The Church of England is holding their regular annual General Synod this week; Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby used his presidential address to make remarks about the Primates’ gathering. Reading a pre-written speech, Archbishop Welby stressed that the Episcopal Church was neither ‘sanctioned’ nor ‘punished’; he sought to clarify the attendance of Archbishop Foley Beach of the non-member Anglican Church of North America, and provided some contextual stage-setting to let others know the circumstances and history behind the occassion.
In a memorable quip, he referred to the media coverage as more spun than Donald Trump. From the speech:
The Primates’ Meeting held in Canterbury between 11th and 15th January 2016 occasioned much comment and even more misrepresentation. It has been spun more than Donald Trump, and you would be well advised to set your spin meters to “detect” as I am hoping both to say something about what happened, at least from my point of view… and more importantly, why and what it says to us. I have no doubt most people will disagree with one or the other aspect, or all of them.
The full video, from Youtube, is 23 minutes long, and the Archbishop has also provided a transcript on his website.
Why do you think so much misinformation flowed from the meeting? How do you feel about the clarifications? Do you think it was prudent to invite Archbishop Foley, seeing how his presence was regarded in tandem with the Primates’ statement?