Canadian bishops side-step gay debate

From Religious Intelligence via Transfigurations:

Tuesday, 5th May 2009. 12:13pm

By: George Conger.

The global economic meltdown and the Anglican Communion’s divisions over homosexuality took centre-stage last week at the Canadian House of Bishops’ meeting in Niagara Falls.

Canadian bishops side-step gay debate

However, in their April 23 “letter to the church” the bishops declined to address head-on the splits within the Canadian Church over gay marriage, saying only that they had “reviewed motions by General Synod 2007 concerning same-sex blessings.”

Divisions over doctrine and discipline centring round sexual ethics have so far led to the creation of 28 parishes served by three former Anglican Church of Canada bishops and 73 priests and deacons under the umbrella of the Anglican Network in Canada (ANiC) --- the Canadian wing of the third province movement in North America. In 2007 General Synod declined to authorize rites for same-sex blessings, but asked for further study as to “whether the blessing of same-sex unions is a faithful, Spirit-led development of Christian doctrine.”

The discussion of human sexuality was held in a closed-door session during the April 18-23 meeting, with no report issued on the deliberations. However, tensions over sexuality remain high, with Toronto and a half dozen other dioceses indicating they will go ahead with gay blessings in violation of the 2008 Lambeth Conference call for a “season of restrain” over further liturgical innovations on same-sex blessings.

On Jan 29, Toronto Bishop Colin Johnson told his diocesan council he would permit a “limited number of parishes” to offer prayers and blessing “but not the nuptial blessing” to same-sex couples “in stable, long-term, committed relationships.”

In March the Bishop of Niagara stated he had informed the Archbishop of Canterbury that his south central Ontario diocese would not honour the ban, while the March edition of the Diocese of Ottawa’s newspaper also announced plans for blessing same-sex unions. Bishop John Chapman announced that he had formed a committee to address the question of same-sex blessings, and would likely authorize an Ottawa parish to conduct the rites on a trial basis.

The implications of Canada’s push forward on gay blessings, however, was raised in an open session on creating diocese-to-diocese links with African churches to dialogue with them on issues of human sexuality. The majority of Anglican dioceses in Africa are in broken or impaired communion with those portions of the Canadian Church that have endorsed or authorized gay blessings.

Nonetheless, the Canadian bishops stated that they remained Anglican. The Archbishop of Canterbury “has stated in writing that his office and the Anglican Communion Office recognize one ecclesial body in Canada as a constitutive member of the communion, the Anglican Church of Canada.”

The Canadian bishops said they “affirm this statement. We cherish our communion with the See of Canterbury and remain committed to the life and witness of the Anglican Communion in the service of the Gospel.”

Limits on who were properly entitled to be in service to the Gospel as Anglicans, however, were enacted by the bishops, who stated that “with regret,” clergy and lay members of ANiC “should not be given permission to exercise a leadership role in the Cursillo movement of the Anglican Church of Canada.”

Discussions on the global economic crisis were also shared, with several bishops reporting staff cuts in the wake of the decline in the world financial markets. The bishops “acknowledged that many of our communities continue to struggle with the impact of the current economic crisis. We are committed to encouraging our congregations to offer their prayers and every possible support to those affected by loss of employment and income. Notwithstanding current circumstances, we urge governments at all levels not to lose sight of their commitments to the most vulnerable in society, including the working poor, women and children in poverty, and the homeless.”