STATEMENT FROM THE ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY ON THE DEFERRAL OF A DECISION OVER THE BLESSING OF SAME-SEX UNIONS BY THE ANGLICAN CHURCH OF CANADA

3 June, 2004

The Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Revd Dr Rowan Williams, has welcomed the decision by the Canadian General Synod to defer a decision on the question of same sex blessings until 2007.

“The decision to defer the question of the right of dioceses over same sex blessings offers hope for the continuing collegiality of the Anglican Communion.

“It is important that the Canadian church has held back from a structural shift that would have run counter to the pleas and wishes of the Primates’ meeting last Autumn and of so many around the Communion. In doing so, it has avoided complicating still further the work of the Lambeth Commission.”

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