The Telegraph reports that the letter of response to The Episcopal Church Marriage Task Force was written in consultation with the archbishops and the bishop of Coventry.
Simon Sarmiento at Thinking Anglicans puts that in perspective:
Wait. About that letter by Mr Nye to The Episcopal Church Marriage Task Force. Whose views does it represent? A contradicting statement from CoE spox. Thanks @simonsarmiento https://t.co/sgC1gjj1Dc? pic.twitter.com/UwWCz3VUCO
— The Episcopal Cafe (@episcopalcafe) April 30, 2018
Jayne Ozanne tweets,
Well done everybody!!! Archbishops and +Coventry admit they knew of Nye's letter…evidently we now have a "Provincial Secretary".. do remember it was sent in Archbishops' Council notepaper without their knowledge or consent.https://t.co/pw8ClkYsJj
— Jayne Ozanne (@JayneOzanne) April 30, 2018
Ozanne is quoted in the T-graph’s report. She reminds us of what were the reasons Mr. Nye’s letter was the subject of controversy.
Jayne Ozanne, a campaigners for LGBT rights in the church, said: “We are unsure by whose authority the original letter from Nye was sent, given that it was not discussed by the Archbishops’ Council.
“It would be strange if it were sent with the knowledge and support of the Archbishops given their firm commitment to ‘radical Christian inclusion’ and their understanding of the need to be pastorally sensitive to the LGBT community, neither of which area mentioned in the letter.
“What I find even more perplexing is that it does not reflect the level of dissent shown by recent decisions taken by the General Synod.”
Not to mention the letter’s statements on procreation and marriage.
To those reasons can be added the change in the story of who Nye consulted with in writing the letter.
Do the Archbishops affirm the contents of the letter?
Our previous reporting:
Pushback in CoE to Nye’s letter to TEC marriage task force
Who answers for the Church of England when the Episcopal Church asks about marriage?
All Content © 2017 Episcopal Café
Why did the other thread on this topic suddenly disappear, with the comments of Ms Katsarelis et al?
It doesn’t really matter. Jayne Ozanne has nailed it and it simply doesn’t look good for CoE’s ABC, ABY, or staff. Besides process, the letter a not an honest representation of CoE. In the digital age that is pretty easy to verify. Their General Synod rejected a conservative policy statement on LGBTQI inclusion, and they long ago rejected procreation as the main reason for marriage. People are up in arms (by English standards) about harsh treatment of their married clergy, etc. I hate to say it, but this is not the first example of gaslighting from CoE leadership and staff. Yawn. I love the responses from the Lutherans, Moravians, and Old Catholics and love the fact that we think of the Body of Christ as something larger than the Anglican Communion.
A decade ago, this response by “The Mother Church” might be cause for alarm, but under Archbishop Welby’s “let your yes be perhaps and your no be possibly” leadership we Episcopalians have learned to expect little in terms of leadership from Canterbury. This reads like a bureaucrat got too far out over his skis, easy to understand when the putative head of the church is often MIA.