The archbishop of
Canterbury said Friday he will not reverse his decision
to exclude a gay U.S. bishop from joining other bishops at a
global Anglican gathering next year.
Archbishop Rowan
Williams's office said he had also not changed his mind
about refusing an invitation to Martyn Minns, a
traditionalist U.S. priest who was consecrated as a
bishop in the Church of Nigeria.
Williams said he
has also recruited professional help in trying to reach
greater understanding between the U.S. Episcopal Church and
its critics both at home and abroad. Williams's office
was unable to say immediately whether any invitations
had been extended or accepted.
In his Advent
message to leaders of Anglican national churches, Williams
said Episcopal Church pledges of a moratorium on confirming
any more gay bishops or on approving blessings of
same-sex unions have not been accepted by all parts of
the communion.
''Given the
differences in response to the Episcopal Church revealed in
the responses of the primates, we simply cannot pretend that
there is now a ready-made consensus on the future of
relationships between [the Episcopal Church] and other
provinces,'' Williams said. ''Much work remains to be
done.''
Statements by
individual U.S. bishops that seemed to deviate from the
declarations the bishops agreed to in New Orleans in
September have complicated the situation, the
archbishop said.
Williams also had
stern words for Anglican leaders who have threatened
not to attend the Lambeth Conference, held every 10 years
and scheduled to start in July in Canterbury.
The head of the
Church of Nigeria, Archbishop Peter Akinola, has
threatened to boycott the session because Williams also
refused an invitation to Minns.
''I have said
that the refusal to meet can be a refusal of the cross --
and so of the Resurrection,'' Williams said.
''We are being
asked to see our handling of conflict and potential
division as part of our maturing both as pastors and as
disciples. I do not think this is either an incidental
matter or an evasion of more basic questions.''
Williams called
for professionally facilitated conversations between the
leadership of the Episcopal Church ''and those with whom
they are most in dispute, internally and externally,
to see if we can generate any better level of mutual
understanding.''
''Such meetings
will not seek any predetermined outcome but will attempt
to ease tensions and clarify options,'' he said. (Robert
Barr, AP)
