wfn.org | [ACNS] A Letter from the Primate of the Southern Cone

[Worldwide Faith News <wfn@igc.org>]

ACNS 4040     |     Southern Cone      |     3 OCTOBER 2005

A Letter from the Primate of the Southern Cone

Text of Archbishop Venables' letter follows:

Iglesia Anglicana
del Cono Sur
de America

Obispo Primado:
Rvmo. GREGORIO J. VENABLES
September 24, 2005

To The Bishop and Clergy of Recife,

Greetings in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ from the Province of the
Southern Cone of America. For His own purposes, Jesus Christ, the Lord
of the Church, has called us into the Anglican Communion in this time of
uncertainty and conflict. Tragically, the actions that are assaulting
the Communion are sowing a great deal of pain and confusion. That is
poignantly true in Recife as there has been unprecedented action to
depose the Bishop of that diocese and excommunicate you, the
overwhelming majority of the clergy of the diocese who rejected the
action against Bishop Cavalcanti.

It is important to note that the actions against the bishop and clergy
were prosecuted by the Province of the Church of Brazil despite the
strenuous objections of senior leaders in the communion and the
establishment of a Panel of Reference by the Primates and the Archbishop
of Canterbury to address situation like this.

Due to the gravity of the attempt to declare the removal of the Bishop
and the declaration of excommunication of 40 of the diocesan clergy and
the extremely slow pace at which the Panel of Reference is operating, a
great gap has been created exposing a need for the bishop and clergy of
Recife to receive ongoing recognition and some measure of spiritual
covering. To that end, after consultation with other Primates, I am
issuing this statement of support to continue to recognize these
ordinations and ministries, and provide a special status of
extra-provincial recognition by my office as Primate of the Southern
Cone until such time as the Panel of Reference, the Archbishop of
Canterbury, or the Anglican Communion has, in some way, adequately
addressed this crisis.

By this letter I recognize (Each of the clergy were named), and affirm
the status described above.

Sincerely,

The Most Rev. Gregory J. Venables
Presiding Bishop of the Southern Cone of South America

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