wfn.org | Episcopal News Service Briefs

[ENS@ecunet.org]

2001-105

News Briefs

Australian Anglicans take up homosexuality 

     (ENS) The Doctrine Panel of the Anglican Church of Australia has released a book of 
discussion papers about homosexuality in preparation for the next General Synod in July. 
Entitled Faithfulness in Fellowship: Reflections on Homosexuality and the Church, the book 
provides biblical, theological and scientific data and argumentation of relevance to 
churches struggling with the issue of homosexuality.

     Archbishop Peter Carnley, who chairs the panel, said that he hopes that the book "will 
provoke people to a serious discussion of the issues." 

     "The Doctrine Panel represents a wide range of opinions, and members have worked very 
harmoniously for the last two years," Carnley said. "We have produced a wide-ranging 
discussion of the issue of homosexuality and the church."

     Members of the panel affirm unequivocally both that "promiscuity is contrary to the 
Christian ideal of committed, monogamous relationships that reflect the faithfulness of 
God" and that "the irrational fear of homosexuality and homosexual persons and the 
persecution which has so often stemmed from that fear are not faithful expressions of 
Christian witness and are, in fact, an affront to the example of love which Christ set for 
us."

     But panel members have yet to come to a common mind with regard to the blessing of 
same-gender unions or whether "a gay or lesbian person who is engaged in a committed 
relationship with a person of the same gender displays the appropriate character of life 
for entry into Holy Orders." 

     Some contributors bring key biblical texts to bear on those questions, while others 
express reservations about the relevance of the same biblical texts to essentially 
contemporary concerns. 

     Carnley contributed a chapter on same-gender friendships in which he calls on all "to 
come to a deeper appreciation of the rich spiritual value of genuine friendship and its 
importance to being authentically human."

     The book will be formally launched by Carnley on May 21 at Trinity College in the 
University of Melbourne. Faithfulness in Fellowship: Reflections on Homosexuality and the 
Church is published by John Garratt Publishing, PB, ISBN: 1875938478, rrp: $34.95. 

     

Church leaders call for oil moratorium in Sudan

     (ENS) An international government moratorium on oil development in the Sudan would do 
much to promote peace in the region, according to members of the Canadian Ecumenical 
Mission to Sudan.

     "The Canadian government should take high-level diplomatic and practical initiatives 
to support African nations in bringing about a speedy end to a vicious and brutal civil 
war," said members of the group in a statement released after an April trip to southern 
Sudan.

     The group represents the Anglican, United and Presbyterian churches as well as the 
Inter-Church Coalition on Africa, Canadian Council of Churches and Canadian Conference of 
Catholic Bishops. They are concerned about the development of oilfields in southern Sudan, 
including operations by Canada's Talisman Energy. Some of the $400 million in revenues from 
its Sudanese oilfields generated in the last year and a half funds the ongoing civil war.

     The two objectives of the trip were to "demonstrate the solidarity of the Canadian 
churches with the suffering church and people of Sudan" and to "use the experiences of the 
visit to mobilize support by the Canadian churches and their members, all citizens and the 
government for more effective Canadian policies on Sudan."

     There has been war in the Sudan since the 1950s. Various human rights organizations 
have reported systematic bombings, use of child soldiers, attacks on civilian targets, mass 
starvation and other acts of terrorism. More than two million people have been killed and 
more than four million displaced in the current civil war, which began in 1983.

     

Americans worry about the nation's moral character   

     (ENS) Three out of four American adults say they are concerned about the moral 
condition of the nation, and those committed to the Christian faith were more likely to 
express that concern, according to a survey conducted by the Barna Research Group.

     Of the 1,005 adults surveyed, 89 percent of the born-again Christians were concerned 
about the moral state of the nation, compared with 92 percent of evangelical Christians. 
But researchers learned that 41 percent of atheists surveyed were also concerned, and that 
56 percent of adults associated with non-Christian faith groups and 68 percent of those 
associated with the Christian faith but not considered born-again agreed.

     The survey found that 80 percent of Protestants were concerned about the nation's 
moral state, compared with 73 percent of Roman Catholics. Eighty-three percent of those 
attending non-mainline Protestant congregations had a similar concern, compared with 76 
percent of those affiliated with a mainline Protestant church.

     The segments of the American population with the most concerns about moral ideals were 
Republicans (84 percent), women (80 percent), people 55 and older (80 percent), and 
residents of the South (80 percent).