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SOUTH SUDAN ANGLICAN ARCHBISHOP IS BEING BLIND-SIDED BY WELBY IN JOINT PAPAL VISIT
By David W. Virtue, DD
www.virtueonline.org
June 2, 2022
Archbishop Justin Badi, Primate of the Episcopal Church of South Sudan (ECSS) and Chairman of the Global South Fellowship of Anglican Churches (GSFA), finds himself in a bind.
When Archbishop Justin Welby and Pope Francis come to South Sudan, they are bringing along with them the Moderator of the Church of Scotland, Dr. Iain Greenshields, a church that has fully embraced homosexuality. In 2022, Church of Scotland ministers are now permitted to perform same-sex marriages if they choose. The church's General Assembly approved an overture that allows parish ministers and deacons to apply for authorization to marry same-sex couples. It passed by a 274-136 vote.
The Scottish Episcopal Church has allowed same-sex marriage since 2017. Church of England clergy have appeared to signal support for homosexual marriage after they rejected a bishops' report which said that only a man and woman could marry. Give it time and the CofE will roll over.
While the Church of England has not fully embraced homosexual marriage, it is heading down the same pathway at lightning speed. It will eventually join The Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church of Canada,
This unprecedented ecumenical "pilgrimage of peace" of the three leaders raises serious theological questions for the Anglican Archbishop receiving them.
South Sudan is the world's youngest country, having gained independence from Sudan on 9 July 2011. It continues to suffer from the effects of civil war. The Churches of South Sudan have worked together in pushing for peace, including holding five days of negotiations in 2018, led by the Anglican Archbishop Justin Badi Arama, which led to a resumption of peace talks.
The three leaders will use their visit to push for peace and solidarity.
It's alarming that the Moderator will be hanging on the coat tails of the Pope and the ABC in a 'peace pilgrimage' to DRC and South Sudan in early July, just weeks before the Lambeth Conference...see https://www.anglicannews.org/news/2022/05/south-sudan-archbishop-pope-and-moderator-in-historic-joint-ecumenical-peace-pilgrimage.aspx
and
https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2022-05/pope-francis-programme-apostolic-visit-drc-south-sudan-july.html
As Chairman of the GSFA, Archbishop Badi will no doubt be expected to receive the Moderator as a leader in good standing, which plays straight into Welby's 'good disagreement' strategy. It will be interesting to know what Archbishop Badi plans to do.
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