Posted on 01/08/2007 4:36:04 PM PST by sionnsar
Rowan Williams admits that he is very close to losing control of Anglican affairs:
The Archbishop of Canterbury has admitted that he fears losing control of the worldwide Anglican Church, which is on the brink of schism over homosexuality.
In a surprisingly frank assessment of the crisis, Dr Rowan Williams said that he feared anything that set Christians more deeply at odds with each other.
"And because I am an ordinary, sinful human being, I fear the situation slipping out of my control, such as it is," he said."I fear schism, not because I think it’s the worst thing in the world but because, at this particular juncture, it’s going to be bad for us. It’s going to drive people into recrimination and bitterness."
If we're going to keep this thing together in any kind of a recognizable form, some major changes may have to be made.
In a documentary on Canterbury Cathedral to be broadcast on ITV tomorrow, the archbishop added: "We can’t take it for granted that the Anglican Communion will go on as it always has been.
"Of course that’s unsettling, of course that’s painful for everybody, but there’s no way of moving on without asking the hard questions."
My gracious lord of Canterbury is still quite the Anglican though.
Next month, Dr Williams will chair a make-or-break summit in Africa with his fellow primates, the archbishops who head the 38 self-governing Churches or provinces that make up the 70 million-strong Communion.
The archbishop is hoping that a compromise will emerge, allowing conservatives and liberals to co-exist relatively peacefully until a more formal split can be worked out over the next decade.
Dr. Williams is going all-in holding two pair,
But if his strategy falls apart a large section of the Church could break away and form a rival body, creating bitter divisions across the world, including the Church of England.
The disintegration could accelerate at next month’s meeting if conservative archbishops refuse to negotiate with the new female head of the liberal American branch of Anglicanism, which precipitated the crisis by consecrating a gay bishop in 2003.
Meanwhile, the archbishop is facing fresh turmoil in the Church of England following the disclosure that more than 50 gay or -lesbian priests have "married" in civil partnership ceremonies.
A number of them have openly breached official guidelines that allow them to enter into such partnerships only if they have first assured their bishops that they will remain celibate.
So far, however, no bishop has initiated disciplinary action and conservatives will force the issue on to the floor of the General Synod in February when it stages its first debate on homosexuality for a decade.
I don't accuse Dr. Williams of weak leadership. Because he's screwed either way. If he holds to his principles, he loses the majority of the Anglican world and the Anglican world splits apart. If he sides with the majority of the Anglican world, he loses the liberals and the Anglican world still splits apart.
The fact that Dr. Williams has admitted that a split is probably inevitable is significant. I think he realizes that, thanks to the Canadians and the Americans, the Anglican Communion can't be fixed. Given the circumstances, his ten-year divorce plan is overly optimistic; a de facto split may come well before that, Perhaps even next month.
Thanks to Captain Heinrichs.
Traditional Anglican ping, continued in memory of its founder Arlin Adams. ***So far, however, no bishop has initiated disciplinary action...***
There's your problem.
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