Anglican Primates Take on Worldly Concerns at Ireland Meeting
Episcopal News Service. April 29, 1991 [91100]
Jerry Hames, Editor of Episcopal Life
Bombings and assassinations in Northern Ireland, violence among blacks in South Africa, the plight of Palestinians in Israel, and the desperate conditions among Kurds in northern Iraq dominated discussions at the meeting of primates of the Anglican Communion, April 7-13.
The communion's leaders also discussed opportunities open to the churches in the Decade of Evangelism, reviewed ecumenical developments, including the tentative agreement between Episcopal and Lutheran churches in the United States, and a proposal for an inter-Anglican doctrinal commission.
The weeklong meeting in early April, at a resort hotel on the Irish Sea an hour's drive from Belfast, brought together primates from the 28 churches in the communion, as well as the leaders of the United Churches of North and South India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, which are in full communion with the Anglican Communion.
In his welcome, Archbishop of Canterbury-designate George Carey described himself as "the new boy" among them, saying it was his priority to get to know each of them and their different perspectives on church mission. Carey has thus far traveled only to Japan, New Zealand, and the United States.
But most of the meeting dealt with issues of serious concern.
The primates said that "violence only breeds more violence and that peace and justice will not be achieved by terror. Aggression is often fostered by a deep-rooted sense of insecurity. Peace can come only when each side is prepared to guarantee the security and identity of the other."
The primates said they had met political leaders with integrity and courage on both sides of the conflict. (In an extraordinary meeting arranged by the Church of Ireland primate, the bishops heard addresses by John Hume, head of the Roman Catholic Social Democratic and Labor party, and James Molyneaux, an Anglican, head of the Unionist party.)
The primates also visited the Parliament buildings at Stormont, where Peter Brooke, secretary of state for Northern Ireland, described the proposed three-stage talks that would first involve Northern Ireland political parties, then the governments of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, and finally the British and Irish governments.
"This is a bold scheme," Brooke said. "If successful, it could lead to a renewal of democratic political life in Northern Ireland and to a further marginalization of those who use violence for political ends."
Archbishop Robert Eames, primate of all Ireland, had asked the primates to express concern not just about violence, but also about its causes.
Eames said the people of Northern Ireland, like churches in the Anglican Communion, are living with diversity. "We must see how we can turn that process from the negative to the positive and see the good in each and not as a conflict."
The primates urged that no action be taken on lifting economic sanctions against South Africa without consulting black leaders. "We urge Western governments, whose countries have benefited extensively from cheap black labor, to provide massive development aid to the country... for the urgent provision of housing, education, and health services," they said.
Archbishop Desmond Tutu said South Africans have been on "a rollercoaster ride" in the past year as changes happened "almost overnight." These included the dropping of bans against political parties, including the African National Congress (ANC) and Communist party, the release of ANC leader Nelson Mandela, and a national church conference where a Dutch Reformed leader sought forgiveness for his church's apartheid stance. The process of negotiation has never been more under threat than it is now, Tutu said, adding that ongoing violence between the ANC and Inkatha Zulu movement has many causes.
"South Africa has never been a country that has known tolerance," Tutu said. "You come to accept that the way you deal with someone different than you is to say he is an enemy. And then you say that the only good enemy is a dead enemy."
The primates called upon governments to respond to the suffering of displaced peoples, including Kurdish refugees and displaced Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied territories who, they said, suffer "inhumane containment, curfews, and the continued denial of human rights."
The primates also affirmed a Lambeth Conference resolution calling for a two-state solution, recognizing and ensuring the security of Israel, establishing a Palestinian state, and calling for an international conference under the auspices of the United Nations.
Bishop Samir Kafity of Jerusalem and the Middle East urged the primates to influence the peace process and urge governments to encourage the UN to apply Security Council resolutions consistently and equitably. A UN administrative presence in the Gaza Strip and West Bank would help establish humane policies in the occupied territories until there is settlement of the Palestinian issue, he said.
"Even since the end of the [Persian Gulf] war, the acts of harassment and violence have continued unabated. Living conditions of the Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip deteriorate each day," Kafity said.
Some primates admitted they were beyond their depth of knowledge but the group recommended alternative monetary and economic systems to counter the mounting debt crisis confronting many developing countries and urged their own churches to exercise stewardship that gives preference to the poor.
Archbishop Khotso Makhulu of Central Africa admitted the international debt problem is complex. But, he said, it has many countries caught "in a vicious spiral" unless it is reversed. "The poorer nations have had to cope with an unfair economic order, selling their resources and products at lower prices, while paying a high rate for goods they buy," Makhulu said.
Makhulu said that poor countries must accept part of the blame for their predicament. "Do they really need these high-tech munitions they have bought?" he asked. "Do we need the latest equipment purchased at high prices that takes priority over the basic needs of the poor people of the land?"
Discussion of the Decade of Evangelism began with an address by retired Bishop Leslie Newbigin, who told the primates that the key to a recovery of evangelism in today's secular society can be found only in a community that actually lives the story of the Bible. Evangelism is essentially telling a story, he said. "It is a story that will be made credible only when congregations begin to believe it. They must be willing to live by that story -- that is the condition upon which it becomes plausible."
The primates said outreach and social ministry must be linked with evangelism, and urged the churches to attend to the quality of congregational life.
In a closed session, Presiding Bishop Edmond L. Browning of the United States spoke about human sexuality and the report to be presented to the Episcopal Church's General Convention in July.
Homosexuality, and the question of whether it is right to ordain homosexuals, are live issues in some Anglican churches but not in others, the primates said. "As the church continues to wrestle with this difficult question, we want to encourage our people to pursue the discussion with honesty, compassion, and a genuine desire to seek the will of God.
"We agreed that... the church needs to give full weight to the testimony of holy scripture. We need also to take into account of such understanding of homosexuality that scientific research is able to provide.
"It is important, too," the primates said, "to try to understand the experience of homosexuals themselves as they face the implications of their sexuality."
The primates noted the "wide differences" of understanding within churches in the communion. They expressed appreciation for the Episcopal Church's House of Bishops statement last September that said the church can neither ignore homosexual men and women who feel hurt, angry and rejected nor label as simply homophobic the expressions of men and women who believe that homosexuality is a sin.