Archbishop on same-sex civil unions

Anglicans in other Provinces of the Communion sometimes display a tendency “to use African Christians as proxies in their own culture wars,” Archbishop Thabo Makgoba has said.

 

He said this in reply to American inquirer who asked for comment on the recent marriage of the Revd Canon Mpho Tutu. The Desmond & Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation, of which Canon Tutu is Executive Director, announced on January 1 that she and Professor Marceline Furth were married in a small civil ceremony held in Oegstgeest, the Netherlands, on 30 December, 2015.

Responding to the news, the Revd George Conger, a priest from Florida who also writes for the Church of England Newspaper and runs a news service called Anglican Ink, emailed the Archbishop asking about the Province's current position on same-sex marriages.

The Archbishop replied:

”The issues that you raise will be addressed within our Province at a time appropriate to our processes, and we will communicate any responses we have to our own people first.

“There is sometimes a tendency among our fellow Anglicans in other Provinces to use African Christians as proxies in their own culture wars and I don't want to compound the problem by addressing the issues you raise in the first instance in the British and American church media. 

“Our Province has in the past sought and reached consensus on the issues that face us through a process of patient and respectful internal consultation and I wish to continue that tradition.”

Dioceses are currently considering the adoption of pastoral guidelines for members who enter same-sex civil unions. These will be decided upon at the next session of Provincial Synod in September.