Bishop Flouts Primates Rules: Anglican Crisis Deepens (2 March 2005)


The Primate of the Southern Cone, based in Argentina, the Most Revd Gregory Venables flew to Vancouver, Canada immediately following the conclusion last week of the Anglican Primates (senior bishops) meeting in Newry, Northern Ireland to address a rally held by the conservative breakaway group Anglican Essentials Canada.

A spokesperson for the bishop of New Westminster, a diocese in the Anglican Church of Canada, the Rt Revd Michael Ingham, confirmed that the Anglican Essentials meeting had taken place within the diocese of New Westminster and that Archbishop Venables had not sought permission to speak at the meeting.

A communiqué from the meeting of Anglican Essentials Canada was issued yesterday and can be found at http://www.anglicanessentials.ca

The Revd Richard Kirker, General Secretary of the Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement (LGCM) commenting on this intervention said today (2nd March 2005):

"Already the agreements reached at Newry by the Primates of the Anglican Communion are in tatters. The promises not to intervene in the life of other diocese or recruit dissident parishes appear to be a tissue of lies."

"Before the ink was dry on the document Archbishop Venables was jetting off to Vancouver to stir up disaffection and solicit division. This visit was not just highly provocative it completely breached the spirit and letter of the Primates Statement (Paragraph 15 states 'during this period we commit ourselves neither to encourage nor to initiate cross-boundary interventions'.)

"It is clear already that at least one Primate at the centre of the current crisis is determined to press ahead with his divisive agenda having abandoned even the most common courtesies and respect due to each others jurisdictions. Archbishop Venables is determined to ignore all proper constraints during this difficult time; a constraint to which he signed-up to less than one week ago. He has lost all credibility. Would he care to explain how is actions are consistent with his role as a Primate?"

ENDS
For more information please contact:
Press Officer
Martin Reynolds
01633 215841
07960 165587
martin.reynolds1@virgin.net

or
Revd Richard Kirker
General Secretary, Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement [LGCM]
020 7739 1249

Registered Charity No 1048842