Washington D.C., Oct 21, 2004 / 22:00 pm
A contributing editor of Christianity Today says the Anglican Church’s recent Windsor Report will be painful for many conservative Anglicans and will not likely bring reconciliation, reported AgapePress.
The Lambeth Commission issued the Windsor Report earlier this week in response to the recent ordination of an openly homosexual bishop in the Episcopal Church of the United States of America and the recent same-sex unions in Canadian dioceses. These two events have caused a rift among Anglican churches.
Christian journalist Doug LeBlanc, who runs the Web site GetReligion.org, says the Windsor Report, was right in addressing the U.S. consecration of openly homosexual bishop Gene Robinson, as well as the official rite for blessing same-sex unions. But the lifelong Episcopalian says the recommendations were not forceful enough.
While the report called for ECUSA’s Presiding Bishop to apologize and a moratorium on same-sex unions, it did not give conservative Episcopalians what they sought, says LeBlanc: punishment for church leaders and quick recognition for the network of dissenting congregations.
Instead, the report urged conservative Anglican bishops, some from Africa, to stop offering oversight to estranged Episcopal congregations, and to apologize for doing so.
"That's a part of the report that will be costly to conservatives," LeBlanc states. "That will be painful [because] for some conservative congregations… and I think the Commission might be a bit overly optimistic about how well reconciliation can be brought about in those situations."
At a news conference, Archbishop Robin Eames of Ireland, who led the Lambeth Commission, stated his Commission was convinced the best approach is "not to impose or attempt to impose punishment."
Rev. David Moyer, president of Forward in Faith North America, told AP that the report “doesn't seem to critically address the underlying situations that have brought about this crisis. And I think it will be disappointing to countless Anglicans.”
The report did not say whether Bishop Robinson should be removed.
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