The Global South Primates are blaming the Archbishop of Canterbury for their boycott of the Primates Meeting next week. They are claiming that the agenda is not transparent enough and that there won’t be enough useful dialogue to make it worthwhile to spend all that money to fly to Dublin.
What they mean by “transparency” is that they believe that Lambeth should have consulted directly with GAFCON about the agenda and tone of the meeting. They wanted their interest group to be treated as if it had actual authority. Their real agenda is to smuggle primatial governance in through the back door.
What is most disturbing and difficult is that given the intractable miry situation the Communion is already in and being further driven into, there was hardly any timely and intentional prior consultation and collegial engagement of all concerned (or at least as many as reasonably possible) in preparing for the Meeting to ensure certain degree of significant and principally legitimate outcome to hold and move the Communion together. In light of the critical importance of the Meeting, the preparations are gravely inadequate. As it stands, the Meeting is almost pre-determined to end up as just another gathering that again cannot bring about effective ecclesial actions, despite the precious time, energy and monetary resources that Primates and Provinces have invested in attending the Meeting. This, most Provinces could scarcely afford. With the disappointingly lack of serious transparent planning and leadership beforehand to prepare the Primates for a genuine meeting of minds and hearts to face the very real and obvious issues before us, it will be strenuous to expect any significant, meaningful, credible and constructive outcome of the Dublin Meeting.
In the light of these concerns, these Primates have actively urged a postponement of the Meeting until adequate ground work has been done, which they would be most ready to contribute, hopefully, with input by others as well.
Therefore, it is with great sadness that some Primates have arrived at the decision that it is neither right nor proper for them to be present at the Dublin Meeting
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H/T to Thinking Anglicans.