The Anglican Communion and homosexuality
Recent developments: 1999 to 2002
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Recent developments
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1999-SEP: U.S. Conference: The Anglican Consultative Council (ACC) concluded
in Dundee,
Scotland on 1999-SEP-24. An announcement was made at the Council that a
group of Anglican bishops will meet in New York later in 1999 for a "consultation"
on homosexuality. They expect to have bishops at the meeting who represents
"all shades of opinion" on the matter.
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1999-OCT-8: Gay rights in parts of Africa: The Bishop and
Primate of the Episcopal Church in the USA, Frank T Griswold, issued a
statement in his capacity as the Presiding Bishop on Human Rights for
Homosexual Persons. He "read with alarm and deep concern accounts of
statements by the presidents of Kenya, Uganda, and Zimbabwe which have
become a provocation for the harassment and persecution of homosexual
persons...Within the Anglican Communion we are seeking to discern a common
mind on the issue of homosexuality in the life of the church. However,
regardless of one's views on the matter, there should be no debate among us
about human rights for all people - which are enshrined in the United
Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights." [Author's
note: Actually, the UDHR does not mentioned sexual orientation as
a protected class.]
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2000-FEB-20: Bishops' meeting in Portugal: A week-long
meeting of bishops from around the world was announced, to be held in Portugal,
starting on 2000-MAR-22. According to a ReligionToday news
summary, the leader of the Anglican church worldwide, the Archbishop
of Canterbury, George Carey, said that he holds traditional view of
human sexuality and the family. He believes that "a vast
majority" of bishops worldwide do so as well. However, he
wants to consider the ideas of "faithful Christians, some of
whom are homosexual themselves," who are challenging the
Church's teaching on human sexuality because "they have felt
excluded from the Church for many years."
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2000-FEB-20: Irregular consecration of two bishops: The Archbishop
of Canterbury, George Carey, issued a letter to the primates of the
Anglican communion which described "the recent consecration in
Singapore of two priests of the Episcopal Church of the United States
as bishops by the Archbishop of South East Asia and the Archbishop of
Rwanda." The intent of the consecration was to create two
bishop-missionaries to the United States. Movement towards equal
treatment of persons of all sexual orientations within the Episcopal
Church has alarmed religious conservatives. The Archbishop stated
that: "neither the constitution of the Province of South East
Asia nor that of the Episcopal Church of Rwanda, to whose primates
John Rodgers and Charles Murphy have sworn an oath of canonical
obedience, have been followed. In addition, Anglican polity requires
that ordained ministers should be properly authorised to pursue their
ministry in the Province within which they wish to work, and according
to the Canon law of that Province. It appears that this is not the
intention in this case, and it is doubtful in the present
circumstances whether such authorisation would be forthcoming."
Archbishop Carey is withholding recognition of Rodgers and Murphy as
bishops. 1 According to ReligionToday, "Anglican
Primate of Canada Michael Peers said the action is 'an open and
premeditated assault on Anglican tradition, catholic order, and
Christian charity.' Bishops are to be chosen and approved by local
churches within a province, then ordained by bishops with authority in
that province, he said. 'Bishops are not intercontinental ballistic
missiles, manufactured on one continent and fired into another as an
act of aggression.' " 2
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2000-MAR-20: Reform groups in the USA:The American Anglican Council, a
conservative reform group from Dallas TX issued a statement stating
that they believe that the worldwide Anglican Communion faces "a
grave moment" in which "nothing less than the
integrity of the Gospel and the future of the church is at stake."
Their concern centers around ordination of sexually active
homosexuals, and the blessing of homosexual unions in the U.S.
However, they feel that these are symptomatic of a much deeper
problem. A second conservative group, Georgia-based Concerned
Clergy and Laity of the Episcopal Church, states: "Today,
there are two religions in the Episcopal Church. One remains faithful
to the biblical truth and received teachings of the Church, while the
other rejects them." The presiding bishop of the Episcopal
Church in the U.S.A. (ECUSA), Frank Griswold, disagrees. He feels that
the church is not in crisis; a recent survey shows that most members
are satisfied. He
criticizes conservative elements within the denomination of pushing an
anti-homosexual agenda.
