The primates of Gafcon, including Archbishop Robert Duncan of ACNA, have issued a communique in which they endorse the Ugandan law that imposes harsh sentences for homosexuality and the support of homosexuals.
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We are equally concerned for the affected communities in Chile from the recent earthquake, terrorist attacks in Kenya, and the backlash from the international community in Uganda from their new legislation.
Nowhere in the communique is it said what “new legislation” is meant. There has been a Western backlash against the recently enacted anti-gay legislation in Uganda.
The ACNA primates met in London April 24-26. The full communique is here, and at the ACNA website as well.
ACNA, the Anglican Church in North America, is not a part of the Anglican Communion. It is recognized by the Anglican provinces that comprise Gafcon. Most of the constituent churches in ACNA broke away from The Episcopal Church over issues surrounding homosexuality. On its website ACNA traces its genesis to the AMiA led by Chuck Murphy and its relationship with the Province of Rwanda.
Much of the eight point communique was consumed with what Gafcon regards as the menace of homosexuality:
2. As was stated in the Nairobi Communiqué, we believe that the GAFCON movement is emerging as a faithful instrument of unity capable of gathering the majority of faithful Anglicans in communion globally. We are now taking practical steps to heal, renew and revitalize the Communion for future mission by growing our membership, improving the frequency and range of our communication and setting up networks, which will equip us to fulfill the Great Commission. We are already eagerly anticipating GAFCON 3 in 2018.
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6. The rich experience of sharing fellowship as we met in Nairobi encourages our sense of needing to maintain our common life in faithfulness to Christ. Meeting shortly after the recognition in English law of same sex marriage, which we cannot recognise as compatible with the law of God, we look to the Church of England to give clear leadership as moral confusion about the status of marriage in this country deepens. The Archbishop of Canterbury has rightly noted that the decisions of the Church of England have a global impact and we urge that as a matter of simple integrity, its historic and biblical teaching should be articulated clearly.
7. We are particularly concerned about the state of lay and clerical discipline. The House of Bishops’ guidance that those in same sex marriages should be admitted to the full sacramental life of the church is an abandonment of pastoral discipline. While we welcome their clear statement that clergy must not enter same sex marriage, it is very concerning that this discipline is, apparently, being openly disregarded. We pray for the recovery of a sense of confidence in the whole of the truth Anglicans are called to proclaim, including that compassionate call for repentance to which we all need to respond in our different ways.
Report from Religion News Service here.