Thinking Anglicans

Lambeth: news about Canada

Two reports from Anglican Journal by Marites Sison

Primate expresses ‘frustration’ that Canadian church’s voice hasn’t been heard at Lambeth hearings

Proposed ‘retrospective’ moratorium means New Westminster will be asked to withdraw all same-sex blessings, says Windsor Continuation Group member

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Lambeth: Church Times news reports

Updated 5.30 pm with items from Friday:

Covenant is ‘future-directed’ says Gomez by Paul Handley

The sexuality section of the draft ‘Reflections’ document

Feeling stuffed before the final meal

Ugandan Primate criticises Dr Williams

In the paper today:
Many of these are subscriber-only, but here is what you can read now:

Group proposes standstill to ease Anglican tensions

Surmise, frustration, and interest greet proposals

Chief Rabbi pleads with Communion to stay one despite differences

Bishops given frank talk on rape and beatings

See also this list here.

And the CT blog has The indaba groups talk about sex

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Lambeth: other news reports

Other that is than the opinion article in The Times by Archbishop Henry Orombi which is here.

BBC Robert Pigott Lambeth Diary updated again on 1 August, read No Changing of Minds.

The Times Joanna Sugden Hazy deliberation brings no resolution, just reflection

Guardian Riazat Butt ‘Mini Lambeth’ would be the way forward, say dissatisfied bishops and also Lost property, naked bishops, and the mark of the beast.

Telegraph Martin Beckford Archbishop of Canterbury ‘betrayed churches over gay bishops’ (this covers other topics besides Orombi).

And there are numerous stories about what Bishop Cathy Roskam wrote. See here, here, and here.

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Lambeth: Thursday press conference

Updated Friday morning

Today the press conference on sexuality occurred. Jim Naughton has captured the event well in Live: talking sex successfully, and see also his earlier, Live: talking sex.

Listen to the press conference here.

Anglican Journal Marites Sison No consensus yet on sexuality, but bishops make ‘significant step forward’

ENS Mary Frances Schjonberg Sexuality discussions bring Lambeth bishops to frank conversation and videos of both the presentations are also available, Archbishop Ian Ernest here, and Bishop Colin Johnson here.

Sorry, it has been pointed out to me that these videos do not have individual Permalinks, you have to locate them from here, by date. The date for these two items is 07/31/08.

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Lambeth: Orombi attacks Williams

Updated Friday morning
The full article in The Times by Archbishop Henry Luke Orombi can be read at The Church cannot heal this crisis of betrayal.

And Ruth Gledhill writes about it: Rowan Williams betrayed churches over gay bishop, says African leader

Ruth Gledhill reports: Lambeth Diary: Rowan accused of ‘betrayal’

In a comment piece in tomorrow’s Times, the Archbishop of Uganda, Henry Orombi, will accuse the Arcbishop of Canterbury of a betrayal at the very deepest level. He will argue that even the Pope is elected by his peers, but Dr Williams in his office is little better than a remnant of colonialism.

Also, in The Times Cardinal Kasper is reported to have been very negative, see Catholic-Anglican relations reach new low over women bishops

The full text of this is now available in English at Zenit Cardinal Kasper to Anglican Communion

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Lambeth: Tom Wright's talk

Fulcrum has the full text over here.

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Lambeth: BBC reports

Robert Pigott has updated his diary, see the 30 July entry at Lambeth diary: Anglicans in turmoil

Hear what coverage the Today programme had this morning by going here. And also here. 0735 and 0855.

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Lambeth: Church Times blog reports

Pat Ashworth has Rowan Williams: a call for mutual generosity

and also Windsor: mixed responses

Ed Beavan has Bishops talk about Windsor Continuation Group’s proposals

and Greg Venables: We’re still not addressing the basic issue

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in other news

Riazat Butt has a Lambeth Diary in the Guardian. Today it is titled Group meetings to resolve conflicts mocked by bishops.

It also mentions the use of diplomatic passports by archbishops. Here’s some more background from Uganda. It’s an inter-faith issue as you can see.

Kampala Monitor Uganda: Religious Leaders Holding Diplomatic Passports Illegally

…Religious leaders who hold diplomatic passports include the Archbishop the Church Of Uganda, the Bishop of the Roman Catholic Church, the Archbishop Of Seventh Day Adventist Church, the Patriarch of the Orthodox Church of Uganda.

When contacted, Archbishop Henry Luke Orombi said; “I can’t comment on a matter which I have not heard. I will give a comment later.”

However, the Muslim Supreme Council Publicist, Hajji Nsereko Mutumba, defended the religious leaders’ right to possess diplomatic passports. “Did they get these passports through the window?

Religious leaders are sacred people. They are bigger than even ministers. They should hold these passports,” he said. Mr Kasaija, who was defending his Shs290 billion 2008/9 budget said Ugandan diplomatic passports have been abused by criminals who masquerade as diplomats.

He said officials who are supposed to access diplomatic passports include; government ministers and their spouses, foreign service officers, their spouses and children below the age of 18, the head of public service, the chief justice, justices of the High Court, Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court, chancellors and vice chancellors of public universities, the governor and deputy governor of Bank of Uganda, recognised traditional and cultural leaders, the speaker and deputy speaker of Parliament, permanent secretaries, chairpersons and vice chairpersons of permanent commissions…

Red Pepper State Probes Mufti, Orombi over Diplomatic Passports.

