Lifeline to the Archbishop

For now, US Anglicans give in to Archbishop
By Jonathan Petre in New Orleans
Last Updated: 2:39am BST 26/09/2007

Liberal American bishops threw the Archbishop of Canterbury a lifeline in his efforts to avert Anglican schism by agreeing to halt appointments of gay bishops and same-sex blessings, at least temporarily.

The compromise will, however, fail to appease many conservative leaders as it offers no guarantee that the American Church will maintain the moratoriums for more than a couple of years.

It also falls far short of agreeing to provide an independent safe haven for American conservatives who have rejected the authority of their own liberal bishops.

One conservative insider said it represented "two fingers to the Communion."

Liberals, however, said that they could live with the statement. One liberal bishop said that there was "no turning back of the clock" and that "gays and lesbians are fully enfranchised in our life."

It will also be seized on by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, as evidence that the American Church has sufficiently reversed its pro-gay agenda to escape punitive action.
Dr Williams is now expected to call the bluff of hardline conservatives who have threatened to boycott next year's showcase Lambeth Conference in Canterbury if the liberal American bishops are also there.

At their summit in Tanzania in February, Anglican leaders asked the Americans for unambiguous assurances that they would halt consecrations of gay bishops and same-sex blessings unless there was a consensus across the whole Church.

Instead, the American bishops' statement said merely that they would exercise restraint by not consenting to gay bishops, failing to add that this policy could be overturned at its next General Convention, its equivalent of the General Synod, in 2009.

(The test of whether this "moratorium" will hold could come within months as a lesbian candidate is up for election in the diocese of Chicago.)

Similarly, the American bishops said they would not authorize an official rite for same-sex blessings until the mind of the Church had changed or "until General Convention takes further action."

The American bishops were also asked to agree to provide an enclave for American conservatives who reject the authority of their liberal bishops, overseen by an independent council whose chair would be appointed by Dr Williams.

The House of Bishops' statement last night did encourage liberal bishops to devise internal arrangements to cater for conservatives, and even said that such arrangements could be strengthened by some form of "communion-wide consultation".

But it is unlikely to appease hardline conservatives or stop archbishops in Africa consecrating "missionary" bishops to minister to American traditionalists.

The American House of Bishops also intensified pressure on Dr Williams to allow Bishop Gene Robinson, Anglicanism's first openly gay bishop, to participate in next year's showcase Lambeth Conference in Canterbury.

While Dr Williams has invited the American bishops to Lambeth, he has so far withheld a full invitation to Bishop Robinson, but might invite him as a guest, a move that could trigger a mass boycott by conservatives.

The American bishops said they would send a delegation to Dr Williams to help him make up his mind.