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MCU to publish 'The Windsor Report - A liberal response' which harshly criticises the Archbishop of Canterbury
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The Modern Churchpeople’s Union (MCU) is to
publish ‘The Windsor Report - A liberal response‘, in February, before the
General Synod debates the report. It has been edited by Jonathan Clatworthy,
General Secretary of the Modern Churchpeople’s Union and David Bruce Taylor, a
graduate in theology from Oxford University who worked for many years in
publishing and is now retired. Bishop Jack Spong has written the foreword.
Contributors include the Dean of Southwark, the Very Rev Colin Slee. In an introduction to the book, MCU says the Anglican Church faces a crisis
over questions of sexuality and authority, prompted by the consecration of Canon
Gene Robinson as bishop of the Diocese of New Hampshire in 2003. The most
serious split in its history seems to be imminent, with liberals on one side and
conservatives on the other. The Windsor Report, produced in November 2004 by the
Eames Commission that was established by the Archbishop of Canterbury to find a
way forwards without schism, seems to offer the last hope of reconciliation. For the conservatives, it’s time to take a stand on biblical authority and
moral values. For the liberals, if the Church can’t move forward with society
and be more inclusive on questions of gender and sexuality, much as it has done
in the past on questions like slavery and women’s rights, then schism is
preferable to unity. Both sides feel that further procrastination on what they
see as essential is only more damaging in the long term. These cogently-argued articles by liberals closely involved in the discussion
say that the kind of status quo offered by the Windsor report is no answer.
There is too much at stake to continue compromising with the spirit of
fundamentalism. The Telegraph reports Jack Spong's harsh criticism According to The Telegraph the book “has slammed the Archbishop of Canterbury
and other senior sources within the communion for taking a weak leadership on
the issue of sexual diversity” and “will also accuse the Windsor Report, the
response to the row over same-sex relationships and gay clergy, of being a
"cheap" attempt at "damage limitation". The most scathing of the condemnations come in the foreword to the book, the
newspaper reports, written by American liberal Rt Rev John Spong. Spong says
that the Archbishop and his advisors have turned what could have been a minor
debate into a "full scale disaster". He argues that if a tougher line had been
taken against anti-gay sentiment within the communion at an earlier stage, it
would not be at its present point of schism. "The Anglican Communion had a
relatively minor crisis as it watched a new consciousness about homosexuality
struggling to be born in the face of ancient ignorance and prejudice." "This
commission, and the leadership that requested its formation, has turned this
minor crisis into a full scale disaster.'' He says the level of leadership had
been surprisingly "inept", with many too frightened to scold anti-gay bishops
for their right wing statements. Jack Spong dubs the Windsor Report as "nothing
more than a pathetic ecclesiastical attempt at damage control". The Windsor Report - A liberal response is published by O Books, John Hunt
Publishing, ISBN 1905047290, Price £7.99 Paperback 112 pages To order a copy of 'The Windsor Report - A liberal response Single copies can be ordered within the UK, add £0.60 for p&p. and making
cheques payable to ‘The Modern Churchpeople’s Union’ and sent to The MCU Office,
9 Westward View, Liverpool L17 7EE.
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