HALIFAX — The head of Canada’s Anglican Church appealed Friday to hundreds of bishops, priests and laypeople that they not let talks on the thorny issue of same-sex unions further divide the church or take on the rancour of the past.
Rev. Fred Hiltz said at the opening of the General Synod that there are still varying opinions in the church about homosexuality, but that a conciliatory approach might dull the passions around it.
“My hope clearly is that we will be able to continue this conversation, live with some difference and to do it with a degree of grace,” he said at the triennial gathering in Halifax.
“I know that our deliberations on these matters will be watched by many within Canada and around the world. I hope they see no evidence of rejection, condemnation or demonization but every evidence of respect, charity and patience.”
Hiltz, the national leader of the Anglican Church of Canada, said he hopes the meeting will produce a pastoral statement on the issue which could lay out the church’s position on same-sex blessings.
But he suggested that it may simply state that the church wants to continue talking about it rather than produce a definitive opinion.
In the past, delegates debated difficult questions such as whether blessing same-sex unions was a matter of core doctrine, and whether or not to affirm that individual dioceses have the authority to approve same-sex blessings.
But this year, Archdeacon Paul Feheley said the roughly 350 delegates will form small groups and discuss the church’s opinions around human sexuality during the nine-day meeting, instead of debating contentious motions at the outset.
Their opinions would be collected to determine general themes around sexuality, with the possibility that they be crafted into a pastoral statement.
Feheley said that may result in a broad acceptance of the divergence of opinion on an issue that has deeply polarized the Anglican community.
“Instead of a winner-take-all statement, maybe we can be on two different sides here,” he said, adding that it may lead to better communications and understanding among delegates.
Bitter debates about whether to bless, or not bless, the relationships of same-sex couples has led to strained relations, the defection of dozens of theologically conservative congregations and to court battles over church buildings in Ontario and B.C..
Only two Anglican dioceses in Canada allow same-sex blessings.