The Living Church has published this report by George Conger: Archbishop of Canterbury Clarifies Role in Camp Allen Meeting. The quotation from Jonathan Jennings reads:
“The Archbishop of Canterbury was not involved in the organization of the Texas meeting and the Bishops of Durham and Winchester did not attend at his request,” Mr. Jennings noted.
“Once they had been invited by the organizers, they sought his consent to become involved in these discussions. This was discussed in the context of other initiatives and of the statements publicly made by the Archbishop since the General Convention, and consent was given to their participation in their own right in the Texas meeting,” he said.
Links to the conflicting reports: what Bishop Wimberly said originally, what the Camp Allen letter said, what the Presiding Bishop said.
PC for this sort of thing is “spin”, but I am sure that in the olden days we had an other word for it.
The Living Church headline also is “spin”.
In so called “reality” the Archbishop of Canterbury cannot “clarify” a role he never had.
This is a very interesting clarification in light of the publication of actions proposed in the Episcopal Diocese of San Joaquin. Someone in that diocese apparently thought that the Camp Allen statement, with its references to Canterbury, suggested some hope for Canterbury to be involved in AlPO. This release once again reaffirms that Archbishop Williams acknowledges the limitations of his office, even while his office is a symbol of visible unity.