Primates Begin Work on Final Communiqué

From The Living Church:

Posted on: February 4, 2009

The primates completed their third day of business in Alexandria, Egypt, Wednesday, with work beginning on their final communiqué. The meeting is scheduled to close Thursday with an afternoon press conference led by Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams.

So far, the primates have issued public statements on the crises in Zimbabwe and the Sudan and on global warming. Accounts of the closed-door proceedings differ, with some primates reporting a positive environment, while others have spoken of difficulties.

In their Feb. 3 statement, the primates asked that Archbishop Williams, in conjunction with the Council of Anglican Provinces in Africa, appoint an envoy “to go to Zimbabwe to exercise a ministry of presence and to show solidarity with the Zimbabwean people.” They also urged President Robert Mugabe to step down, and have called upon the international community to intervene in the Zimbabwe crisis.

On Wednesday afternoon, the primates took a break by touring the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, a new library built on the site of the ruins of the ancient Library of Alexandria.

The Most Rev. Philip Aspinall clarified to The Living Church today that the Anglican Covenant Design Group, not the primates, has been given the responsibility of crafting the final draft of the covenant that will be submitted to the May meeting of the Anglican Consultative Council.

When he briefed the media Feb. 2 about the primates’ discussions on the most recent draft of the Anglican Covenant, Archbishop Aspinall said that in the minds of a number of primates, following upon the views of the bishops at the 2008 Lambeth Conference, there was a desire for a “pulling back from the language of sanctions and teeth.” He added that this was the view shared by many, but not all of the primates.

The archbishop, who serves as Primate of Australia, said that his earlier description should not be construed to mean that the Anglican Covenant Design Group shared these impressions.

(The Rev.) George Conger