Another interview by Pat Ashworth was in last week’s Church Times and is with Archbishop of South-East Asia. Read Clarity needed before next ACC — Archbishop Chew.
Archbishop Deng’s suggestion that 500 of the bishops had been present at a meeting of provinces of the Global South on Monday was described by someone who had been there as a huge over-estimate: the number was around 150. But his claim that 17 provinces agreed with the statement was thought extremely likely to be accurate by the Archbishop of South-East Asia, the Most Revd John Chew…
…“Sudan came out with the statement for reasons of their own, and felt they had to say something. It was important for them to make that statement, and we appreciate them for that. I don’t think you will find any of the Global South provinces disagreeing with what they say. The way they put it will be coming from Sudan, but the essence — yes.”
Archbishop Chew had not studied the statement, but there was nothing new in it, he suggested: it repeated Windsor and was consistent with the Primates’ statement from Dromantine. “They are not calling for anything new, which would have been unfair. They are saying that if we do not take up what we have committed [ourselves to] seriously, then even in the eyes of the secular world, our credibility is reduced…”
For further background on John Chew – and on Michael Poon, who is also at the Lambeth Conference – see ‘Singapore: the Intellectual Centre of a Movement’
http://www.fulcrum-anglican.org.uk/news/2007/newsletter12.cfm?doc=178
and
Michael Poon, ‘The Global South Anglican: its origins and development’
http://www.fulcrum-anglican.org.uk/page.cfm?ID=292
>>>even in the eyes of the secular world, our credibility is reduced
In the eyes of the secular world, the Anglican hierarchy’s all-consuming obsession with what gay men do in bed is odd and not a little creepy.
How lovely to see Archbishop Chew’s comments that “…if we do not take up what we have committed [ourselves to] seriously, then even in the eyes of the secular world, our credibility is reduced…” I take it that means that the Global South will immediately take up what they have committed to, including the immediate cessation of border crossing, and the long-overdue study of human sexuality, including homosexuality, which takes into account all the latest scientific data, as agreed at Lambeth 1978 and 1988, and will engage in the listening process and share (in the sense of receiving and reading)… Read more »
‘look forward to these actions, even if only motivated by the desire to restore credibility in the secular sphere.’ Posted by: Nom de Plume on Monday, 28 July 2008 Nom de plume has it exactly right ! And beautifully expressed. Most of these liberal’ bishops are -to be polite– a waste of space. WHERE oh where are the signatories of the letter of support following the last Lambeth Conference, and the disgraceful behaviour instigated and led by Geo Carey; and blindly followed ? Some few (100 or so) bishops wrote a letter of apolgy and a promise of support to… Read more »
Well, I don’t at all agree that so-called liberals are worse than conservatives. There are liberals such as my bad self who are (a) very, very liberal and totally committed to support of gays, but (b) also committed – as far as possible – to keeping us ALL together. From that point of view, ‘clarity’ is the last thing needed. I continue to hope that a certain verbal fuzziness may achieve that.
There are serious differences of “secular understandings” around the globe. Cultural and historic norms range widely. Making a blanket statement about global secularism is foolish. For instance, US acceptance of lgbt folks generally is far higher than in many world-wide locations; within this context, geographic divisions on the issue exist and are quite real. While one church in one country might attract people to a Communion based church, the social tenets might drive them away in another. This notion is WHY each province needs to be trusted to deal, nicely and without hate, with their own cultural framework while not… Read more »
It must be my view from afar but HOW can the ABC be considered humble, loving, considerate when he releases such extreme thinking excluders upon the entire communion: Drexel Gomez, who preaches at the consecrations of irregular bishops in Africa (charged with locating and causing more discrimination/unhappiness and defections at TEC) is chairperson of the “The Covenant Design Group” and all of the members of the “Windsor Continuation” (of suggestions only) are anti-LGBT inclusion at all levels of Churchlife zealots…please, I’m very sorry, but Archbishop Rowan, of Canterbury, seems a rather unfair, manipulating and spiteful human being. Honest, I wish… Read more »
Nom-de-plume and Treebeard are exactly right. when the Bishops do what they agreed to do at the previous Lambeth Conference – to listen to and seriously consider the claims of gays and women in the Church – then perhaps there might be a little more fire than smoke.
Archbishop Deng’s statement on the number of bishops who agreed with him at this year’s Lambeth ought still to be taken as a measure of his ability to speak the truth – about anything!
Maybe just 200/500 % of what he says can be taken seriously.
Sorry John I’ve lived thru years of ‘fuzzines’. Know what ? I’m all fuzzed out ! Its time to support gay people for chrissakes. ‘Well, I don’t at all agree that so-called liberals are worse than conservatives. There are liberals such as my bad self who are (a) very, very liberal and totally committed to support of gays, but (b) also committed – as far as possible – to keeping us ALL together. From that point of view, ‘clarity’ is the last thing needed. I continue to hope that a certain verbal fuzziness may achieve that. Posted by: John on… Read more »