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Archbishop Makes MDGs Key Objectives for Anglican Communion

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, has said that the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) provide a key focus for the churches of the Anglican Communion.

by Maria Mackay
Posted: Wednesday, March 7, 2007, 6:56 (GMT)
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Earlier in the week, Dr Williams said in a pastoral letter sent to the Primates of the Anglican Communion that the challenges faced by the Anglican Communion require 'generosity and patience'.

In his letter, Dr Williams admitted that the recent meeting in Tanzania had been difficult, but said that a number of key issues had been properly aired.

"It was far from being an easy few days, but there was a great deal of honesty in our conversation, and a direct facing of the tensions that we still find in the life of the Communion," he said.

He also said that the Primates' decision to address some questions to the House of Bishops of the Episcopal Church shouldn't be understood as bypassing the church's structures.

"To address these requests to the American House of Bishops is not to ignore the polity of the Episcopal Church, but to acknowledge that the bishops have a key role, acknowledged in the constitution of that church, in authorising liturgies within their dioceses and in giving consent to the election of candidates for Episcopal order."

Dr Williams expressed the hope that the proposed Pastoral Council could be developed quickly, as it would help in the development of pastoral provision for those in the Episcopal Church seeking alternative pastoral oversight:

"It is my hope that if such a Pastoral Council ... will be an appropriate body through which the work of healing and reconciliation for which we all look may be robustly carried forward, and an account given to the rest of the communion on the working out of the Windsor Process."

Dr Williams commended the work done in Tanzania in relation to the MDGs and proposals on theological education. He reminded Primates of their commitment to take soundings within their provinces on proposals for a Covenant for the Anglican Communion.

Despite the challenges ahead, he remained confident that the Church would remain focussed on its mission: "I am sure that the next few months will bring further challenges which will need to be faced. If we can approach such challenges with a spirit of generosity and graciousness, however, and always ready to be submissive to the wisdom of the Holy Spirit, then I am confident that the Anglican Communion can emerge from our present tensions renewed and strengthened for the mission which Christ has entrusted to us."



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