[Anglican Communion News Service] Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby has said that he is “taken aback” by criticism of the decision to ask the Presiding Bishop of the U.S.-based Episcopal Church to pray for the victims of the Las Vegas shooting. Curry prayed for the victims at the start of Evensong in Canterbury Cathedral, England, on Oct. 3, the first day of the Primates Meeting.

The Rev. Canon Andrew Gross, canon for communications and media relations for the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA), speaking on behalf of GAFCON, said that the decision to invite Curry to lead the congregation in prayer at the Evensong service “put the GAFCON primates in a difficult spot.” He said that they were “forced to look like they are walking together when they are not walking together.”

Editor’s note: The term GAFCON, which stems from the Global Anglican Future Conference held in Jerusalem in 2008, brings together a group of disaffected Anglicans and former Episcopalians who cannot accept the decisions by some provinces to accept fully LGBTQI people in the life of the church.

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