May (Web-only) 2000

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Dr Harry Goodhew, Anglican Archbishop of Sydney, head of Australia's most populous and powerful diocese, has accused the newly-elected primate of the Anglican Church of Australia, Dr Peter Carnley, of breaching church doctrine and betraying the church's belief in the significance of the resurrection and of Jesus Christ himself.At the same time, some clergy in Sydney, a conservative diocese with a strong evangelical influence, have called for a boycott of the installation of Dr Carnley as primate next Sunday, April 30. Dr Carnley is a leading liberal theologian who angered conservatives in 1992 when he ordained Australia's first women priests.In a statement published on his diocesan Web site this week, Dr Goodhew wrote: ''I take no pleasure in publicly stating my disagreement, but I consider that Peter [Carnley]'s treatment of material from the New Testament book of the Acts of the Apostles is unhelpful and misleading.'' He was referring to an Easter article published last week in a national magazine, The Bulletin, in which Dr Carnley rejected the suggestion that Christ was the sole path to salvation.However, in an open letter to Sydney clergy published April 26, Dr Goodhew said that he was "not planning to boycott next Sunday's service of recognition." Boycotting the ceremony would be tantamount to severing relations with the rest of the church, Dr Goodhew said, adding that "that is not something I wish to do at this point in time."Ironically, however, it is in Dr Goodhew's diocese—at St Andrew's cathedral in the heart of Sydney—that Dr Carnley will be installed, in the presence of clergy and laity from around Australia and abroad, including Anglican primates from the Asia-Pacific region and the United States. Dr Goodhew ...