Carey cautions primate on same-sex issue

Local option 'not the Anglican way'

JANE DAVIDSON

STAFF WRITER, ANGLICAN JOURNAL

TORONTO Oct. 23, 2002 - Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey, who retires 
this month, has warned Canadian primate Archbishop Michael Peers and the 
house of bishops to go slowly in deliberations on same-sex blessings and to 
consult with the Anglican Communion.

      The house of bishops meets on Oct. 25 in Mississauga and will discuss 
last June's decision by the diocesan synod of New Westminster to allow 
blessings of same-sex unions.

      "It has to be faced," Archbishop Carey said in an interview while in 
Toronto to receive an honorary degree from Wycliffe College of the 
University of Toronto, which is celebrating its 125th anniversary.

      "It has to be faced and in a generous context of understanding, that 
there is a very strong orthodox position that prevails in the world today," 
he said. He repeated his earlier predictions that dioceses going it alone on 
controversial issues risk causing schism.

      "I love the church, my church. I want people to hold on and stick in 
there. So my plea to the (house of) bishops would be to go over this very 
carefully. If at all possible, avoid decisions made by any one diocese.

      "The local option," he added, "is not the Anglican way of doing 
things. That's what I was saying at the Anglican Consultative Council (in 
Hong Kong) three weeks ago."

     At that meeting Archbishop Carey publicly censured New Westminster as 
well as a U.S. and an Australian diocese for making controversial decisions 
alone.

      Any deviation from the orthodoxy of the Roman Catholic, Anglican, and 
Greek Orthodox churches on issues of sexuality is "going to have major 
ecumenical consequences," he added.

      "Any deviation from the Lambeth resolution (on sexuality) is
going to destabilize the communion."

      Archbishop Carey acknowledged that "homosexuals have had a very bad 
deal in the church. I'm aware of their pain and I am aware of pain within 
myself. I am a generous person and I wish I were able to say yes, I could 
bless (same-sex unions) but I can't bless what God doesn't."

      He defended his criticism of Bishop Ingham and New Westminster at the 
ACC meeting. He insisted that a motion he presented, which said that all 
dioceses should consult widely on controversial issues, was "not about 
sexuality but about how we handled disagreement.

      "It was interesting that all three or four people (we named) spoke up 
and said 'hey why are you picking us out?' I was quite happy that we 
probably got it about right when everyone was twitchy."

      He said that Bishop Ingham had not consulted widely enough in the 
Anglican Communion before consenting to same-sex blessings. "If he had 
consulted widely, he would have consulted with me as one of the fundamental 
instruments of unity, with the primates' meeting, with the inter-doctrinal 
commission."

      The archbishop also had a warning for the primate. "I understand there 
are 13 bishops (in Canada) who are deeply unhappy. If I were the primate I'd 
be very worried in case a great fissure opened in the church of Canada, 
which would be sad."







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