Russian Patriarch calls on Protestants to resolve homosexual “marriage” problem

Catholic News Agency ^ | January 13, 2005

[NYer]

Moscow, Jan. 13, 2006 (CNA) - The Patriarch of Moscow, Alexis II, has called on Protestant Churches to solve the issue of homosexual “marriage” by adhering to the values and principles of the Christian faith, instead of being carried away by liberal tendencies.

During a meeting between Alexis II and the president of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland, Yukka Paarma, the Patriarch said, “The values that come from the Gospel must be preserved and advanced, and we must not be influenced by the liberal forces of today.”

[Vicomte13]

"One can only wonder what prevented this from going to the highest levels and changing the church's historic objection to homosexuality."

God did.

Either that, or the fact that the Church is led by Italians, and while Italians may be greedy and lusty sons-of-guns (hence the scandals of the past), but they don't have much taste or tolerance for homosexuality.

[redgolum]

I think that is the master plan.

The danger is that some ambitious AG will invoke the RICO laws against a diocese. In some states, the corporate is such that the diocese has legal control of the property, and can be used in a bankrupty (Missouri for instance).

It is a mess.

[xzins]

It seems that distinguishing between diocesan property and parish property will in the end require them to choose. If the diocese goes to great pains to prove that parish property is not theirs, then the parish is free to do with the property now considered "theirs" as they wish.

Personally, I think parish ownership is the right answer, but with it comes a whole new set of issues.

[Mr. Lucky]

I crossed the same street 30 years ago.

[jecIIny]

By remaining in communion with Canterbury they are at least indirectly in some form of communion with PECUSA. They may have stretched the bonds of communion to the near breaking point but a formal breach has not yet occurred. I suspect that one will occur though by the end of the year. There are two possibilities. I don't actually see much likelihood of a compromise.

1. Rowan Williams will break communion with PECUSA (unlikely).

2. The African and other 3rd world bishops will break with Canterbury along with a sizable percentage of conservative minded Anglicans in the US and England.

[bobjam]

It is generally understood that there are four instruments of unity holding the Anglican Communion together:
1) being in communion with the See of Canterbury
2) membership and participation in the Anglican Consultative Council
3) the primates meetings (once or twice a year)
4) the Lambeth Conference of all bishops (every 10 years)

ECUSA and the Anglican Church of Canada have effectively been suspended from the Anglican Consultative Council, and Pres Bishop Griswald and Archbishop Hutchinson (ECUSA and Canada primates, respectively) were shut out of the last Primates meeting in Ireland. Thus two instruments of unity have been broken. The next Lambeth Conference will not occur until 2008, but few expect a big happy gathering of everyone. If the revisionists are not shut out, it is doubtful the Africans will show up. So much for instrument #4. In regards to the See of Canterbury, there's a growing movement afoot in the provinces to remove references to the See of Canterbury from their constitutions. Nigeria has already done this. The process of eliminating instrument #1 has begun and will culminate in the Church of England being forced to choose between the ECUSA crowd and the Nigeria crowd. That choice will either be made by Queen Elizabeth II or Tony Blair (the thought is that judgement will prevail over passion and, when backed into a corner, England will dump ECUSA).