Anglican archbishops gather in Oporto, Portugal for a six day
conference starting MAR-23. 3
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2000-MAR-22: Follow-up: Irregular consecration of two bishops: Bishop
John Rodgers now heads an Association of Anglican Congregations on
Mission in Chicago IL. He now oversees about six churches. Bishop Charles Murphy
heads First Promise and oversees a few American churches that
he has aligned with the Province of Rwanda. 3
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2000-MAR-28: Follow-up: Bishops' meeting in Portugal: According
to ReligionToday, Irish Archbishop Robin Eames is the meeting's
official spokesman. He has commented that "dignified anger"
and "disgust" have been expressed by conservatives about the
liberal attitudes towards gays and lesbians being advanced in parts of
the Anglican community -- most noticeably in the U.S. 2 In
the Final Communiqué, the bishops included a some material relating
to homosexuality:
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The communiqué states: "For some, new life in Jesus
Christ, the movement from darkness to light, necessarily involves
the recognition that homosexuality is part of the brokenness of
human life which needs to be healed by the power of the Gospel.
Consequently, integrity and effectiveness in evangelism will
require a clear stand on issues such as homosexuality. So, the
differing views expressed or implied in the practice of other
Provinces are experienced as actively hurtful to and undermining
of mission." This appears to say that some within the
Anglican communion regard a homosexual orientation as a disorder
or disease -- something that can be changed or "healed."
They apparently believe that the church must be undivided in its
beliefs and practices towards gays and lesbians.
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The communiqué continues: "For others, even if they
share a traditional interpretation of Biblical ethics, this should
not be identified as the question on which the Church's integrity
depends. In their situations mission would be held back in a
context where the Church is seen to be too concerned with sexual
matters at the expense of other crucial issues." This
appears to say that others in the communion feel that there is an
excessive concentration on sexual matters within the
communion.
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The bishops seem to have made no reference to a third group:
those who feel that a homosexual orientation is not chosen, is
unchangeable and is a normal, natural minority sexual orientation.
From those beliefs, this third group frequently concludes that
persons of all sexual orientations should receive full human
rights, be given access to membership and ordination within the
church, and have their marriages and unions recognized.
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Near the end of the communiqué, the text refers to developments
within the Episcopal church in the U.S.:
"We believe that
the disagreement over sexual ethics and differences in the
reception of Lambeth Resolution I.10 that clearly exists within
and among the Provinces does not necessarily amount to a complete
and definitive rupture of communion. However, it has caused very
great concern in many parts of the Communion that the Lambeth
Resolution I.10 which was overwhelmingly adopted by bishops at
Lambeth '98 has been rejected in some dioceses of our Church. Such
clear and public repudiation of those sections of the Resolution
related to the public blessing of same-sex unions and the
ordination of declared non-celibate homosexuals, and the declared
intention of some dioceses to proceed with such actions, have come
to threaten the unity of the communion in a profound way. We
strongly urge such dioceses to weigh the effects of their actions,
and to listen to the expressions of pain, anger and perplexity
from other parts of the Communion. We urge all bishops to
recognise that further public actions of the kind mentioned above
strain the reality of mutual accountability in a global Communion,
where what may seem obvious and appropriate in one context may be
harmful and unacceptable in another. Nevertheless, Resolution I.10
and the Section Report which accompanied it also calls on us all
to listen to the experience of homosexuals in the Church. We
endorse the Archbishop of Canterbury's concern in his letter to
the bishops of the Communion (Feb 17th 2000) to encourage dialogue
between those who hold that the Church's historic teaching on this
matter is so clearly evident in scripture as to be fixed and final
and those who are not convinced that the Bible speaks at all
clearly to the questions currently before us. Such listening does
not prejudge the outcome for the Church. But a careful, patient
and pastoral process must be encouraged; it is not created by the
demonising of opponents or by overheated, politicised and
polarised language in our conflicts." |
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2002-JUL-24: New head of the Anglican Communion appointed: Rowan Williams, currently the Archbishop of Wales, is the new Archbishop
of Canterbury, spiritual leader of 70 million Anglicans worldwide. He
will replace George Cary who had a tumultuous task overseeing the
Anglican Communion during a time when the once all-male priesthood was
changed. Under Cary's leadership, females were ordained as priests and
later consecrated as bishops.
