The Irish Independent reports under the headline Plea for unity over gay bishop argument that:
The Archbishop of Dublin has urged Church of Ireland members not to split over the issue of ordaining gay men as bishops, which has caused a crisis for the world-wide Anglican Communion.
Speaking last night at the Synod’s annual service in Galway, Archbishop John Neill also suggested that a resolution of the church’s “gay bishop” crisis could be found when the world’s Anglican bishops meet in July for their 10-yearly Lambeth Conference…
The full text of John Neill’s sermon can be found here.
The synod is also reported by Episcopal News Service in Archbishop reflects on Holy Land visit, condemns car bomb attack:
Harper, Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland since February 2007, told a news conference following the synod’s opening session that the Church of Ireland remains in communion with every part of the Anglican Communion and spoke about his hopes for this summer’s Lambeth Conference of bishops. “I believe that we will find a way to manage the differences that we have with respect to everyone’s ethically held positions,” he said.
Harper described the July 16-August 3 conference in Canterbury as an opportunity for the bishops “to pray together, to study together, to discuss the problems and issues which are particularly current from their own perspectives and in their own backgrounds, to gain strength from one another, and to recognize in one another a Communion which goes back over many centuries.”
Acknowledging that it has the power to make resolutions, but that the Anglican Communion’s 38 provinces are not required to conform to them, Harper said the conference “was never set up as a legislative body and it is not that now. If there is a particular direction that is to be embraced by the whole Communion, it isn’t the Lambeth Conference that makes that decision.”
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams, has invited some 880 bishops to attend this year’s gathering. Harper noted that certain bishops and primates have indicated their intention to boycott the Lambeth Conference, but said he expects the once-a-decade gathering to “reinforce the relationships amongst those bishops who attend.”
Also, the full text of Alan Harper’s presidential address to the synod can be found here (PDF).
Good article by the Bishop of Norwich urging attendance at Lambeth in the current edition of New Directions, available online at
http://publishing.yudu.com/Freedom/Aco47/NewDirections/resources/index.htm?referrerUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forwardinfaith.com%2Fnews%2Fnew-directions.html
The problem, of course, is that those on the “No” side don’t *want* “respect [for] everyone’s ethically held positions.” They want to have their way alone, and they’ll throw a tantrum if they don’t get it.
Wow these two talks are incisive and healing.
Quote:… everyone must be winners or everyone loses … Unquote.
Quote: … in truth, security is never guaranteed by force of arms, but only by the creation of circumstances which disarm hostility. Unquote.
Contrast these remarks with the penal and divisive preachments coming from some loud leaders of the primatial and highly self-regarding Global South. Not least from their vigorous USA right wing funders and virtual bishops. Then let the Spirit assist Anglican ears to hear what God really is saying to we who are the church.
“The Archbishop of Dublin has urged Church of Ireland members not to split over the issue of ordaining gay men as bishops”
Lesbians as bishops too, Your Grace. ;-/
“The Archbishop of Dublin has urged Church of Ireland members not to split over the issue of ordaining gay men as bishops…” Let’s be completely honest about this: This is not about ordaining gay bishops. The “crisis for the world-wide Anglican Communion” – if it’s truly a crisis – is about ordaining gay (and/or lesbian) bishops who are open about their sexual orientation, and are in a relationship, and who do not profess to be celibate, whether or not they truly are. There are already plenty of gay bishops out there in the Anglican Communion. What’s new these days is… Read more »
“The “crisis for the world-wide Anglican Communion” – if it’s truly a crisis – is about ordaining gay (and/or lesbian) bishops who are open about their sexual orientation, and are in a relationship, and who do not profess to be celibate, whether or not they truly are.” I rather suspect there are quite a few in the Network/GAFCON/Essentials brigade who also cannot understand why all these gay people don’t get married and live a life of dishonest pseudoheterosexual respectability, since they themselves have been doing exactly that for years. The honesty of people like Gene Robinson just makes them more… Read more »