The Most Rev Andrew Hutchison, Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, has been interviewed by Anglican Journal about the primates' communiqué, which set a deadline of 30 September for The Episcopal Church to reverse itself and unambiguously forbid blessing of same-sex unions and ordination of non-celibate homosexuals.  He says the ACC  “will have to look at [the communiqué] seriously”.  One would hope he’d say that, since he signed off on it.

Archbishop Hutchison acknowledged that while the Canadian church has not ordained a gay bishop nor decided as a national church to allow same-sex blessings, it could face the same consequences "if it were to follow the same path" as The Episcopal Church. The American church's decision in 2003 to ordain Gene Robinson, the openly gay bishop of New Hampshire, has triggered near-schism in the Anglican Communion.

Actually, as stated in The Windsor Report, New Westminster’s decision to bless same-sex unions also contributed mightily to the “near-schism”.

"The American church is in a different position than we are. It's the ordination of Bishop (Gene) Robinson (of New Hampshire) that was the main issue that triggered all of these and we're not in that situation in Canada," Archbishop Hutchison said in telephone interview with the Anglican Journal. "Furthermore, in the United States, same-sex blessings is something that has happened in a number of dioceses across the country. In Canada, there's only one diocese where that's happened and we're still in the middle of a conversation. So it's hard to say what the implications may be."

"Hard to say"?  Maybe it’s just me, but I find the implications easy to discern. The writing is on the wall.  The primates will ask nothing less of the ACC than what they just asked of TEC.  To think that consequences can be avoided by maintaining the status quo is a pipe dream.

The primates’ communiqué clearly and repeatedly states that blessing of same-sex unions is incompatible with church teaching.  It hardly matters whether practices contrary to church teaching are limited to one diocese or permitted across the country.  Suggesting that restricting same-sex blessings to a single diocese will pass muster is unwise and, in my view, irresponsible.

But he added, "I suppose that if Canada were to follow the same path, which would be a radical move in the same direction as the United States, then we might look forward to a similar kind of response."

“If Canada were to follow the same path”?  Hello!  Canada is already following that path.  As The Windsor Report says, Canada has already made the radical move that Abp Hutchison now implies we haven’t.  Abp Hutchison was one of the primates who negotiated and signed on to the Windsor Report, but lately he’s been talking as if he’s not familiar with it.  I find that odd.

I’d say that, if General Synod does not make the same unequivocal commitment that the primates have asked of TEC, we can definitely look forward to the same response.

Asked what effect the primates’ decision regarding The Episcopal Church may have on the same-sex resolution to be presented to General Synod, the primate said, “That’s something that we’ll have to consider very carefully…(whether) it’s appropriate or not. But we’ll study that very carefully.”

Please do that.  I just hope General Synod is not under the illusion that Canada can continue to allow same-sex blessings yet escape the blunt directive that has just been delivered to the American church.  One hopes that Rowan Williams will convey that message (no doubt expressed more eloquently than I am able) to the Canadian House of Bishops during his visit this April.

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