The Archbishop of Canterbury has been forced to allow Anglican bishops from around the world the option to reject a statement on sexuality when they gather in Canterbury this week for the Lambeth conference.
The turn by Justin Welby, the leader of the global Anglican Communion and the conference’s president, came on Monday night, hours before 650 delegates were due to arrive for the 12-day meeting.
It followed an outcry from liberal Anglicans and gay rights advocates for a statement, known as the Lambeth Appeal, on human dignity defining marriage as “between one man and one woman”. He adds that he cannot advise “the legitimization or blessing of unions between people of the same sex” and that “it is the mind of the entire Anglican Communion that marriage between people of the same sex is not allowed”.
Among the protesters was the Bishop of Los Angeles, John Harvey Taylor, who said the statement was “the opposite of Christian values of healing and reconciliation. It divides, hurts, scapegoats and denies.”
The bishops of the Church of Wales said the appeal “undermines and subverts the dignity of an integral part of our community, rather than affirming it”.
Monday evening’s statement from the Lambeth conference said: “Over the last few days we have listened carefully to the responses of the bishops… The Appeal to Human Dignity drafting group will be making some revisions to the Appeal.”
He gave no further details, but said the revised text would be published “as soon as it is available”.
The statement also announced that bishops would now have a third option to respond to Lambeth appeals. “Bishops will now be able to clearly state their opposition to a particular Call, as well as support it or ask for further discussion. The third option will indicate: “This call does not speak for me. I do not add my voice to this call.
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Jayne Ozanne, a prominent campaigner for LGBT+ equality in the Church of England, welcomed the move. But he added: “I remain deeply concerned by the tone of this statement. It does not appear to address any of the concerns about the process that so many have pointed out, nor does it acknowledge the breakdown of trust that now exists in relation to the [discussions on sexuality and identity] here in England.”
The issue of sexuality and same-sex marriage has caused deep divisions among Anglicans, both in the UK and globally, for decades. The Lambeth conference planned for 2018 was canceled by Welby as it became clear that the differences were irreconcilable and would damage the global church.
In 2016, a meeting of Anglican primates from around the world voted to impose de facto sanctions on the US Episcopal church for endorsing same-sex marriages and issued a statement reaffirming the “doctrine traditional” that marriage should be between a man and a woman.
Since then, the Scottish Episcopal Church has decided to allow same-sex marriage and the Anglican Church in Wales has voted to offer special blessings to same-sex married couples. The Church of England still bans same-sex marriage.
Conservative church leaders in Rwanda, Nigeria and Uganda are boycotting the conference in protest at the support of some Anglican churches for same-sex unions.
Welby is keen to focus this week’s Lambeth conference on issues such as the climate crisis and global inequality. In a message to bishops last week, he said: “Without ignoring those things on which we deeply disagree, I pray that we approach this meeting with an even deeper sense of what unites us: the love of Jesus Christ and his call to serve the world of God”.