wfn.org | BRAZIL:ANGLICAN BISHOPS RECOMMEND DIALOGUE WITH HOMOSEXUALS

[a.whitefield@quest.org.uk]

TITLE:BRAZIL:ANGLICAN BISHOPS RECOMMEND DIALOGUE WITH HOMOSEXUALS
April 25, 1997
ANGLICAN COMMUNION NEWS SERVICE
Canon Jim Rosenthal, Director of Communications
Anglican Communion Office
London, UK

[97.4.4.2]

BRAZIL:ANGLICAN BISHOPS RECOMMEND DIALOGUE WITH HOMOSEXUALS
 
(ALC) The seven diocesan bishops and the primate of the Anglican
Episcopal Church of Brazil (IEAB), recommended that Anglicans receive
people of any race, culture, social class or sexual orientation with
love.

The recommendation is part of a pastoral letter signed by bishops at the
end of the 27th IEAB synod which ended this week. The Synod re-elected
Glauco Soares de Lima as primate and confirmed the Revd Mauricio de
Andrade as general secretary for a new three-year period.

The 27th IEAB synod, which ended with a worship service in Holy Trinity
Cathedral of Porto Alegre, approved three motions to be addressed to
state authorities. Anglican Episcopalians have been in Brazil for 104
years and have 100,000 baptised members.

One motion was in support of the march held by landless campesinos in
Brasilia, demanding that Agrarian Reform be sped up. Another, addressed
to the Justice Ministry, asked that police who violate human rights
should be judged in civil as opposed to military courts. The third
called on the National Congress to place more emphasis on investigating
government corruption.

The pastoral letter alluded to the 1988 Lambeth Conference, recognising
that the sexual issue, which touches on all aspects of social and
individual life, is not completely resolved. "Studies about the factors
which contribute to different understandings regarding homosexuals
continue. As bishops we recommend dialogue, prudence and pastoral
concern for people with a homosexual orientation in the faith
community," said the Bishops' letter.

Anglican bishops stated that they cannot assume definitive positions
about the ordination of homosexuals or marriages between people of the
same sex, as the issue is not defined within the Anglican Communion.
They argue that while the Bible condemns homosexuality in some passages,
the Holy Book was not dictated by God, but rather is God's revelation
which carries the interpretation of its authors who bring the influence
of their culture and their era.