16 October 2003

Bishop Michael Ingham's statement on the Primates' conclusions
Statement by the Bishop of New Westminster

The Primates' statement from Lambeth today should be welcomed by members of the Diocese of New Westminster.

Pressures from certain parts of the Communion to have dioceses such as ours and provinces like ECUSA expelled from the Communion have been firmly rejected by the Primates.

Efforts to seek legitimation for schismatic attacks on the fundamental structures of the church - by such bishops as Terrence Buckle of the Yukon - have received no support whatsoever.

Instead, the Primates have reaffirmed "the teaching of successive Lambeth Conferences that bishops must respect the autonomy and territorial integrity of dioceses and provinces other than their own."

We should welcome the strong recommendation that special care be taken in every part of the Communion for "dissenting minorities." In many places, this must mean that gay and lesbian Christians may now expect to be given the episcopal pastoral care they have not been receiving.

I hope conservative bishops in Canada will now make provision for the dissenting minorities within their own jurisdictions, as we have done here in New Westminster for those who disagree with their own Synod.

The statement speaks of the pain caused in some places by the actions of New Westminster in supporting permanent, faithful relationships between persons of the same sex. We acknowledge this. We have taken great care in our deliberations to listen to the voices of others in the church. Our concern has not been to cause pain, but to end discrimination and prejudice.

We call upon others to do the same for gay and lesbian Christians, and in this respect we welcome the Primates' commending of the entire report of the Lambeth Conference (not merely Resolution 1:10) "valuing especially its emphasis on the need to listen to the experience of homosexual persons and to assure them they are loved by God."

We continue to believe that discrimination against homosexuals, not inclusivity, is dividing the church. We hope the Commission being established by the Archbishop of Canterbury will examine this too, and especially that it will include gay and lesbian Christians in its membership