Primate meets women clergy

Press, 27 April 1983, Page 6

Primate meets women clergy

PA Auckland The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Robert Runcie, had lunch yesterday with the 17 women priests in the Auckland Anglican diocese, and had a constructive discussion about their role, he said later. After the 90-minute talk over a sandwich lunch, the leader of the world’s 64 million Anglicans said he was very grateful for the opportunity to discuss the issue with the women. Both sides felt pleased with the deep, open, but friendly talks. The women clergy said they found Dr Runcie to be supportive of ordained women and regarded them

as truly legitimate priests. Dr Runcie described the time as a “constructive and Christian discussion” together. “I am very grateful for the good, honest, and sincere exchange,” he said. The Archbishop of New Zealand, the Most Rev. Paul Reeves, was also present. He said the talks had been “courteous, frank, sensitive, and searching.” After the meeting, the vicar of Clevedon, the Rev. Heather Brunton, said that Dr Runcie had clarified his viewpoint. The keynote of the talks, she said, was “priestliness.” She said that whether a priest was a man or a

woman was just the tip of the iceberg. Asked whether the meeting had cleared the air, Mrs Brunton said that it had, in fact, put more into the air. "It has really stirred the air, but in a good sense,” she said. The Anglican Church in England does not have women priests. Dr Runcie believes that the ordination of women could be an obstacle to talks on unity between the Catholic and Orthodox churches. However, at a press conference earlier, Dr Runcie said it was impressive that the ordination of women in New Zealand had been

worked out over a number of years and had been done synodically. “I respect and have seen how integrated into the ministry, the ministry of women is in this country. That is a positive thing I can say,” he said.

Referring to the possible stumbling block that the ordination of women could cause with the talks with the Catholic Church, he said discussions with the Catholics had reached the stage where Anglican Orders were very high on the agenda and “perhaps approaching some sort of solution.” The ordination of women, he said, was a fresh complication.