|
ROWAN WILLIAMS (pictured), Archbishop of Canterbury and
head of the worldwide Anglican communion, made his first visit to Canada in
mid-April.
He accepted an honourary degree from Wycliffe and
Trinity Colleges, and led a one-day retreat for the House of Bishops,
leaders of the Anglican Church of Canada.
Most of the attention his visit received was focused on
the disagreement within his church over the issue of homosexuality and the
blessing of same-sex unions – which, Williams told an April 16 news
conference, “has been getting much more deep and bitter, and [is]
threatening to divide us.”
Williams stated that his primary focus is on trying to
maintain unity in the worldwide body of 77 million Anglicans.
“My aim is to try and keep people at the table
for as long as possible, to understand one another,” he said.
|
Williams said he is not seeking an agreement
which will allow some parts of the church to do one thing and other parts
to do another. For the church to move forward in unity, he said, will
require not just a decision passed by a slender majority – but by a
real consensus, “a solid, defensible body of prayerful
opinion.”
Aside from concerns over how the church should treat
homosexuals, Williams said the issue involves two important questions:
“the doctrine of marriage” and “the authority of
scripture, and indeed of tradition.”
Williams also noted that churches in Africa and Asia
have had to explain to their countrymen why some Anglicans in North America
endorse homosexuality.
Williams asserted that conservative clergy are
responding by saying: “We didn’t vote for this, yet we have to
carry the consequences locally.”
– Jim Coggins
May 2007
|
