In its first meeting since last summer’s General Synod passed legislation that same-sex blessings were not core doctrine, but then failed to give approval for dioceses to implement them, the Canadian House of Bishops stated that their position has not significantly changed from their pastoral statement last April when they said they could not advise proceeding with same-sex blessings.

In recent synod meetings, the dioceses of Ottawa and Montreal have approved same-sex blessings, but the bishops of those dioceses have not consented to the action taken by their synods.

In a letter to the church, the bishops stated that “we heard reports from several bishops who spoke of the effects of General Synod’s resolutions on same-sex blessings and these reflections ranged from parts of the country where this issue is paramount in the life of the church to others areas where it is only a very small part of the church’s life or scarcely considered at all.”

The house met Oct. 25-30, shortly after Archbishop Fred Hiltz’s Oct. 16 visit with Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams in London. Archbishop Hiltz reported that Archbishop Rowan Williams Archbishop Williams appeared receptive to the way the Canadian church is trying to resolve questions about homosexuality.

“He described our approach to handling the whole matter as ‘coherent’,” Archbishop Hiltz told Anglican Church of Canada News. “We also, in that conversation, focused on the pastoral statement of the bishops and the kind of value that has for the church.”

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