Canadian bishops to ponder implications of 'next steps' after Lambeth

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a c c w e b n e w s
The Anglican Church of Canada
http://www.anglican.ca/
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Marites N. Sison
staff writer
Sep 10, 2008

The Canadian house of bishops will discuss next month how best to respond to
renewed proposals for a moratoria on the blessing of same-sex unions, the
ordination of openly gay persons to the episcopate, and cross-border
interventions.

In a related development, Archbishop Fred Hiltz, primate of the Anglican
Church of Canada, said he has requested Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan
Williams to facilitate a meeting between him, the primate of the Anglican
Province of the Southern Cone, Gregory Venables, U.S. presiding bishop
Katharine Jefferts Schori, and the primate of Brazil, Mauricio de Andrade,
to discuss cross-border interventions.

The three primates - Archbishop Hiltz, Archbishop de Andrade, and Bishop
Jefferts Schori - have repeatedly asked Archbishop Venables to stop meddling
in the internal affairs of their provinces. Archbishop Venables has, on his
own accord, been providing episcopal oversight to churches that are in
serious theological dispute with their respective provinces over the issue
of sexuality. Archbishop Williams has said he will do his best to facilitate
the request.

In an interview, Archbishop Hiltz said the Canadian bishops will have "a
very focused conversation" around how they understand the call for
moratoria. He said there are conflicting interpretations on what the
moratorium means, with some thinking it means not having any new blessings,
and some interpreting it as retroactive, which would require a synod like
New Westminster to rescind its 2002 motion that allowed same-sex blessings
in their diocese. He added that the Archbishop of Canterbury's recent letter
to bishops about the moratoria was also "significant." Archbishop Williams
had acknowledged that, while the call for moratoria received support from "a
strong majority" at the conference, he was nonetheless aware of the
"conscientious difficulties this posed for some."

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