“The Episcopal Church in the US has just received a major scolding”.
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He made similar similar remarks to the Episcopal News Service.
Cardinal Kurt Koch, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, told Vatican Radio Jan. 15 that he hopes the next three years “will be used to find deeper unity within the Anglican Communion”. Welby, the Anglican spiritual leader, does not have the authority to force a compromise.
Jeff Walton, communications manager for The Institute on Religion & Democracy (IRD), tells OneNewsNow that because of the Episcopalian Church’s acceptance of same-gender marriage, the global organizing body of Anglicans has punished it by banning the USA church from any policy-setting position in the Anglican Communion for the next three years.
The Anglican Church in Canada is considering whether to follow the Episcopal Church’s lead and allow same-sex marriage.
“The traditional doctrine of the church in view of the teaching of Scripture, upholds marriage as between a man and a woman in faithful, lifelong union”, the leaders of the Anglican Communion, which represents 44 national churches, said in a statement during the meeting in Canterbury.
St Matthew-in-the-City openly supports the LGBTI community and the Vicar says, “We are deeply saddened by this move and stand with the Episcopal Church and all those in the LGBTI community who continue to be excluded from churches around the world”.
The Episcopalians were not simply being put on the “naughty step”, he said. Last year, the top U.S. Episcopal legislative body, or General Convention, voted to authorize gay marriages in their churches.
Referring to the treatment of gay and lesbian Anglicans, Welby apologized personally “for the hurt and pain in the past and present that the Church has caused”.
The summit aimed to avert a permanent divide in the Anglican Communion amid conflict dating back to the liberal church’s consecration of Canon Gene Robinson, who is gay, as bishop of New Hampshire in 2003. “The majority of those gathered reaffirm this teaching”, the primates said in a statement.
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As result of the sanctions levied by the Anglican Communion, U.S. Episcopalians will be stripped of their votes at Anglican conferences and assemblies and will not be allowed to participate in the decision-making process concerning issues regarding doctrine and polity. A spokeswoman for the Canadian church said its leader, Archbishop Fred Hiltz, would comment after the news conference Friday.
