Archbishop fears Church schism in gay row

[from the London Telegraph]
By Jonathan Petre, Religion Correspondent
Last Updated: 1:58am GMT 06/01/2007

The Archbishop of Canterbury has admitted that he fears losing control of
the worldwide Anglican Church, which is on the brink of schism over
homosexuality.

In a surprisingly frank assessment of the crisis, Dr Rowan Williams said
that he feared anything that set Christians more deeply at odds with each
other.

"And because I am an ordinary, sinful human being, I fear the situation
slipping out of my control, such as it is," he said.

"I fear schism, not because I think it's the worst thing in the world but
because, at this particular juncture, it's going to be bad for us. It's
going to drive people into recrimination and bitterness."

In a documentary on Canterbury Cathedral to be broadcast on ITV tomorrow,
the archbishop added: "We can't take it for granted that the Anglican
Communion will go on as it always has been.

"Of course that's unsettling, of course that's painful for everybody, but
there's no way of moving on without asking the hard questions."

His comments, which will be leapt on by critics who accuse him of weak
leadership, come at a highly sensitive time for the worldwide Church, which
is being pulled apart by warring factions.

Next month, Dr Williams will chair a make-or-break summit in Africa with his
fellow primates, the archbishops who head the 38 self-governing Churches or
provinces that make up the 70 million-strong Communion.

The archbishop is hoping that a compromise will emerge, allowing
conservatives and liberals to co-exist relatively peacefully until a more
formal split can be worked out over the next decade.

But if his strategy falls apart a large section of the Church could break
away and form a rival body, creating bitter divisions across the world,
including the Church of England.

The disintegration could accelerate at next month's meeting if conservative
archbishops refuse to negotiate with the new female head of the liberal
American branch of Anglicanism, which precipitated the crisis by
consecrating a gay bishop in 2003.

Meanwhile, the archbishop is facing fresh turmoil in the Church of England
following the disclosure that more than 50 gay or -lesbian priests have
"married" in civil partnership ceremonies.

A number of them have openly breached official guidelines that allow them to
enter into such partnerships only if they have first assured their bishops
that they will remain celibate.

So far, however, no bishop has initiated disciplinary action and
conservatives will force the issue on to the floor of the General Synod in
February when it stages its first debate on homosexuality for a decade.

The Rev George Curry, the chairman of the conservative evangelical Church
Society, said it could be a "crunch moment" for the Church.

But a leading liberal, the Rev Giles Fraser, the vicar of Putney in west
London, urged "fight to keep alive the Anglican project of an inclusive and
open Church".

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