Anglican Communion Secretary Responds to Episcopal Bishops

Estados Unidos, September 27, 2007

The Rev. Canon Kenneth Kearon, secretary general of the Anglican Communion, issued a statement September Taxi Heathrow Airport 26 on behalf of the Joint Standing Committee (JSC) of the Primates and the Anglican Consultative Council, in light of its recent meeting with the Episcopal Church's House of Bishops in New Orleans.

Members of the Joint Standing Committee, who were briefed by Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori before their departure, intend to consult with one another "in the preparation of a report to be submitted to the Archbishop of Canterbury by the end of the week offering an early response to the statement that the House of Bishops have developed," Kearon said.

The committee members, Kearon said, "would like to express their profound thanks to the Presiding Bishop and to the House of Bishops for the generosity and graciousness of the welcome that they have received."

Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams joined the JSC for two days of sessions with the House of Bishops, before departing for Armenia and Syria September 21. Kearon and other JSC members departed the morning of September 25, the final day of the House of Bishops' meeting.

On Monday, September 24, the committee met in a formal session to reflect on the conversations in which they had participated over the previous four days. As the JSC members departed, the House of Bishops was still formalizing its response to the Anglican Primates' February 19 communiqué.

The final statement adopted by the House of Bishops was sent immediately via email September 25 to the JSC and the Archbishop of Canterbury.

Throughout the September 20-25 meeting, JSC members also joined bishops and their spouses in participating in active mission projects in New Orleans dedicated to rebuilding lives devastated by Hurricane Katrina.

"The past few days have been a time of enormous learning and growth in mutual understanding," Kearon said in his statement. "At the same time, the conversation has been honest, direct and even painful at times."

Kearon noted that the committee "is conscious that some of its members, in reflecting the very real concerns of the wider Communion, have spoken in a way which could be seen as challenging or even offensive to the Bishops of the Episcopal Church. Nevertheless, it has been important that each side has been honest, and free to speak the message which has been laid on their hearts."

Their words, he said, "were met with patience, generosity and an intensity of debate on the Monday and Tuesday which illustrates how seriously the concerns of the wider Communion are taken by the Episcopal House of Bishops."

"The presence of the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Joint Standing Committee members added immeasurable depth and richness to our meeting," Jefferts Schori said September 25. "We are most grateful for their willingness to travel far, spend several days, and share their faith and personal perspectives with us.

"The Anglican Communion is based on relationships, and the relational ties that bind us have been strengthened in our meeting together," she added.

The Anglican Communion -- composed of 44 autonomous churches -- has "no central body which can pass judgment or issue directions for the life of the Communion," Kearon said. "At the same time, however, it is the responsibility of the Instruments of Communion to enable conversation and discernment between the provinces and churches, and it was in this spirit that the Archbishop of Canterbury and the members of the Joint Standing Committee have approached this meeting."

The JSC meeting was initiated following a request from the House of Bishops at its March 20 meeting in Navasota, Texas, when they expressed "an urgent need for us to meet face to face with the Archbishop of Canterbury and the members of the Primates' Standing Committee."

Kearon said that a central focus of the discussions had been the recommendations of the Windsor Report and the Primates' requests for clarification of Resolution B033, passed at the 75th General Convention, "and whether this did in fact reflect the request of the Windsor Report for a moratorium on the election and consecration of candidates for the episcopate who were living in a sexual relationship outside of Christian marriage."

The bishops, in their September 25 "Response to Questions and Concerns Raised by our Anglican Communion Partners," agreed overwhelmingly to reiterate B033 by saying they would "exercise restraint by not consenting to the consecration of any candidate to the episcopate whose manner of life presents a challenge to the wider church and will lead to further strains on communion."

Kearon also noted in his statement that the Primates had asked that the bishops, "as the chief liturgical officers in their dioceses, should mutually undertake not to offer public liturgies for the blessing of same-sex unions."

The bishops' September 25 response also pledged not to authorize public rites for same-gender blessings "until a broader consensus emerges in the Communion, or until General Convention takes further action."

The committee expressed its gratitude to the Archbishop of Canterbury for indicating "that he intends to consult widely with all the Primates and with all members of the Anglican Consultative Council as the Communion discerns the way ahead."

Source: Episcopal News Service

https://www.episcopalchurch.org/79901_90474_ENG_HTM.htm