|
(London) The Archbishop of Canterbury said
divisions in the church have left many ordinary Anglicans confused and weary.
In a letter to leaders of the
world's Anglican churches released Saturday, Archbishop Rowan
Williams also said there will be no quick response to plans by
seven dioceses of the U.S. Episcopal Church to seek leadership
outside the church because of their opposition to the
appointment of gay clergy.
Anglican leaders have been
bitterly divided over the Episcopal Church's decision to
confirm an openly gay man, V. Gene Robinson, as bishop of New
Hampshire.
In July, the Anglican Church in
Nigeria called the U.S. branch ``a cancerous lump'' that
should be cut out of the Anglican Communion.
Williams wrote he prayed for
Anglican leaders but ``most especially for all those ordinary
people of God, in the Episcopal Church and elsewhere, who are
puzzled, wearied, or disoriented by our present
controversies.''
``So many say they simply do
not want to take up an extreme or divisive position and want
to be faithful to scripture and the common life. They want to
preserve an Anglican identity that they treasure and love
passionately but face continuing uncertainty about its
future,'' Williams wrote.
He recommended humility to all
sides in the controversy.
``All our churches are, in one
way or another, partly sound and partly not and none of our
churches would, on the basis of their virtue and their
strength alone, merit God's approval,'' he wrote.
To the seven Episcopal dioceses
who have sought ``alternative oversight'' - taking an outside
bishop as their leader and disaffiliating with the Episcopal
leadership - Williams urged patience.
``I continue to hope that
colleagues will not take it for granted that there is a rapid
short-term solution that will remove our problems or simplify
our relationships for good and all without the essential
element of personal, probing conversation,'' the archbishop
wrote.
©365Gay.com 2006
|
Entertainment
