Traditional Anglicans Criticize West over Liberal Views on Sexuality
Traditional Anglicans in the Global South warned U.S. and Canadian churches that their liberal interpretations of human sexuality will break apart the 450-year-old communions.
In some of the strongest language used so far, traditional Anglicans in the Global South warned U.S. and Canadian churches that their liberal interpretations of human sexuality will break apart the 450-year-old communion.
“The unscriptural innovations of North America and some western provinces on issues of human sexuality undermine the basic message of redemption and the power of the Cross to transform lives,” a statement from the traditional Anglican leaders read. “These departures are a symptom of a deeper problem, which is the diminution of the authority of Holy Scripture.”
The top clerics of the Anglican churches from Africa, Asia and Latin America released the statement on Monday, following a six-day conference held in Egypt last week. And while the 103 delegates discussed a wide array of topics from AIDS and poverty to violence and corruption, the most attention and care was given to the divisive topic of homosexuality.
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Even the Archbishop of Canterbury, the 77-million member Communion’s head, touched on the issue as he pleaded with the global church to walk together.
“Now I don't suggest that we can forget the practical questions that are laid upon us at the moment in our Anglican fellowship,” he said in apparent reference to the visual division over homosexuality in the church. “But I do say that we shall never begin to answer them adequately unless our eyes, our minds and our hearts are with Jesus, are where Jesus is.”
The Anglican Communion has been divided since 2003 when the Episcopal Church U.S.A. ordained a gay bishop and the Anglican Church in Canada sanctioned same-sex blessings.
Traditionalists, mostly located in the Global South, condemned the actions and many countries severed their ties with the U.S. and Canadian branch over the issue. They say the Bible condemns homosexuality and that the actions of their more liberal Northern counterparts may chase congregants to different faiths or denominations.
"We recognize with regret the growing evidence that the provinces, which have taken action creating the current crisis in the [Anglican] communion, continue moving in a direction that will result in their walking apart," the group said in their communiqué.
They also called on the North American churches to implement the recommendations of the Windsor Report – a 100-page statement that was drafted to help maintain the unity of the church.
"We call for urgent and serious implementation of the recommendations of the Windsor Report," they said. "We see no evidence that both ECUSA and the Anglican Church of Canada are willing to accept the generally accepted teaching, nor is there evidence that they are willing to turn back from their innovations.”
According to officials, the final positions of the two churches will only be known during the U.S. and Canadian churches’ conventions in 2006 and 2007.
