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TechnoratiSome conservatives in the 77 million-strong Anglican Communion are upset over the attendance of a number of liberal clergy at Lambeth, including the leadership of the U.S. Episcopal Church, which has attempted to embrace fully homosexuality within the Church in recent years.
The Archbishop told the Synod, “I respect the consciences of those who have said they do not feel able to attend because there will be those present who have in their view acted against the disciplinary and doctrinal consensus of the communion.
“Needless to say, I regret such a decision, since I believe we should be seeking God's mind for the Communion in prayer and study together.”
He said that the decision of some to remain absent from the conference only showed the deep differences over theology and ethics “that have so strained our connections.”
Williams continued, “It also reflects, uncomfortably for us, some of the legacy of hurt that is felt by some of our provinces at what is experienced as patronizing or manipulative or insensitive actions and attitudes on the part of many of the churches of the 'West' or 'North' – not only the Episcopal Church in the USA, but us as well.
“That's hard to hear, but we have to hear it and to offer apologies and seek for better understanding.”
“Lambeth can't be the end of the story,” he added, “and if at Lambeth we try to do proper justice to the idea of a Covenant, it must be in the light of that need for a more serious and profound mutuality between us all.”
Major debates on mental health, casinos, detention without charge, Crown appointments and Anglican-Roman Catholic dialogue will take place later in the week at the General Synod.
