UK newspaper roundup, 12 Feb 07

The Telegraph: Archbishop's peace talks threatened / Jonathan Petre, Religion Correspondent in Dar Es Salaam - Rehash of old news.

The Guardian: Archbishop battles to ward off final Anglican split on homosexuality / Stephen Bates in Dar es Salaam - Also a rehash.

The Scotsman (Reuters): Anglicans face risk of schism in gay clergy row / Paul Majendie -

I fear schism," Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams said in a recent documentary on Canterbury Cathedral, home of the mother church founded 450 years ago when King Henry VIII broke with Rome to divorce his first wife.

"Because I am an ordinary sinful human being, I fear the situation is slipping out of my control," said Williams, a once-liberal theologian moving steadily towards conservative views as he tries to keep the Communion from splitting.

"The Archbishop of Canterbury is hopelessly mired in moral quicksand with almost no ability to extricate himself or the Anglican communion from inevitable schism," said David Virtue, who runs the orthodox Anglican news service VirtueOnline.
...
"What we detest is them (U.S. liberals) imposing their culture on us. It's some sort of cultural imperialism. That's not acceptable," said Rwanda's Archbishop Emmanuel Kolini.

The Church of Southern Africa has adopted a more liberal approach on homosexuality with Archbishop Njongonkulu Ndungane urging colleagues to focus instead on poverty and AIDS.
...
Among the Americans, the buzz has centred on how the other primates will treat Schori. The Africans say they will stop short of an all-out boycott but will not meet her. It also looks unlikely they would share communion with her.
...
Analysts believe Williams will try to keep warring factions together in loose communion until he calls the Lambeth Conference, the church's 10-yearly gathering, in 2008.

"But he is between a rock and a hard place," said John Wilkins, former Anglican and retired editor of the Catholic weekly The Tablet. "His aim will be to prevent anything irreparable. But it will be very, very difficult."

Religious commentator Clifford Longley agreed, telling Reuters: "His chances of defusing the situation are almost nil.

"This split in Anglicanism is going to have consequences in the United States. The big battles are going to be over property, investment and endowments."

(The Reuters article was even picked up in my part of the world, the United Arab Emirates.)