International Anglican Network Calls on Primates to Lead in Area of Social Justice
Episcopal News Service. April 4, 1991 [91091]
Representatives of 15 Anglican provinces from around the world have called on the primates of the Anglican Communion to act as agents of justice on behalf of the poor in the developing world.
Members of the Anglican Peace and Justice Network, an organization comprised of persons appointed by the primates to serve as advisers on issues of social justice, gathered for their sixth annual meeting in Porto Alegre, Brazil, March 5-14, to act as a "social conscience of the primates," according to the Rev. Brian Grieves, peace and justice officer for the Episcopal Church and secretary of the network.
Grieves reported that members of the network shared concerns from their provinces and that several themes are gaining strength in the work of the network. "The proliferation of military armaments throughout the world is emerging as a serious concern of Anglicans in the developing world," he said. "And the burden of international debt is critical to representatives from developing countries."
The network endorsed several recommendations that will be sent to the Anglican primates meeting in Ireland later this month, calling on them to:
- affirm the call for the reunification of Korea by the Anglican Church in Korea and support the idea of an ecumenical or Anglican visit to advance the dialogue for peaceful reunification;
- seek a report on the church in Sri Lanka during the state of turmoil in that country and ascertain whether a solidarity visit of Anglican leaders would be helpful;
- send an Anglican delegation to Kenya to support the Church of the Province of Kenya during the current period of church persecution and violation of human rights;
- implore the primates to send messages to Western governments -- especially those of the United States and England -- to apply consistency in their implementation of United Nations Security Council resolutions leading to the creation of a sovereign Palestinian state;
- send a message to the National Council of Christian Churches in Brazil, affirming its position on the adverse impact of foreign debt on the life and well-being of the people;
- consider a statement to the communion asking that women have full and equal participation in the church and be involved in the decision-making bodies of all church structures;
- concur with the Church in the Province of the West Indies that uncontrolled industrial and tourism development is an inappropriate solution to resolve the debt of Caribbean governments;
a resolve that the plight of indigenous people be a priority during the United Nations International Year of the World's Indigenous People in 1993, and that indigenous people who are Anglican meet to share common concerns.
"The network meeting was a chance for Episcopalians in the United States to hear what our brother and sister Christians in the developing world think about the policies of our government," Grieves said. "They regard our policies as based on intervention, interference, and self-interest without regard to the effect those policies will have on the poor."
Grieves said that it would be easy for Americans to "dismiss criticism from the developing world as 'American bashing' without considering the concerns from the rest of the world.
"The hardest place to do social justice is in the United States, England, and much of the Northern Hemisphere because we are the 'haves' and are usually satisfied with the status quo and the lifestyle we have," Grieves contended.
"The churches in the developing world see social justice as integral to their life," Grieves added. "The issues are very real for them, and if we are serious about the Gospel we must listen to them."
Grieves said that the network provides an atmosphere of trust within the context of the "Anglican family" and as such is "a gift to the developed world because it reminds us that we've got to take social justice seriously."