Sydney's Spending Cuts Criticized by Carey
Episcopal News Service. November 13, 1997 [97-2004U]
(ENS) The decision by Australia's largest diocese, Sydney, to redirect funding designated for general support of the Anglican Communion drew fire from Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey during his recent visit to that diocese. "Yes, it disturbs me," he said during a press conference in Sydney. "And the reason why it disturbs me is that it's not by withholding grants that we penalize the central bureaucracy. It actually is penalizing of the very poor. The people who suffer will be people in Africa." Carey pointed out that Sydney is a wealthy diocese and said the matter urgently needed to be addressed. "I hope that my visit in some small way might encourage Sydney to have a positive attitude towards the Anglican Communion, that it's worth supporting, and by supporting the Anglican Communion we are actually supporting the mission of the church in needy parts of the world." Instead of supporting general Anglican Communion operations, the Diocese of Sydney chose to specify that their contribution be used to help bishops from undeveloped countries attend next year's Lambeth conference.