[ENS] The Anglican Archbishop of Southern Africa, the Most Rev. Njongonkulu Ndungane, has responded to a recent threat made by some African Primates who say that they will not attend the forthcoming Primates Meeting in Tanzania in February because of the presence of Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori.Archbishop Henry Luke Orombi of the Anglican Church of Uganda said in a December pastoral letter to his church that he and other Global South Primates had informed the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams, that they "cannot sit together with Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori at the upcoming Primates Meeting in February," citing her position on the Bible's teachings about "faith and morality."
In a January 11 statement, Ndungane decried the reports of a boycott "because of the presence of a woman, who has been legitimately elected by the church in her country," saying it "is like fiddling while Rome burns."
"Most importantly," he added, "it goes against God's fundamental call for unity and reconciliation."
"I hope it is not the case that Bishop Jefferts Schori's presence is objectionable to some because she is a woman," he said. "Women have always been the backbone of Africa and, as an African, I am honored to welcome her to our great continent."
Jefferts Schori will be the first woman ever to sit among the leaders, or Primates, of the Anglican Communion when they next convene in Dar Es Salaam in Tanzania, but in his pastoral letter Orombi insisted that his "problem" with the Episcopal Church is "not that they have enthroned a woman as their Presiding Bishop."In his statement, Ndungane noted that "Africa is on fire with conflict in places like Darfur and Somalia" and cited the "life and death struggle against HIV and AIDS, malaria, famine and unimaginable poverty, all of which are creating a continent of orphans."
"There is also climate change which threatens to bring untold devastation to our continent," he added. "What we need is a united front to bring the needs of the people of Africa to center stage at every international forum."
From Episcopal News Service
1 comment:
++Ndungane is quite right, as is ++Kwong (outgoing archbishop of Hong Kong, I think). we have better things to worry about.
you know, I myself was born in the Global South. many of the Anglican leaders of the Global South, including the current and prior Archbishops of Southeast Asia, have sorely disappointed me by their closed-mindedness. Lambeth calls for us to engage in a listening process. too many of our the GS leaders have willfully avoided listening, like Abp Akinola when he jumped back upon shaking Louie Crew's hand and realizing that Crew was a (gasp!!) homosexual.
I can only speculate what was going through Abp Akinola's mind. however, my best guess is that he was thinking something along the lines of:
"SODOMYSODOMYSODOMYSODOMYSODOMY!!!!!"
and so, blinded by his own prejudices, he fled. as did too many others.
but GS Anglicans like ++s Ndungane, Kwong, Tutu, stayed and listened. I respectfully disagree with them on their stances on homosexuality (Kwong said he still considers it a sin, Tutu's on record as saying he thinks gays should be celibate), but they did listen. outside our church, Tony Campolo and Peggy Campolo listened; Peggy thinks it's ok, Tony does not, but they have continued to publicly support gay people in terms of civil rights. I wish that GS Anglicans could take a page from these folk.
Post a Comment