The efforts of Canterbury” “

“I’ve been an Anglican all my life and I regard this possibility of division with horror”, says Anglican bishop JOHN FLACK , director of the Anglican Centre in Rome. We asked Bishop Flack to comment on the crisis that has opened within the Anglican Community, following the ordination of a gay bishop in the USA and the blessing of homosexual unions in Canada (see Sir Europe no. 17/2005). Is there really – as the media claim – a risk of schism within the Anglican Communion? “I don’t think that a schism within the Anglican Communion is likely to happen in the immediate future. The archbishop of Canterbury has asked for a three-year period of reflection and prayer before anyone takes any decision. That is the situation at the present time. Of course the question of human sexuality has opened a great division. There is also the problem of the ordination of women, which some Anglican Churches have accepted and others haven’t. This question, however, has not caused the same kind of division as that caused by the issue of sexuality”. And if a schism should happen, what consequences would it have? “I think that the American Anglican Church would very probably ask to resign from the Anglican Communion for a period of time, and the Canadian Anglican Church could perhaps follow suit. But we will have to wait and see if this really happens. The archbishop of Canterbury has said that the unity of the Anglican Communion is very important. Let us hope that people follow this guidance”. What role can the archbishop of Canterbury play in such cases? “The archbishop is deeply respected. It is possible he can hold us together. But there are Primates in the Anglican Communion, especially in Africa, that have adopted very hard-line positions. We must therefore wait and see whether the archbishop of Canterbury will be able to reconcile the differences of opinion and restore unity”. Perhaps there is more a political than a substantial reason behind this crisis? “I am more inclined to think that the cultural, political and historical reasons may help us to keep together because we have not only a language but also a long history in common. Our hope is that these links may prevent any division”. Don’t you think there ought to be greater willingness to compromise one’s own position for the good of the Communion? “I don’t know. I have no direct contact with the African bishops, but I hope they are generous and ready to place themselves on the same wavelength as the archbishop”. How does an Anglican react to this situation? “The situation is very difficult: I’ve been an Anglican all my life and I regard this possibility of division with horror. Of course I don’t want to belong to a divided church. That’s why I pray that my Church may not be divided”. What lesson will this crisis consign to history? “There was nothing more serious until the nineteenth century when the Anglican Church was divided on the question of the baptism of infants. That was the last major crisis. That crisis, like the present one, teaches us how important it is to be able to work together and listen to each other better that we are doing today. They are crises that also urge us to close the gap that divides the developed countries like the United Kingdom and North America from the countries of Africa, India and South America”. What contribution is the Catholic Church giving? “The Catholic Church, and in particular Cardinal Kasper, have been very useful in advising us and praying for us, and in making no pronouncement that could have caused us difficulties. Cardinal Kasper has privately spoken with our archbishop and I know that his advice was very useful. There’s also the danger of the consequences that internal dissension may have on ecumenical dialogue. I pray for my Church and continue to pray for unity. The path to unity is difficult but when we are divided internally, it is even more so. We must, however, try to achieve it”.