Greg Venables: We’re still not addressing the basic issue

From The Church Times:

30/07/2008 10:18:00

By Ed Beavan at the Lambeth Conference

THE PRESIDING Bishop of the Southern Cone, the Most Revd Greg Venables, said there had been meaningful dialogue at the conference, but felt the real issues had still not been discussed.

“We’re still not addressing the basic issue which is whether or not we believe the same things and consider ourselves members of the same Church, and that’s obviously the thing that has caused people to break away from their national churches.”

He said he found the method of trying to discuss issues through Bible studies frustrating.

Regarding the observations put forward by the Windsor Continuation Group, he said they were covering ground the Primates had already looked at.

“Since the Primates haven’t been able to move it along some of us don’t have much hope it will take us anywhere.

“Dar-es-Salaam put forward the idea of a pastoral council and the House of Bishops in the States didn’t want it. They want their autonomy.

“The North Americans have said they’re not going to move back and those who have left their national churches are unlikely to go back.

“Unless we talk about the real reasons why we are divided there’s little hope of putting it back together again.”

He said he felt he had made the right decision in coming to Lambeth, but felt other members of the GAFCON group had made an error in not coming.

“It looks like GAFCON is about separation, and that’s not where I want to be.

“The thing is if we’ve got beyond sitting round the table trying to talk then we’re probably past the point of no return. Let’s at least say we don’t agree with love.”