ACC&C Director comments on new communion report from Sydney Anglicans

13 Oct 2017 - by

The Executive Director of the Australian Centre for Christianity and Culture and Canberra and Goulburn Bishop Rt Rev'd Professor Stephen Pickard was recently interviewed by the ABC's Religions and Ethics report about a new document released from the Anglican Church in Sydney which some argue contain the seeds of a formal split in the Anglican church.

Host Andrew West asked Professor Pickard how he read the document, titled "The Theology of Communion and Catholicity" in a 9-minute interview.

Professor Pickard noted people feel very passionately about their religious convictions, particularly in relation to human sexuality which has played out in the Anglican communion over the last 15 years.

'What do you do when you have difference and how do you deal with division and things that you don't agree with. That's the issue. How do we live together in a world where we're increasingly aware that we're much more diverse than we ever might have imagined,' he said. 

Professor Pickard said the work of the Australian Centre for Christianity and Culture was to look to the horizon of common humanity and the great issues of the day.

'We are in a critical situation in relation to Christianity and what we need to do is to try and make the links and enter into new conversations and be a place of hosting those,' he said.

He said whatever the Anglican Diocese of Sydney decided he hoped the wider Anglican Church would continue to extend the hand of fellowship to the diocese.

Listen to the interview here.