The following statement has been issued to the Derby Evening Telegraph

Rt. Revd. Jonathan Bailey

18th October 2003
For immediate use

Statement from the Bishop of Derby regarding
the gathering of Anglican Primates

Given the serious risks facing the worldwide Anglican Communion, the recent gathering of the 38 Primates at Lambeth has addressed our much-publicised differences within a framework of wisdom and Christian love. I give thanks for the Archbishop of Canterbury’s leadership and pray for him along with the Commission charged with "maintaining communion within and between provinces when grave difficulties arise".

The Primates reiterated the position captured in the resolutions of Lambeth 1998 and in the 1991 Report, "Issues in Human Sexuality". I hold on to my conviction that sexual activity outside the commitment of marriage falls short of the Christian ideal. At the same time experience proves God works through people of integrity holding a different view. It would be so destructive if things which divide us turn out to be stronger than those which unite us.

The House of Bishops’ study guide, "Some Issues in Human Sexuality", to be published next month, provides a tool for us to consider and reflect upon homosexuality in the Bible, in the tradition of the Church and in our time. My fear is that this year’s controversies threaten to prejudice that debate.

My hope is that we can now move forward to focus on concerns about which Christ spoke out with vehemence. I am thinking of issues like poverty, oppression, violence and bigotry. I do urge those who demand rigorous tests for orthodoxy to look again at what mattered most to Jesus.

Ends

Background

Reviewing issues of concern to the members of the Derby Diocesan Synod at its meeting on Saturday 18th October, the Bishop of Derby reflected on the recent gathering of Anglican Primates in his presidential address. This extract is part of a fifteen-minute wide-ranging address.

Revd. Stephen France
Diocesan Duty Press Officer
Diocese of Derby