Canterbury

By Lisa Barrowclough
Lambeth Conference Communications

The stories of a widow who is expected to marry the brother of her husband even though he has AIDS, Chinese children left abandoned in an orphanage and the pain of a man watching the suffering of his dying wife are all in the conference spotlight today.

Today's plenary session tackles the everyday difficulties of "Making Moral Decisions."

At the centre of the session will be the presentation of a paper by Rowan Williams, Bishop of Monmouth (Wales). The paper looks at the issue of ethics within the Body of Christ, considering the connection between "self-knowledge" and the responsibility to the "body" or community to which Christians belong, which is central to decision-making.

The session features a video which looks at five scenarios - Native Canadians, Abortion in China, Homosexuality, AIDS in Africa, and Euthanasia/Assisted Suicide - and listens to the voices of various people affected by these issues.

The video asks the question: "Will the Church help show the way forward?"

The other voices of the plenary will be the stories of several bishops from around the Communion who will tell of some of the prominent dilemmas they face in their dioceses.

The session is chaired by Victoria Matthews, Bishop of Edmonton (Canada), and is set for 2:30 p.m. Wednesday in the conference plenary halls.