wfn.org | Anglican Primates Press Briefing 5th February 2009

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Anglican Primates Press Briefing 5th February 2009

Posted On : February 5, 2009 9:38 PM | Posted By : Webmaster
ACNS: http://www.aco.org/acns/news.cfm/2009/2/5/ACNS4577
Related Categories: ACO - Primates Meeting

At the press briefing the Archbishop of Canterbury said the spirit of
the meeting had been very constructive and while people might not have
changed their minds on key issues there had been a willingness to listen
and to try to find accommodations for each other.

The Archbishop of Canterbury went on to outline the main items from the
meeting including the report of the Windsor Continuation Group which
contained three main elements as outlined in the communiqué:

1)      The need for a shift of focus in the life of the communion from
autonomy of provinces with communion added on, to communion as the
primary reality with autonomy and accountability understood within that
framework.

2)      A set or recommendations about the instruments of communion and
how they should work. All four; the Archbishop of Canterbury, the
Primates Meeting, The Anglican Consultative Council and the Lambeth
Conference need some looking at as to whether their present structures
of working are adequate to the situation.

3)      The current situation in North America and the coalition of the
Anglican Church of North America out of the common cause partnership.
The continuation group report notes the enormous difficulties of
parallel jurisdiction but also recognizes the desire of these groups to
be Anglicans and be in relationship with the Anglican Communion. The
recommendation was that the Archbishop of Canterbury convenes a
professionally resourced mediation process. In addition there was
support for the appointment of a pastoral forum and pastoral visitors
who can act as consultants in situations of stress and conflict.

The Archbishop of Canterbury Dr. Rowan Williams also spoke about the
Primates statement on Zimbabwe and of hearing harrowing first hand
reports from the region and from Zimbabwe itself.

He also talked about the statement on the situation in Sudan and about
the brief statement on Gaza, calling for greater support for
humanitarian effort and support for ceasefires.

Podcast of the Press Briefing is available to download here:
http://www.aco.org/daily/podcasts/source/primates_press050209.mp3

> Duration: 16:01 | File Size: 11.0MB

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