October 19, 2004
by Chris Herlinger
Ecumenical News International

NEW YORK - Frank T. Griswold, the presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church USA reacted cautiously to conclusions by an Anglican Communion commission seeking to find a way of preventing a schism over the consecration of homosexual clergy.

But Griswold's reaction was also seen as re-affirming his denomination's consecration of V. Gene Robinson as the church's only openly gay bishop, which drew criticism from traditionalist members of the Anglican Communion, opposing the consecration of homosexual clergy.

The Windsor Report issued by the commission criticized the U.S. church's consecration of Robinson in November 2003, saying it had caused "deep offense to many Anglican Christians both in its own church and in other parts of the communion." The report also criticized non-U.S. bishops, some from Africa, who have provided oversight for dissident parishes opposed to Robinson's consecration.

The Anglican bishop of Cape Town, Njongonkulu Ndungane, issued a conciliatory statement about the report saying: "It provides the Anglican Communion with space for reflection, dialogue and reconciliation. I call on all parties involved to take that process seriously, so we can restore a deeper unity to our communion."

The Anglican Communion Network and American Anglican Council, representing those opposing the consecration of gay clergy, said it supported some of the commission's findings, like the imposition of a moratorium on the consecration of practicing homosexuals and it said it understood the need for church unity.

"We cannot in good conscience, however, support such unity at the expense of truth," said the network and council in a joint statement. "We must not allow a desire to hold the church family together to allow us to maintain the fatal disease that grips ECUSA [the Anglican church in the US] and by association, the Anglican Communion."

In his statement released from London, where he was attending a meeting of senior Anglican bishops, Griswold said his initial reaction to the commission's findings was that the commission sought a "containment of differences in the service of reconciliation."

But Griswold said, "(Unless) we go beyond containment and move to some deeper place of acknowledging and making room for the differences that will doubtless continue to be present in our Communion, we will do disservice to our mission," Griswold said. "A life of communion is not for the benefit of the church but for the sake of the world."

While not mentioning Robinson by name, Griswold said he felt "obliged to affirm the presence and positive contribution of gay and lesbian persons to every aspect of the life of our church and in all orders of ministry." He noted: "Other provinces [of the church] are also blessed by the lives and ministry of homosexual persons. I regret that there are places within our communion where it is unsafe for them to speak out of the truth of who they are."

But the traditionalist group said in its statement: "We are deeply saddened that within minutes of the Windsor Report's release, the presiding bishop has already rejected its core presupposition that is the church's traditional teaching on human sexuality."

The Anglican Communion Network said: "The Episcopal Church is now faced with serious and difficult choices. They can follow the lead of Bishop Griswold which will ultimately lead to the demise of the Episcopal Church or they can choose to embrace the core covenant recommended by the commission, reject false doctrine and preserve faithful unity."

Presbyterian News Service