Letter to SMH regarding Archbishop Herft’s opinion piece

Bishop of South Sydney, Robert Forsyth, has written this letter to The Sydney Morning Herald, after the publication yesterday of an opinion piece by Archbishop of Perth, Roger Herft.

4 July 2006

The Editor SMH

I thank Archbishop Herft for his thoughtful article about the recent discussion on the state of the Anglican Communion (Sydney Morning Herald 4
July 2006). There are, however, two further points I would like to make on behalf of the Archbishop of Sydney (who is away on vacation at the moment) where the article seemed misleading.

The first is that Peter Jensen's comments that Rowan Williams has recognised that a separation in the communion is inevitable (but are not divorced and certainly not split) were not references to the church of Jesus Christ as such but rather to the all-too-human international structure of the Anglican Communion. After all, the church of Jesus Christ consists of all who belong to Jesus Christ, not just Anglicans, and we are held together by the fact that we belong to that one Christ. The Anglican Communion is a human, denominational, institutional structure which may come or go. Archbishop Jensen was simply drawing attention to the serious nature of the differences between the constituent members of the Anglican Communion in the international world. Here in Australia, as he himself has pointed out, the relationships are far more friendly and unified despite our differences.

Secondly, rather than especially focussing on separation as inevitable as part of some long term agenda, as the article suggests, Archbishop Jensen
was just noting what is, in his view, now the sad reality of the Communion.

His press release ended with a statement of support for the Archbishop of Canterbury's hope "that our life together remains a valid and vital way of presenting the good news of Jesus Christ to the world" and will, as we listen to the word of God, enable us to have a future. Peter Jensen ended his release "Just as Archbishop Williams does, I also pray that it may be so."

Yours sincerely,
Robert Forsyth

The Rt. Rev. Robert Forsyth
Bishop of South Sydney, Anglican Church of Australia