Just a day after the end of the primates' meeting last month in Northern Ireland, however, the primate of the Southern Cone, Archbishop Gregory Venables, traveled to Vancouver to meet with dissenting Canadian Anglicans, including those who have walked out of the New Westminster diocese.

Archbishop Hutchison called Archbishop Venables' visit "a clear violation of the agreement," adding, "To think that there's such a lack of good faith in this discussion is profoundly disturbing." He said he has written to Archbishop Williams asking him to "move very quickly" to see to it that this agreement is kept.

Archbishop Williams' reason for declining to attend the meeting of North American bishops, scheduled for April 25-May 1 with sessions in Windsor, Ont., and Detroit, was "the present situation and he also refers to a meeting that he should be attending," said Archbishop Hutchison. However, he added, "Our invitation went out to him over a year ago and I'm sure that this (other) meeting is not something that he (had) committed (to) before our invitation."

Archbishop Hutchison said he was troubled by Archbishop Williams' decision. "I'm very upset because it goes against what I believe is his own personal position (on homosexuality) and he has expressed it pretty publicly and in other circumstances," he said.

Canadian bishop Bruce Howe, who is on the organizing committee and in whose Huron diocese the meeting will take place, said that he was a "little disappointed." Considering what happened in northern Ireland, he said, Archbishop Williams "should have made more of an effort to come, to make a pastoral visit to the Canadian and American bishops."

However, he added, "I understand the optics. In the context of unity, he doesn't want to send a signal to the other primates that he's not taking them seriously. But he should be here."

The joint meeting, which has been in the planning stages for more than a year, is scheduled to include the primates of the U.S. and Canadian churches, about 40 American bishops and the full Canadian house of bishops (also about 40).

From April 25-27, the Canadian bishops will hold their regular spring meeting in Windsor, Ont. They are scheduled to be joined by their American counterparts on April 27, and the joint gathering continues until May 1.

They are scheduled to discuss the state of religion in Canada and the U.S., with discussions led by Walter Brueggeman, author and retired professor from Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Ga. The original schedule had called for a panel discussion led by the three primates.

The meeting is set to end with a Saturday evening banquet and joint celebration of the eucharist, both in Detroit. With files from Marites N. Sison

END