The Anglican Communion Network Moderator's Response to Executive Council's Letter

[American Anglican Council] April 14, 2005--A Statement from the Moderator of the Anglican Communion Network

What the response of the Episcopal Church’s Executive Council to the 2005 Primates’ Communique gives with one hand, it takes away with the other. While it gives an appearance of complying with the Primates’ request, in actuality it does not. The Primates asked the ECUSA delegation to withdraw from the Anglican Consultative Council (AAC) – the only appropriate response is therefore to stay at home.

The Executive Council’s request for the ECUSA delegation to appear unofficially is reminiscent of many of the Episcopal Church’s recent actions: Delegated Episcopal Pastoral Oversight(DEPO) Plan sounds like Alternative Episcopal Oversight but it is not the same thing. Saying to the world the Episcopal Church has not authorized same-sex blessings – while observing that such blessings are "within the practice” of this Church – is more of the same.

The response to the Primates is a technical yes and an actual no. The response is extremely disappointing. It is also, of course, dishonest in any coherent moral analysis.

As to the ultimate purpose of the Anglican Communion as described by the Executive Council, I disagree. Our lives as Christians inthe Anglican tradition are not marked by creating a "new humanity" but rather by giving worship to the only true God, by attesting the salvation of God through Christ and by experiencing the transformation that comes through faith in Him.

The Rt. Rev. Robert Duncan
Bishop of Pittsburgh