how to proceed and directed lawyers to probe the ties that bind the 38 autonomous churches together.

The focus now shifts to Robinson's consecration service. The primate of the U.S. church, Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold, told reporters he plans to attend.

“I stand fully behind the careful process used by the diocese of New Hampshire to discern who it wished to have as its next bishop,” said Griswold, who voted in August to ratify the New Hampshire election.

The primates held the door open for Robinson to withdraw, following the lead of Jeffrey John, a gay British priest who stepped aside last summer after his appointment as a suffragan bishop in England was denounced by conservatives.

Mike Barwell, a spokesman for Robinson, said Robinson planned to “move ahead” with the ceremony.

Opponents, who have promised to register their objections during the installation rite, said Robinson's withdrawal may be the only thing that can keep the global church intact.

“The statement implicitly calls for the consecration of Gene Robinson to not go forward,” said the Rev. David Anderson, president of the conservative American Anglican Council. “If it does, this statement is clear that there will be significant consequences.”

If Robinson's installation indeed proceeds as planned, the primates said some Anglican churches will declare themselves “out of communion” with the U.S. church–a move that would likely have few practical consequences.

Robinson would, however, not be recognized as a bishop in some U.S. dioceses and most other Anglican churches–including the Church of England, Williams said.

Conservatives hold out hope that Robinson's installation will provoke a more formal “intervention” from sympathetic primates in Africa and Asia. “They did issue a firm and direct warning opening the door to the possibility of intervention,” Anderson said.

One thing seems clear: Conservative parishioners do not appear willing to remain in the church if the status quo holds firm. During an emotional 48-hour gathering of conservatives last week in Dallas, 58 percent of participants said they would leave the Episcopal Church if drastic changes do not come soon.

The Rev. Ian Douglas, professor of mission and world Christianity at Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, Mass., said the issue is far from settled in either the U.S. church or the global communion.

“I don't think the Episcopal Church has gotten off the hook on this one, because it's still a very important and ongoing concern that we need to take seriously the impact of our decisions,” Douglas said “Will we continue to be held accountable for our decisions? Yes. And is that a good thing? I think so.”