Lambeth Digest, Day 2
Episcopal News Service, Canterbury. July 22, 2008 [072208-05]
Solange de Santis and Mary Frances Schjonberg
Much happens each day at the Lambeth Conference. In addition to Episcopal Life Media's other coverage, here's some of what else happened on July 22, the second day of the conference.
Harare bishop paints bleak picture of oppressed country, church
Bishop Sebastian Bakare, of the Diocese of Harare told reporters that while he is hopeful about news that Zimbabwe's warring political parties have agreed to stop fighting, the country has a long way to go.
Bakare said "for the ordinary person on the street, the most-urgent issues" include:
- "to live in a peaceful environment with a deep sense of security and without fear for one's life,"
- "to make the basic necessities of life available -- affordable -- especially food and medicine," and
- "to live in a country where the rule of law is observed and taken seriously, and where human dignity is respected."
The diocese "continues to suffer persecution and is denied freedom to worship," Bakare said, in part because dismissed Harare Bishop Nolbert Kunonga "continues to enjoy the support" of Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe. Kunonga has formed a splinter Anglican group and accused Bakare, his successor, of supporting the opposition political party. Bakare told reporters "I don’t belong to any political party."
"We have not been allowed to worship in our church buildings every Sunday since November," he said. "Police surround our churches every morning … our buildings are locked up and we have to look for alternative places to hold our services every Sunday."
People attempting to attend services are met by riot police and often beaten or pulled away from the communion rail, he said.
"This is the context in which the church has to bear witness to the Gospel," he said.
"This has not intimidated our people," Bakare said. They meet "as people who are prepared to carry the cross."
Still, Bakare wondered, "how does the church promise a sense of hope where people are hungry and there is no food on the shelves … where people are dying with no medication, where people's homes are destroyed, where 80 percent of our people are unemployed, where there is not money anymore?"
"What is the good news that I speak?" he asked. "The good news I preach is that powers come and go, but people remain. And this is where we are saying to our people: pray. Pray that God will intervene and take care of his creation and redeem -- liberate – the people of Zimbabwe."
Bakare, who left the news conference early to meet with the Archbishop of Canterbury, walked out of the room to the sustained applause of the roughly 50 journalists and staff who were in the room.
Windsor Continuation Group chair outlines plans for conference
There will be a three-part process for bishops at the Lambeth Conference to discuss the on-going work of the Windsor Report, according to Bishop Clive Handford, the chair of the Windsor Continuation Group and former primate of the Episcopal Church of Jerusalem and the Middle East.
The process began during the opening plenary session July 20, which was open only to bishops. Handford outlined for the bishops the group's "preliminary observations" since its work began in February. The observations, he said, are meant to "spark off dialogue and discussion."
Among the observations are a "breakdown of trust," "a gap between promise and follow through" at all levels, "the implications that requests and responses are either not fully thought out or they are disregarded," and "litigation and interventions have become locked in a vicious spiral." There is "diminishing sense of communion” that impoverishes witness to Christ, “placing huge strains on the functioning of the Instruments of Communion." Such turmoil "affects our relations with our ecumenical partners, many of whom face similar tensions," the paper concludes.
The next step in the process takes place July 23 at a hearing held by the Continuation Group, during which the members will ask the bishops "where we would like to get to," Handford said. Another hearing July 28, the question will be "how do we get there from here," he said.
"This isn't a quick fix," Handford cautioned. "It's an on-going process."
Lambeth Conference budget runs a deficit
Archbishop Phillip Aspinall of Brisbane, the primate of Australia and principal spokesman for the bishops, acknowledged at a news briefing that "there is a shortfall" in the conference budget, but said "I don't know how much." A final accounting would be released after all of the expenses and income is known, he said. A deficit figure of 2 million British pounds -- or about $4 million -- was used repeatedly by reporters in questioning Aspinall and others.
"Income is still coming in," Aspinall said, noting a recent $50,000 donation. About 40 percent of the bishops and their spouses have had some or all of their conference expenses paid by other entities, including other Anglican Communion provinces, he said.
Reporters complain about closed conference, conflicting fact and rules
During two news conferences July 22, reporters' frustrations with the way they have been barred from many Lambeth Conference events and the conflicting information they have received boiled over.
At the morning news conference, Archdeacon Paul Feheley of the Anglican Church of Canada, who is a member of the conference communications office, told reporters that organizers were not releasing a list of bishops who were attending for “security reasons.” However, at the afternoon briefing, Archbishop Phillip Aspinall of Brisbane, the primate of Australia and principal spokesman for the bishops, told reporters that the list was being withheld for "privacy reasons," in part, because if it becomes known that a specific group of bishops are here "pressures might be put on them" and they would be "unduly bombarded" by the media.
Journalists must ask the conference staff to relay an interview request, unless they encounter a bishop outside a conference venue or otherwise contact them on their own
"I am not aware of security issues," Aspinall said.
He said he would relay the reporters' repeated requests for an attendee list to the conference organizers.
In the morning, Feheley said that 37 of 38 Anglican provinces were represented at the conference, with Uganda being the only unrepresented province. In the afternoon, Aspinall said all but Nigeria are represented. He said that while a Nigerian bishop had faxed the conference office July 19 to say he was coming, it appeared that he had not yet arrived.
"So the fax is present but the bishop is not?" asked one reporter.
Aspinall said there are five Kenyan bishops attending and 1 from Rwanda.
Feheley and Aspinall were sharply questioned when they said that the bishops’ “self-select” sessions on various topics were not open to the public, nor were reporters allowed at worship. Bible study and group discussion events are also closed, along with most of their plenary sessions. Other events are open to journalists if organizers approve each reporter's request made at least 45 minutes in advance.
Patsy McGarry, covering for the Irish Times, asked Feheley, “Why are we here? Why not just declare this a closed conference?”
Lambeth by the numbers
There are 670 registered for 2008 Lambeth Conference, Feheley said. About 880 bishops were invited. About 750 out of 800 eligible bishops attended the 1998 conference. There have been 13,000 viewings of the conference website and 15,000 viewings of photos on a Flickr website.
Next up
The daily schedules for the bishops and spouses conferences, as well as each evening's official "fringe events" are here.