Author: Jim Naughton

We have just received the most recent draft of the reflections paper–which is still a work in progress. Here is the paragraph that may give

“The Anglican Communion is no longer what it used to be, and this Lambeth Conference is taking that seriously. Everybody in the Anglican Communion has got their own process of making sense of the Bible,” West said, adding that those who claimed to take Scripture more seriously than others were “just trying to talk more loudly or stamp their feet more firmly.”

The bishops I have talked to seem to be cautiously optimistic about the outcome of events here. They came with the hopes of building relationships with bishops from other provinces, and, for the most part, they have accomplished that. Their aim now is to get out of Dodge before anything happens to undermine those friendships.

The Episcopal Church and an unspecified number of African bishops were to meet on the lawn in front of the media centre tomorrow at 3 p. m. to have it out. The Africans have demanded that the meeting be held in public, so its outcome would be plain for all to see. A cage match!

I’ve made no secret of what I think that change should be — a Covenant that recognizes the need to grow towards each other (and also recognizes that not all may choose that way). I find it hard at present to see another way forward that would avoid further disintegration. But whatever your views on this, at least ask the question : … what generous initiative can I take to break through into a new and transformed relation of communion in Christ?’

The issue is a particularly explosive one. Its inclusion acknowledges that many women at the conference have been victims of violence. More to the point, it implies that bishops are not simply neglecting the issue of violence against women, but that they may be complicit or involved in it.