Because the UK lacks separation of church and state, Prime Minister Tony
Blair chose Williams from a list of two submitted by a special
commission after months of secret debate. Queen Elizabeth later approved
the appointment formally. A spokesperson for Tony Blair praised
Williams' "wisdom, intellectual stature and deep spirituality
[qualities which would be] invaluable as he seeks to lead the Anglican
church in ever more complex and challenging times". The spokesperson
added: "The government may not always agree with everything that is
said (by senior members of the church) but people are perfectly at
liberty to express their views." Williams has backed a gradual
separation of church and state in England. The Reverend Richard Kirker,
general secretary of the lesbian and gay Christian movement, welcomed
Williams' past support for homosexual rights. Kirker said: "Dr
Williams' commitment to justice and dignity for all people including
lesbians and gay men gives us great heart. Under his leadership
homophobia will be challenged and intolerance rooted out." Some
conservative elements from within the Anglican Community are displeased
with the selection of Williams. 4
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2002-JUL: Archbishop rejects blessing of gay unions: During an address at Oxford University, the Archbishop of
Canterbury, the Most Rev. George Carey, departed from his prepared speech. He
discussed a prior decision by the New Westminster diocese in British
Columbia, Canada. In 2001-JUN, the diocese's governing body -- the synod
-- voted 63% in favor of blessing gay and lesbian unions. To our
knowledge, this is the first diocese in the entire Anglican Communion to
take this step. Carey said
that the diocese's decision was schismatic because it divides the Anglican
Communion and "makes us a very embarrassing partner in ecumenical circles." 7 It may be worth noting that if one synod is not allowed to be the first to make a change, then change becomes impossible for any synod, for any province or for the Anglican Communion itself.
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2002-SEP: Comments by the current Archbishop of Canterbury, George
Cary: He is the spiritual leader of 70 million Anglicans worldwide. He
had the tumultuous task of overseeing the Anglican Communion during a time
when the long-lasting tradition of an all-male priesthood was changed.
Under Cary's leadership, females were ordained as priests. Later, they
became eligible to be consecrated as bishops. This change came close to
inducing a schism in the Communion.
In mid-September, Dr. Cary warned
that the Anglican Communion was on the brink of a fundamental split over
the issue of homosexuality. He noted the trend "towards serious
fragmentation and the real possibility of two - or, more likely, many more
- distinct Anglican bodies emerging....This erosion of communion through
the adoption of 'local options' has been going for some 30 years but in my
opinion is reaching crisis proportions today."
Dr Carey has condemned both:
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The "schism" created by traditionalists and evangelicals in
reaction to the actions of a number of liberal bishops -- particularly
over homosexuality.
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Liberal forces within the Community for refusing to desist in
such actions as blessing the unions of gay and lesbian couples. 5
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The story continues....
References:
The following information sources were used to prepare and update the above
essay. The hyperlinks are not necessarily still active today.
- George Carey, "Letter to the primates of the Anglican communion,"
ACNS 2037, issued 2000-FEB-20
- "Episcopalians face liberal-conservative split," at: http://www.religiontoday.com/
- "Anglicans confronted with fractured American church,"
Maranatha Christian Journal, 2000-MAR-22, at: http://www.mcjonline.com/
- "Controversial liberal named as next leader of Anglican church,"
Yahoo News at: http://sg.news.yahoo.com/
- Leslie Schrivener, "Bishops urged to overrule B.C. diocese on gay
unions," The Toronto Star, 2002-OCT-22, Page A23.
- Jonathan Petre, "Carey
warns of Church split on gays," 2002-SEP-17, at: http://www.dailytelegraph.co.uk/
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Copyright © 1997 to 2011 by Ontario
Consultants on Religious Tolerance
Latest update: 2011-FEB-19
Author: B.A. Robinson
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