wfn.org | [ACNS] The Panel of Reference - Interview of Archbishop Peter Carnley

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ACNS 4065     |     ACO     |	  2 NOVEMBER 2005

The Panel of Reference - An Update - ACNS Interview of Archbishop Peter
Carnley

Earlier this year, the Archbishop of Canterbury appointed Archbishop
Peter Carnley as the Chairman of a Panel of Reference, established in
response to the request of the Primates at their meeting in Dromantine
in February. ACNS spoke with Archbishop Peter last week. Here is a
transcript of that interview.

The Panel of Reference was set up in May this year, following the
request of the Primates at their meeting in Dromantine in February. What
has happened since then?

Having been invited to become members by the Archbishop of Canterbury in
May, the Panel met for the first time in London in July. At that first
meeting we concentrated on trying to understand the precise role of the
Panel within the current life of the Communion and on drawing up our
rules of engagement. All this was fully published in ACNS, and the
material is available on the Panel web pages on the Anglican Communion
web site: www.aco.org/commission/reference/index.cfm. So, from July
we've had our rules and procedures in place and we're ready for
business, as it were.

Some people have suggested that the work of the Panel has been slow to
get off the ground ...

Well, I can understand their frustration. When the Primates met in
February, it was felt that the Panel of Reference could be an important
mechanism to relieve some of the stresses of the difficult situations
that were surfacing, particularly in the Episcopal Church (USA).

If people are not acquainted with a great deal of the work that has gone
on behind the scenes, then it would seem strange that we have arrived at
the end of October and the Panel has not yet delivered any assessment of
particular situations. But in fact a lot has been happening behind the
scenes.

I think it's important, first of all, to stress that the Panel has no
mandate to initiate action. It has been made quite clear from the
beginning that the Panel can only act when it receives references from
the Archbishop of Canterbury. So the Panel can only act on instructions
from the Archbishop. The Panel has also made fairly extensive
recommendations about the kind of material that needs to be submitted in
order to allow the Archbishop to make an assessment and to recommend
whether a matter should be referred to the Panel. It actually takes a
long time for groups that wish to invoke the Panel procedure to get
their material together. Making any sort of judgement on inadequate
information is always a dangerous thing to do, and more likely to
exacerbate a situation rather than help it.

I understand from the Chief of Staff at Lambeth Palace that at the
moment there are a number of cases that have been drawn to the attention
of the Archbishop, and those involved have been invited to collate the
material necessary in order to enable the Panel to begin its work. So in
fact the first formal referrals are only just coming through.

Can I emphasise the Panel is totally committed to acting with despatch
on these issues. There are very substantial reasons why the work of the
Panel has taken time, but we should see some positive action very
shortly.

There have been several high profile appeals to the Panel, notably the
Diocese of Recife in Brazil, and the Diocese of Fort Worth in the United
States. Have you any comment to make on these?

Well, I'm aware of both the serious situation of dispute in Brazil and
of the appeal of the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth. I understand that
the Archbishop of Canterbury is talking with all parties to find the
best way forward in Recife. The Panel itself recommends that every
effort should be made for a pastoral intervention and reconciliation
rather than the sort of formal process that reference to the Panel
involves. The material requested in support of the application from Fort
Worth has recently been sent on to the Panel's Secretariat from Lambeth
Palace, and we are beginning to process that now.

Can I take this opportunity however to emphasise that the Panel
deliberately chose to do its work discreetly and confidentially? This is
partly because we do not believe the process is helped by high level
courting of publicity; this only tends to exacerbate a situation, and
encourages people to be active in expressing their quite opposite views:
public dialogue can become quite strident. But if the Panel is to engage
effectively, it needs to be able to do that with people out of the glare
of publicity. I have been disappointed when groups who are hoping for
the Panel to be able to help them try to draw the Panel itself to take
sides even before the facts have been carefully weighed.

So what do you see the Panel as achieving?

Well, there is undoubtedly a sense that the Communion is going through
great tensions at the moment. We have seen how parishes can feel
themselves seriously alienated from the episcopal care their bishops are
providing because of a difference of opinion on some specific issues.
And there is a great concern within other Provinces of the Communion
that there should not be any inappropriate pressure or persecution of
minority groups at a time of very serious theological dispute.

One of the main difficulties facing the Panel is that it is hard to get
at the objective reality of what is happening on the ground. There is
always the danger of a distorted view, and the Panel has to bring some
independence and objectivity to that kind of situation, which involves
detailed investigation.

I think everyone would agree that in the Anglican Communion there must
be a readiness to accept that not everyone is going to take the same
viewpoint on some of the issues in dispute, and that people should not
be persecuted when they are in a minority position in a specific
situation, particularly when they believe they are trying to be faithful
to Anglican teaching as it has been expounded by the Lambeth Conference.
The Panel of Reference believes, as does, I think, the Archbishop of
Canterbury, that a sense of trust and fair play must prevail. This can
only operate when there is space and a sense of security, so that a
group does not feel that its continuing life is under threat. So the
idea of the Panel is really to introduce a sense of objectivity, a sense
of fair play, and a degree of legitimate protection for those who hold
minority views in a particular situation, but views which are
nevertheless in harmony with the current standard of teaching adopted in
the Anglican Communion.

Do you think the Panel is going to prove effective?

Well, if there is to be reconciliation, and if there is to be a space in
which the proclamation of the Gospel and the mission of the Church may
flourish, then it does need good will from all parties. The Panel has no
authority to enforce its views or adjudications on parties. However, I
think there's a very real sense that if the Panel can produce a serious
and fairly objective assessment of a situation and a clear
recommendation of a way forward so as to move a situation from one of
conflict to one of fairness, then that very recommendation will itself
carry an implicit authority which will be hard to resist. I hope the
Panel might be able to get to the heart of a matter, to the truth of a
situation, and that, as a third party arbitrating between two
conflicting sides, it may be able to discern a positive and helpful way
forward. So, yes, I really do believe that the Panel could achieve a
great deal.

How do people actually get the Panel involved in a situation?

I need to stress again that the Panel doesn't act on its own authority;
it awaits referral to it from the Archbishop of Canterbury. The way in
which that process is triggered is fully set out on the web site pages,
and these pages should be read and considered with great care by anyone
who wants to invoke the Panel procedures. What we can assure the
Communion is that once those channels have been followed, then we will
be doing our utmost to support those who approach us in an even handed,
fair and just way.

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