Anglican Meeting Votes to Remove Rwandan Bishops Who Remain in Exile
Episcopal News Service. November 7, 1996 [96-1609]
(ENS) At its 10-day meeting in Panama in mid-October, the Anglican Consultative Council (ACC) deplored the reluctance of bishops in Rwanda to return to their leaderless dioceses. In a strong resolution, the 75 representatives from across the Anglican Communion urged church leaders "to set in motion legal procedures to elect bishops to those four vacant sees."
The resolution was based on reports from Bishop David Birney of the Episcopal Church who, as the archbishop of Canterbury's envoy to Rwanda, spent several months visiting the country and its churches. He warned the assembly that the church was in danger of losing its credibility among its own people and with the government of Rwanda. (See ENS May 23, 1996, story #96-1497).
The resolution pointed out that attempts by Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey "to persuade the bishops in exile to return to their dioceses or resign" have been rebuffed. The bishops say they fear reprisals if they return to Rwanda.
ACC delegates from Africa expressed concern with how the church as an instrument for justice, reconciliation and peace in the aftermath of the 1994 genocide without resolving its leadership crisis.
"We must approach the situation with a deep sense of sorrow and repentance," said Bishop Joseph Wasanga of Kenya.
On the final day of the meeting, the ACC endorsed a proposal to help create a new town plan for Bethlehem's Manger Square by the year 2000. Bishop Samir Kafity of Jerusalem and the Middle East said that the project was especially important because Bethlehem is predominantly Christian and an important center for pilgrimage and tourism.
"The Christian population in Bethlehem dwindles day by day because of persecution and the lack of a strong economic structure," said the Rev. John L. Peterson, secretary general of the Anglican Communion and former dean of St. George's College in Jerusalem. "Manger Square in Bethlehem, the main pilgrimage area, needs total reconstruction and replanning.... This is a sad reality and it is time to change this dramatically," he said in calling on Anglicans throughout the world to support the project.
"This is a monumental task, but it is something which will enable us to have a unique Christian presence as Anglicans in Bethlehem, to make it "a more holy, lively, and accessible place which will enrich the lives of every person who will come to pray at the site of Christ's birth," Peterson said.
In other actions the ACC
- heard from Bishop Richard Harries of Oxford (England) that homosexuality was not a primary issue in some areas of the church where poverty, peace and reconciliation are much higher on the agenda;
- endorsed guidelines that will assist new provinces in the Anglican Communion to benefit from the experience and resources of other members;
- considered the possibility that, in the future, the Anglican Communion may be led by a non-English bishop, in recognition that the 80-million-member communion should be "less English";
- urged ecumenical leaders to communicate high-level dialogues and agreement to the local level, to aid Christians seeking to live in harmony.