Tuesday, February 20, 2007

Shunning: Stage Two

Katie Nguyen is continuing to cover the convention of Anglican leaders in Dar es Salaam for Reuters, and I am continuing to follow her dispatches. She came to my attention for reporting what I (but not Katie) called the "shunning" of presiding United States bishop Katherine Jefferts Schori by seven archbishops with strong conservative views on the matter of homosexuality. Yesterday's report indicated that this conservative sentiment will extend beyond the "Holy Table" at a single ceremony in Dar es Salaam:

The Anglican Communion gave the U.S. Episcopal Church a September deadline on Monday to stop blessing same sex unions, but did gave no clear indication of what action it would then take.

However, if the statement by the Anglican Communion was unclear about action, it did not mince words over attitude:

If the reassurances requested of the House of Bishops cannot in good conscience be given, the relationship between the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion as a whole remains damaged at best, and this has consequences for the full participation of the church in the life of the communion.

In other words the "shunning" strategy has now escalated from a single service to a global policy. If there is any moderating force at all, it appears in the failure of that highly-charged adjective from last Friday, "broken," to yield to the softer language of "damaged at best." That does not say much for those who would prefer to see diversity encouraged, but I suppose it is better than nothing at all!

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