Official support for US Bishops, while others doubt
by Pat Ashworth
5 October, 2007

The Joint Standing Committee of the Primates and of the Anglican Consultative Council (JSC) has signalled its approval of the statement released by the US House of Bishops last week (News, 28 September).

In a 19-page assessment, published on Wednesday, the committee concludes that the Bishops “have met the requirements of the Windsor report . . . and the request of the Primates at Dar es Salaam” for a moratorium on public rites for the blessing of same-sex unions; and has “given the necessary assurances” on the subject of consecrating gay bishops.

On the third request by the Primates — to set up an external system of oversight for disaffected parishes and dioceses — the JSC acknowledges that the proposal infringed the polity of the Episcopal Church in the United States. Nevertheless, the Bishops had begun “initiatives [which] offer a viable basis on which to proceed”. the rest