London, England, Aug 4, 2008 / 16:38 pm
Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams has said the Anglican Communion can help solve its present conflicts by observing moratoria upon the blessing of same-sex unions, the consecration of openly homosexual bishops, and the consecration of bishops who cross province boundaries to minister to evangelical congregations in liberal dioceses. However, some Anglican bishops say the plan will not work, with one prelate calling for the liberal churches’ “orderly separation” from the communion.
Archbishop Williams, speaking in an address on Sunday that marked the close of the Anglican Communion’s 2008 Lambeth Conference, said the “pieces are on the board” to overcome Anglican controversies which include concerns surrounding theology, biblical authority, and sexual ethics. Advocating a “global Church of interdependent communities,” he said there was still much work to do to overcome the disputes, the Times Online reports.
However, it is believed that conservative bishops will continue to consecrate boundary-crossing bishops. Bishop Gregory Venables, the Primate of the Southern Cone, has taken an entire U.S. diocese into his province and is expected to continue attracting parishes and diocese from the Episcopal Church.
Meanwhile, homosexual lobbyists in the U.S.-based group Integrity said they would fight the moratoria forbidding the ordination of homosexual clergy and the blessing of same-sex unions.