The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams, while addressing the General Synod, made clear that he regretted recent rhetoric seeking to appease the traditionalist wing of the church and warned any schism within the church would represent a betrayal of God’s mission.
Dr. Williams is from the church’s liberal Catholic wing, and in the past has supported equal rights for gay people in the church, but recently has taken a conservative line, at the expense of the gay community, for the sake of Church unity.
However, the Archbishop today said, “There are ways of speaking about the question that seems to ignore these human realities or to undervalue them. I have been criticized for doing just this and I am profoundly sorry for the carelessness that could give such an impression.”
Also, with the expected consecration of out lesbian Canon Mary Glasspool in Los Angeles threatening to divide the church even further Dr. Williams said it wasn’t helped by those who ignored the fact that many regular worshipers are gay, as well as many “sacrificial and exemplary priests”.
He pleaded with Anglicans to stop battling over gays and consecrating women bishops, otherwise the Church may have to settle for a two-tiered communion if it is to survive.
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