Posted on 07/10/2005 6:48:14 AM PDT by sionnsar
Main Entry: pri'mate
Etymology: Middle English primat, from Old French, from Medieval Latin primat-, primas archbishop, from Latin, leader, from primus
Date: 13th century
1 often capitalized : a bishop who has precedence in a province, group of provinces, or a nation
2 archaic : one first in authority or rank : LEADER
3 [New Latin Primates, from Latin, plural of primat-, primas] : any of an order (Primates) of mammals comprising humans, apes, monkeys, and related forms (as lemurs and tarsiers)
-pri'mate-ship \-*ship\ noun
--pri-ma'tial \pr*-*m*-sh*l\ adjective
The new leader of the Anglican Church in Australia says he is committed to unifying the church despite deep divisions over issues including homosexuality and the ordination of women bishops.
Archbishop of Brisbane Phillip Aspinall was elected church leader in a secret ballot at Sydney's St Andrew's Cathedral.
He has been Archbishop of Brisbane since 2001 and at 45 years old is one of the youngest ever primates of the Anglican Church in Australia.
He replaces Dr Peter Carnley, who has retired after a five-year tenure.
Archbishop Aspinall fronted the media in Sydney, calling for Australia's four million Anglicans to unite to help communicate the church's tradition and the good news of the gospel.
"To do that we need to take stock of the situation of which we find ourselves; where there are issues which are deeply divisive and there are strong and passionate views held in our church, which are very diverse," he said.
"I would want to call Anglicans to ... embrace dialogue, deal with each other with respect and compassion, especially those with whom we differ deeply; we need to be tolerant of each other and take time to work through these diverse issues."
Archbishop Aspinall said he was on record supporting the ordination of women bishops but the question was how he would "live with my brothers and sisters who are opposed to women bishops".
On the issue of homosexuality, Archbishop Aspinall said his personal view was not necessarily relevant to the ongoing debate.
"My personal view I don't think is the issue, I think my profound responsibility as Primate is to try and facilitate that ongoing dialogue.
"I think, were I to announce a personal view one way or another, it would simply add to the polarisation, which is one thing I don't want to do at this stage."
He said the church needed to continue as one over the issue, despite some divisions after American Bishop Gene Robinson caused uproar by having a male partner.
Archbishop Aspinall also said the church should have a voice on industrial relations despite federal Workplace Relations Minister Kevin Andrews demanding church leaders stay out of the debate.
But the Archbishop said he was in favour of protecting the weakest and most vulnerable, which had led to him expressing concerns over the proposed abolition of unfair-dismissal laws.
The Primate's appointment, however, was criticised by the Survivors Investigating Child Sexual Abuse group.
The group said his election was a surprise after it was alleged in 2003 that the Bishop arranged for a young man to share a bed with a priest in Tasmania in the 1980s.
Archbishop Aspinall, who was a church youth group leader at the time of the allegations, said he was hurt the issue had been raised again after extensive investigations by the Brisbane Diocesan Council cleared him of the matter.
"I don't know what else I can do about that matter but I can say that I will not allow those stories to deter me from continuing to take positive and constructive action about sexual abuse," he said.
The church must be more pro-active over the issue of sexual abuse by educating clergy and proper processes must still be put in place to deal with complaints, he said.
Traditional Anglican ping, continued in memory of its founder Arlin Adams. A call for unity can be either a willingness to allay others' misgivings, or a declaration of intended conquest.
Obviously, Griswold's desire for unity is the latter. And until someone shows that he is helping to fix the problem -- the ECUSA's contempt for God, the bible and faithful Anglicans -- such a bishop's call for unity concerns me.
If he believes that his main duty is for facilitatig dialogue, than he believes that reconciliation can be met through dialogue. God's will is met through discerning the Holy Spirit, with the aid of Scripture.
(And I do wish the article would define, "arrang[ing]... to share a bed." By acknowledging a major investigation, he is acknowledging that the diocese was very concerned.)
Siobhan
Thanks for the information!
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