Lambeth Bishops complain of 'patronising' West

Monday, 4th August 2008
By Judy West.

Canterbury: Bishops from the Global South movement have condemned the ‘patronising attitude’ of the Western churches during the Lambeth Conference, claiming that their traditionalist views are both misrepresented and misunderstood in the West.

The Bishops, who unlike the Gafcon bishops, did not boycott Lambeth, nevertheless regretted that “substantial theological voices outside of the Western world have not been present in the evening plenary sessions of the Lambeth Conference. We are concerned with the continuing patronising attitude of the West towards the rest of the churches worldwide.”

They said in a statement issued yesterday: “We regret attempts to cause divisions and break the bonds between churches in the Global South, and are distressed that the realities in our churches are often misrepresented and misunderstood in the West.” the rest