CAN DULY KICKED
Question: does this mean anything?
Archbishops Rowan Williams of Canterbury and John Sentamu of York have suggested that the Church of England and the Anglican Communion ought to be in “an open-ended engagement” with theAnglican Church in North America.
Williams and Sentamu made their remarks in a report to the Feb. 6-9 sessions of the Church of England’s General Synod.
The report comes in response to a resolution the synod passed two years ago in which the Church of England recognized and affirmed ACNA’s desire “to remain in the Anglican family,” but said it was not yet ready to be in full communion with the breakaway entity.
The February 2010 resolution referred to “the distress caused by recent divisions within the Anglican churches of the United States of America and Canada,” and the archbishops said that that distress will continue “for some considerable time.” The divisions occurred over the decisions of the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church of Canada related to full inclusion of LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) people in the life of the church, the ordination of women and the authority of scripture.
“Wounds are still fresh,” Sentamu and Williams write. “Those who follow developments in North America from some distance have a responsibility not to say or do anything which will inflame an already difficult situation and make it harder for those directly involved to manage the various challenges with which they are still grappling.”
Thus, they said, the outcome of the open-ended engagement that they suggest “is unlikely to be clear for some time yet, especially given the strong feelings on all sides of the debate in North America.”
Answer: not a heck of a whole lot.
Read the report; it’s not long, only four pages. Then read the comments at the ENS story. They are not happy campers over there.
My view is that this report doesn’t really say very much. It doesn’t grant ACNA the “official” recognition it seeks but it also doesn’t do what the Americans and Canadians fervently wish, namely, taking ACNA recognition permantly off the table.
It does grant ACNA the following:
Where clergy from ACNA wish to come to England the position in relation to their orders and their personal suitability for ministry here will be considered by us on a case by case basis under the Overseas and Other Clergy (Ministry and Ordination) Measure 1967.
Which means that if Bob Duncan is invited to England by a conservative parish or diocese and Dr. Williams grants him a license to preach, ACNA is effectively recognized as Anglican whether Dr. Williams or the Anglican Consultative Council agrees or not.
So there’s that.
Archbishops Rowan Williams of Canterbury and John Sentamu of York have suggested that the Church of England and the Anglican Communion ought to be in “an open-ended engagement” with theAnglican Church in North America.
Williams and Sentamu made their remarks in a report to the Feb. 6-9 sessions of the Church of England’s General Synod.
The report comes in response to a resolution the synod passed two years ago in which the Church of England recognized and affirmed ACNA’s desire “to remain in the Anglican family,” but said it was not yet ready to be in full communion with the breakaway entity.
The February 2010 resolution referred to “the distress caused by recent divisions within the Anglican churches of the United States of America and Canada,” and the archbishops said that that distress will continue “for some considerable time.” The divisions occurred over the decisions of the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church of Canada related to full inclusion of LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) people in the life of the church, the ordination of women and the authority of scripture.
“Wounds are still fresh,” Sentamu and Williams write. “Those who follow developments in North America from some distance have a responsibility not to say or do anything which will inflame an already difficult situation and make it harder for those directly involved to manage the various challenges with which they are still grappling.”
Thus, they said, the outcome of the open-ended engagement that they suggest “is unlikely to be clear for some time yet, especially given the strong feelings on all sides of the debate in North America.”
Answer: not a heck of a whole lot.
Read the report; it’s not long, only four pages. Then read the comments at the ENS story. They are not happy campers over there.
My view is that this report doesn’t really say very much. It doesn’t grant ACNA the “official” recognition it seeks but it also doesn’t do what the Americans and Canadians fervently wish, namely, taking ACNA recognition permantly off the table.
It does grant ACNA the following:
Where clergy from ACNA wish to come to England the position in relation to their orders and their personal suitability for ministry here will be considered by us on a case by case basis under the Overseas and Other Clergy (Ministry and Ordination) Measure 1967.
Which means that if Bob Duncan is invited to England by a conservative parish or diocese and Dr. Williams grants him a license to preach, ACNA is effectively recognized as Anglican whether Dr. Williams or the Anglican Consultative Council agrees or not.
So there’s that.
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