CANTERBURY: Lambeth Conference is Heavily in Debt. Crisis Looms

By David W. Virtue
www.virtueonline.org
7/22/2008

It's official. The Lambeth Conference is deeply in debt with a financial shortfall approaching $4 million dollars. Church officials are scrambling to find the money.

The Archbishop of Canterbury and the English bishops are ultimately accountable for finding the money. As of today, they don't have it. Media spokesperson Archbishop Philip Aspinall said a check for $100,000 had been received, but this is only the tip of what is needed if Anglican leaders want to hold off Bailiffs from Kent University appearing at their door looking for full payment.

Costs to bring the 600 bishops here from the four corners of the globe total $8.8 million plus travel costs. The Spouses conference is $2.4 million plus travel costs. There are 600 bursaries at $7,000 per head and more than half the money has yet to be raised to cover the full costs.

The speculation is that had the orthodox bishops come, they could have covered the costs quite easily, but as they are not in tune with the theological Lambeth mindset, and have voluntarily withdrawn themselves, the liberals are hard-pressed to come up with the cash.

Apparently, the American Episcopal Church has not been asked to cover the shortfall, and probably wouldn't, as the bishops here are angry at the non-invitation of V. Gene Robinson the homosexual Bishop of New Hampshire to the Lambeth Conference.

The Episcopal Church has only chipped $100,000, a source told VOL.

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