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Lambeth Voices

Times Online has a roundup Lambeth Voices: a panel of Anglican bishops share their views with Faith Online. Mouneer Anis is forthright in his views.

Other Blogging Bishops are rounded up regularly by Episcopal Café and the most recent articles in this series are Bishops blogging, July 30, and Blogging bishops, July 29.

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Lambeth: Wednesday press conference reports

Today, the press conference was concerned with the interpretation of the Bible. The speakers were Archbishop David Moxon and Professor Gerald West from South Africa.

Jim Naughton has this: Live: the Bible press conference

Anglican Journal Marites Sison Bishops share common commitment to remain biblical

Episcopal News Service has a report by Mary Frances Schjonberg Lambeth bishops wrestle with Scripture and there is also video of Professor Gerald West addresses media at Lambeth News Conference Search for this video on date 07/30/08.

There are no reports of this in the British newspapers so far.

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Africa speaks

Yesterday, Dr Maria Akrofi of Ghana addressed the daily press conference.

Watch it all here.

Read the report by Pat Ashworth Rape and the abuse of power: bringing it home to the bishops.

ENS had Bishops, spouses discuss power abuses in joint session

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Tuesday on the lawns at Canterbury

I’ve no idea what a “cage match” is, but Jim Naughton described one that didn’t happen here yesterday.

See Live: the cage match that wasn’t.

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Lambeth: Wednesday news reports

Guardian Riazat Butt Gay clergy: Archbishop urges Anglican factions to ‘show generosity’

The Times Ruth Gledhill Archbishop of Canterbury’s unity plea to Lambeth Conference and also Lambeth Diary: Rowan begs, ‘Choose Life’

Telegraph Martin Beckford Archbishop of Canterbury accuses Anglicans of threatening ‘death to each other’

Anglican Journal Marites Sison Rowan attempts to bridge sides in human sexuality debate

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Anglicanism's Wizard of Oz

See this comment article by Stephen Bates on Comment is free about Davis MacIyalla.

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Lambeth: Second Presidential Address

The full text of this has just been released and can be read at ACNS:

The Archbishop of Canterbury Second Presidential Address to the Lambeth Conference 2008

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Lambeth: more on the WCG documents

Telegraph George Pitcher Anglicans struggle to find a safe place for sex

Times Ruth Gledhill’s blog Lambeth Diary: ‘Pastoral Forum’ proposed

The Bishop of New Westminster, Michael Ingham and the Bishop of Mississippi, Duncan Gray gave statements to the WCG hearing. Both can be read by scrolling down at this page.

ENS has video of last night’s news conference about the document, here.

Integrity issued a press release, LGBT Anglicans Back on Chopping Block

The Inclusive Communion response is available as a PDF here.

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Lambeth: Tuesday news reports

BBC Robert Pigott Oppose gay bishops, Anglicans urged

Guardian Riazat Butt Anglican forum to deal with controversial issues in bid to heal rift between factions

Telegraph Martin Beckford Archbishop of Canterbury to create group to punish rule-breaking Anglican churches

The Times Ruth Gledhill Anglicans to halt gay bishop consecrations and same-sex blessings

Anglican Journal Marites Sison Proposal calls for moratorium on same-sex blessings and gay ordinations

ENS Mary Frances Schjonberg Windsor Continuation Group proposals on homosexuality issues, interventions, get mixed reception

Living Church Steve Waring ‘Time Out’ Proposed at Lambeth Conference

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Lambeth: Windsor Continuation Group documents

Updated and republished 11 pm Monday Originally published at 7 pm

The full text of the Preliminary Observations issued by the Windsor Continuation Group is now available at ACNS.

Windsor Continuation Group – Preliminary Observations to the Lambeth Conference (Parts 1, 2 and 3)

This document is NOT a report by the Windsor Continuation Group. It constitutes their preliminary observations on the life of the Communion and of the current state of responses to the recommendations of the Windsor Report, and offering some suggestions about the way forward. These observations are offered to the Lambeth Conference for conversation and testing. Are they an accurate description of the current state of our life together?

Update at 11 pm Monday

The document as published by ACNS currently lacks the final page of the paper version which reads

Update 2 pm Tuesday
The omission described above has now been corrected.

Ministering “pastorally and sensitively to all”.

The WCG note that the Resolution 1.10 of Lambeth 1998 included a call for “all our people to minister pastorally and sensitively to all irrespective of sexual orientation and to condemn irrational fear of homosexuals, violence within marriage and any trivialisation and commercialisation of sex”.

We further note that in Dromantine in January 2005, the primates stated that “the victimisation or diminshment of human beings whose affections happen to be ordered towards people of the same sex is anathema to us. We assure homosexual people that they are children of God, loved and valued by him, and deserving of the best we can give of pastoral care and friendship”.

We believe that the time is ripe for the bishops of the Lambeth Conference to reaffirm the commitments expressed in these statements, and to invite them to be committed to challenging such attitudes where they may exist in the societies, churches and governments of the nations in which they proclaim the Gospel as good news for all without exception.

Also, there are problems with the two links to PDF files at the bottom of the ACNS page. One of those links is to the PDF version of the same document(s), which contains the same omission, and the other is a PDF version of the first draft of the Indaba process document, but I am unable to open it on a Macintosh.

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Lambeth: clarity needed

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…”

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