Anglican leaders tell churches to heed moratorium

Churches in the Anglican Communion have been told to heed a moratorium on the consecration of gay bishops and blessings for same-sex unions.

The call came from Anglican Primates gathered in Alexandria, Egypt, this week for talks on unity and other issues affecting the 70 million member Anglican Communion.

„If a way forward is to be found and mutual trust to be re-established, it is imperative that further aggravation and acts which cause offense, misunderstanding or hostility cease,“ said Primates in a statement on the last day of talks on Thursday.

An Anglican advisory panel expressed concerns over a new North American province being established by conservative Anglicans as an alternative to the liberal-leaning Episcopal Church. The panel also recommended that overseas interventions and lawsuits over Episcopal property be halted.

The moratoria was set out in the 2004 Windsor Report, published in the wake of the consecration of the openly gay Bishop of New Hampshire, Gene Robinson, in 2003.