Posted on: February 1, 2010
The Most Rev. Dr. Mouneer Anis, who has resigned his position on the Standing Committee of the Anglican Communion, told The Living Church that discussions at the committee’s meeting in December 2009 are what prompted his resignation from the committee.
“I had been in communication before the meeting that I needed to discuss the participation of the Episcopal Church on the standing committee. I found some resistance to this,” said Bishop Mouneer, who is Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Egypt with North Africa and the Horn of Africa, and President Bishop of the Province of Jerusalem and the Middle East.
Bishop Mouneer announced his resignation in a five-page letter dated Jan. 30 and distributed by his diocese [PDF].
“I didn’t see a way forward to follow through on the recommendations made by the primates and by the Windsor Report itself,” Bishop Mouneer said regarding the Episcopal Church’s continuing representation on the standing committee.
“Many sing praises of ‘inclusiveness’ while at the same time they exclude others,” Bishop Mouneer wrote in his resignation letter. “I am deeply disturbed in my conscience when I see a kind of double standard in dealing with different issues. While emphasizing the importance of caring for the marginalized in our communities, like the LGBT community, the orthodox Anglicans are marginalized.”
He expressed a similar concern in a brief telephone interview with The Living Church.
“When it comes to who will sign and adopt the Covenant, there is exclusiveness,” he said. “This double standard hurts me.”
The bishop said he sees the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, as retaining an important role in future discussions of the Covenant.
“The Archbishop of Canterbury is very important — very important,” he said. “If he insists on following through on the recommendations [of the primates and the Windsor Report], people will listen to him.”
Bishp Mouneer said he hopes Archbishop Williams will “stand by and follow through on the agreements made in his presence.”
Archbishop Williams issued a brief statement on Monday morning in response to Bishop Mouneer’s resignation.
“Bishop Mouneer has made an important contribution to the work of the Standing Committee, for which I am deeply grateful,” Archbishop Williams said. “I regret his decision to stand down but will continue to welcome his active engagement with the life of the Communion and the challenges we face together.”
Douglas LeBlanc
h/t Fr. Dick Kim
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