London, England, Apr 10, 2005 / 22:00 pm
It is increasingly difficult for the world to take the Anglican Church seriously due to the continuous disputes taking place within the worldwide Communion, said Anglican Archbishop Barry Morgan last week.
A report published in Christian Today says the archbishop of Wales questioned how the Anglican Church could convincingly call on the world to show compassion, peace and justice when its members are unable to hold a civilized debate among themselves.
He called on members of the Communion to have a “reasoned, balanced discourse” on issues of disagreement at the June meeting of the Anglican Consultative Council.
The archbishop also referred to the issue of homosexuality and expressed his more liberal leanings on the issue.
The general secretary of The Church Society, Rev. David Phillips, disagreed with the archbishop’s views on the homosexuality issue.
“Christians have accepted the teaching of the Bible for 2,000 years, but the archbishop seems to be saying you have to make things up as you go along,” Rev. Phillips was quoted as saying. “The Church of Wales lost four out of 10 members in two decades, which is the sharpest decline in the Anglican Church on these islands.
"If he thinks he's right can he show us any church which is growing by giving this message?” he challenged “Those that are growing are those that are not giving compromising messages."