Lord Carey’s speech to Duke Divinity School
Five years later to the very day the decision of General Convention 2003 to allow the consecration of a homosexual priest to the Episcopate was bound to create a major crisis. That decision was a watershed that took a national church from a permissive and casual practice of ordaining practicing homosexual and lesbian priests, to the endorsement of a new and now official policy. Therefore it should have surprised no one that the consecration of Gene Robinson to the episcopate would cause such consternation and dismay in the Anglican Communion.
In response, some leaders in ECUSA have argued that the Anglican Communion had not followed up its promises to listen to homosexual people and debate the issues and, from their point of view, the time for discussion has passed. It was time to act and, as an autonomous Province, ECUSA had the right to provide ministries for all laypeople and priests, whatever their sexual orientation. I have to say that from where I have stood this is not so. Very many meetings of the Anglican Communion have devoted time to this issue.
The point of Res 1.10, in spite of its firm stand on the issue of homosexuality, was that it committed the Communion to a sustained debate on the matter. Speaking personally, I had several important discussions and debates with homosexual groups and the House of Bishops of the Church of England set up a process of listening to those most deeply affected by the issue. We were all aware that we were talking not about ‘homosexuals’ but men and women, dearly loved by God and respected Christians, sharing the same faith as our own. It is important to note that the decision, made by General Convention five years after Res. 1.10, put an end to the debate; a decision had been made by one of the most senior of our Provinces and discussion was now ‘dead in the water’ because it had been pre-empted by General Convention’s unilateral act.
[Read here->http://www.divinity.duke.edu/news/noteworthy/070207lordcareyspeech]
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