You are here
CANTERBURY: Misinformation, half-truths and lies stalk primates meeting
Cell phones have not been taken from primates
Strong conversation but no bullying is taking place
News blackout has been maintained
By David W. Virtue in Canterbury
www.virtueonline.org
January. 13, 2016
British broad sheets and newspapers are spreading considerable misinformation and error surrounding private conversations taking place among the 38 primates meeting here in Canterbury, England. Some conservative blogs are doing the same thing.
Newspaper reports that bullying is going on is simply untrue. VOL was told that it has been a dignified, orderly process -- obviously being guided, but always stopping to consider all the perspectives.
A report by John Bingham of The Telegraph that the Primates were being treated like children was described as "nonsense".
What is happening is vigorous conversation, using the Delphi technique and indaba processes to move the conversation forward. The days of patronizing the Africans and making them look like simpletons is over, if it was ever true.
Furthermore reports that cell/mobile phones of GAFCON primates have been taken from them is totally untrue. I have been told that no cell phone has been relinquished to anyone. The last and only time that happened was when John Peterson was running the Anglican Communion Office and he confiscated cell phones when the primates met at Kanuga in the US. No one has ever attempted that again.
In fact the opposite is true. Here the primates have been given iPads to work from which are hooked up to the Internet, so if they wanted to send a message they could easily do so. Apparently with the blanket shutdown of nearly all communication very little is being leaked. The one person who has gotten closer to the primates, and that means Archbishop Foley Beach is the Rev. Peter Ould and he has been acting in the role of prayer warrior to Beach.
Extracts of what he has written at his blog have been blown up and taken out of all proportion by people like George Conger who is not even here and then speculation has run rife.
Frankly I am disgusted by the so called leaks of information and the misinformation that has followed from this meeting.
Rumors that it was all over on Monday, then Tuesday and then Wednesday have all turned out to be wrong. Today Thursday the primates will take up the person and role of ACNA Archbishop Foley Beach. That will be decisive and whatever is said and one we will not know officially till tomorrow.
There will be a full court press Friday at 3pm in the lodge of Canterbury cathedral when we will be told fully what happened. Until then be careful what you read because it will probably not be true or at the mostly speculative.
END
