Press Releases
Archbishop of Armagh comments on response of The Episcopal Church
Statement by the Most Revd Alan Harper, Archbishop of Armagh, in response to the 25 September 2007 Statement of the House of Bishops of the Episcopal Church (TEC).
“I have read with some care the statement issued yesterday from New Orleans. I believe the statement to be helpful and deserving of a generous response. I note, in particular, the following commitments:
1. In accord with resolution B033 of the General Convention of 2006, “to exercise restraint by not consenting to the consecration of any candidate to the episcopate whose manner of life presents a challenge to the wider church and will lead to further strains on communion”. I further note that the statement makes explicit the acknowledgment by the House of Bishops that “non-celibate gay and lesbian persons are included among those to whom B033 pertains”.
2. To pledge as a body not to authorize public rites for the blessing of same-sex unions until a broader consensus emerges in the Communion or until General Convention takes further action.
I also note the generous agreement of the Presiding Bishop to put in place a plan to appoint Episcopal visitors for dioceses that request alternative oversight. Presiding Bishop Katherine Jefferts Schori originally made such an offer before the meeting of the Primates in Dar es Salaam. Her offer has now received the endorsement of the House of Bishops of TEC.
I believe that it is essential to acknowledge that, just as the House of Bishops of the Church of Ireland must always fully recognize the authority of the General Synod of the Church of Ireland in approving legislative provisions, so similar responsibilities rest upon the Bishops of TEC in respect of their own General Convention. They have recognized this themselves by reference both to resolution B033 and to the possibility of the General Convention taking “further action”. The integrity of this position should, I believe, be respected.
The TEC bishops’ statement also refers to Incursions by Uninvited Bishops, as well as to Consultation, the Listening Process, the Lambeth Conference, and Justice and Dignity for Gay and Lesbian Persons.
In respect of the so called “incursions”, the Bishops’ comments call for an immediate end to diocesan incursions. This is entirely in line with the recommendations of the Windsor Report and a proper understanding of Anglican polity.
In respect of Consultation, the response of the bishops, whilst declining participation in the “Pastoral Scheme” offered by the Primates at Dar es Salaam, was at least positive in recognizing the “useful role for communion-wide consultation with respect to those seeking alternative oversight, as well as the pastoral needs of gay and lesbian persons in this [i.e. TEC] and other provinces.” This seems a balanced and relatively generous response in a very delicate area of inter-provincial relationships.
September 30, 2007 was the deadline set at Dar es Salaam for a response on these issues from the House of Bishops of The Episcopal Church. I hope that member churches of the Anglican Communion will now calmly and fairly reflect upon the New Orleans Statement and conclude that TEC Bishops have gone a considerable way to meeting the reasonable demands of their critics.”
+Alan Armagh