Liberals are tearing apart church, says Anglican bishop
Pastor Dale Morgan
Liberals are tearing apart church, says Anglican bishop*
By Martin Beckford in Jerusalem
Last Updated: 5:36PM BST 26/06/2008
Liberals within the Anglican church have "torn up the fabric of the
communion" and should be barred from a debate over the church's future,
an English bishop has warned.
The Rt Rev Wallace Benn, the Bishop of Lewes, said he could not attend
the once-a-decade Lambeth Conference with liberal Americans who went
against Scripture by consecrating an openly gay bishop and who are
trying to drive out conservatives.
He suggested the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, should not
have invited the liberals because they have broken church rules.
Bishop Benn added that the Gafcon conference in Jerusalem, where 303
Anglican bishops from around the world have gathered, would find a way
out of the crisis by returning to the teachings of the Gospel.
He said: “The reason I don’t feel I can go [to Lambeth] is because I
don’t think I can pretend to have fellowship with those with whom there
is a broken fellowship.
“How am I meant to set down at a table with people who are persecuting
my friends?
“I don’t believe I can pretend that the facts on the ground of the
tearing of the fabric of the Communion doesn’t exist.
“It is of great regret to me that the invite list includes almost all
those who have torn the fabric of the Communion.”
He went on: “That has been a very hard decision not easily come to. I
wrote a year ago to the Archbishop of Canterbury that if the invitation
list is not changed I would not be able to go.
“I believe I could not go and pretend that things are what they
manifestly are not.”
Bishop Benn is one of three Church of England bishops known to be
boycotting Lambeth, together with the Rt Rev Michael Nazir-Ali, the
outspoken Bishop of Rochester who is a key figure at Gafcon, and The Rt
Rev Pete Broadbent, the Bishop of Willesden.
Describing the discussions held at Gafcon about a way forward, Bishop
Benn said: “There needs to be in Christian leadership a consistency and
continuity between private and public lives, and faithfulness to
apostolic teaching.”