Little reassurance.

Dear editor,

Your editorial seems to suggest that because a Journal reporter will not attend the October meeting between the Anglican Council of Aboriginal Peoples (ACIP) and leaders of the Anglican Church of Canada, we will not hear a complete story.

This editorial shows no evidence of any understanding of the dynamic at stake in the meeting. ACIP experienced the breaking of trust when the settlement agreement was signed in spite of their objections. They have since faced a barrage of distrust and anger from the wider Canadian church. They have decided they must act to try to restore harmony among themselves and the church.

It is their choice to use their own traditional and cultural understanding of how to do that. They have asked fellow Anglicans with whom they have in the past been in relationship to sit with them within a sacred circle. Within that circle, there is some hope that issues can be considered, concerns can be shared, and mutual understanding of what went wrong and what is needed to repair that relationship can be explored.

Unfortunately, the Journal editorial stance has not given them much reassurance that the church press will be able to listen with sensitivity--not only to the aboriginal voice, but also to the cultural awareness needed to reach any kind of consensus within such a circle.

Jean Koning

London, Ont.