Archbishop will not cancel Lambeth Conference

'Open question' who will be invited to bishops' gathering
Solange De Santis
staff writer
Anglican Journal
Apr 17, 2007
Niagara Falls, Ont.

Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams considered cancelling the 2008 Lambeth Conference of the world’s Anglican bishops due to the sexuality debates roiling the church, but decided against it.

"Yes, we’ve already been considering that and the answer is no. We’ve been looking at whether the timing is right, but if we wait for the ideal time, we will wait more than just 18 months," he told the Anglican Journal in an exclusive interview.

snip

In the past, all Anglican bishops have been invited to Lambeth – held once every 10 years – by the Archbishop of Canterbury. In recent months, there has been speculation that bishops from North America might not be invited due to actions liberalizing church attitudes toward homosexuality – actions vociferously opposed by other churches, primarily in Africa. There is an additional threat of a boycott by some if the North Americans are invited.

"It's a genuinely open question. I don’t think I'll have anything very sensible to say until I listen more to what's going on here and south of the border," Archbishop Williams said. Responding to an urgent request from the American church, Archbishop Williams said on April 16 that he intended to meet with the U.S. bishops at their regularly-scheduled September meeting.

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