Well, Dr. Williams has stood down from the position of the Archbishop of Canterbury after 10 years in the post. I do not mean to be overly critical, but he never seemed to have the force of character to carry off the role. An interesting comment that he made was that he said that no matter how much he worked at some problems, they never seemed to improve. Also many commentators say that there will be a schism in the Anglican communion. For me this will be a great pity, as what I consider the greatest strength of the Church is it's diversity. This diversity embraces those that are at the 'Catholic' end of the spectrum, those at the 'Evangelical' end, and those who describe themselves as 'Charimatics'. Having this diversity also means that people will disagree, if you have lived in a large family you will know what I mean, but most families keep in contact despite the problems.
What 'problems' are there that threaten the cohesion of the Anglican Church?
One problem is the ordination of women bishops. This problem was predictable, as after ordaining women as priests, it would have been obvious to many that women bishops would be the next step.
Another problem is that of openly gay clergy. Clergy that remain 'in the closet' are not a problem, however. That is a hypocritical stance, and one that is not worthy of the Church.
Another comment that could be made is that 'society has moved on' with regard to the role of women and homosexuality, but the Church has not.
It is incredibly sad, but unless someone can come up with a solution to these problems the Anglican Communion will probably split, and will be weakened as a result.
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