Today Jonathan Petre at the Telegraph joins in, with Anglicans to shun gay-row bishops in which he suggests that the recommendations will focus immediate actions on individual bishops rather than on provinces:
Liberal American bishops face having their invitations to Anglican summits withdrawn by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, if they continue to defy the worldwide Church over homosexuality.
Under tough proposals likely to be recommended by the Lambeth Commission next month, the liberal leadership of the American Episcopal Church could be excluded from policy making and shunned by the vast majority of Anglicans. Bishops who publicly support the consecration of Canon Gene Robinson as Anglicanism’s first actively gay bishop last year or who authorise gay “marriages”, both of which breach official Anglican policy, would be penalised.
They would only be readmitted to the councils of the worldwide Church if they reversed their position and repented.
The 19-strong commission, which was set up by Dr Williams to avert a schism over the issue, is to finalise its recommendations at a meeting in Windsor next week, but it is thought to have reached a broad consensus at earlier meetings.
In its final report, which is due to be published in October, the commission is expected to resist calls from hardline conservatives to expel the Episcopal Church immediately.
But if its liberal leadership has not recanted by the time the next Lambeth Conference of Anglican bishops convenes in 2008, the whole church could still face ejection.
Although debate over homosexuality will not be stifled, only bishops who abide by the Church’s official line will be welcome at Anglican summits, and new bishops will also be required to sign up to the policy…
Also, the Church of Ireland website published a press release which is remarkably similar to this one.
Posted by Simon Sarmiento on Friday, 3 September 2004 at 9:53 AM GMT | TrackBack