They passed a resolution of ringing clarity that nevertheless tries to preserve pastoral care. Anglicans still honor the conscience . But 1998 marks the year bishops from the Southern Hemisphere truly took their rightful place at the table. The global momentum is not toward theological liberalism. Liberal bishops may comfort themselves with visions of II openly homosexual bishops at the next Lambeth, or the idea that the South should enjoy its majority while it can.
Global communion is costly .
It means listening to the poor, and making personal and corporate sacrifices to relieve their suffering. It means hearing from bishops who risk their lives for the Gospel and accepting their challenge to take more risks ourselves. The era of theological imperialism is dying. For decades, a liberal American establishment has paid the bills -and largely called the tune. Relationships begun at the Anglican Life and Witness Conference in 1997, cultivated during two pre-Lambeth conferences sponsored by Sharing of Ministries Abroad, and deepened during Lambeth itself, assure that Southern Anglicans need no longer wear the golden handcuffs of liberal largess.