Dr Williams said he had no 'canonical authority' to order dissenting conservative bishops to adhere to their respective Anglican Primate, even though he was vocal in condemning the cross-border ecclesiastical moves.
"I have no canonical authority to prevent these things, but I would simply repeat what was said in my advent letter (in December), to the effect that I cannot support or sanction such actions," he wrote.
His response comes as the Canadian Anglican Primate, Archbishop Fred Hiltz, in an earlier letter, expressed his anger at the intrusion by other Anglican provinces, namely the Anglican Church of the Southern Cone of the Americas, into the 'internal-life' of the Canadian Church. Thus, Archbishop Hiltz appealed to Dr. William to intervene, stating the intrusion was not a 'valid expression of Anglicanism.'
"… We believe that recent interventions by another province in the internal life of our church are unnecessary and inappropriate. Our concern was voiced publicly in recent statements by the Council of General Synod (Nov. 16, 2007) and in a joint Pastoral Statement from myself and the Canadian Metropolitans (Nov. 29, 2007)," Archbishop Hiltz said.
"I have appealed to the Archbishop of Canterbury in his capacity as one of the Instruments of Communion and as chair of the Primates' Meeting to address the very serious issues raised by this intervention and to make clear that such actions are not a valid expression of Anglicanism."
The letter drew a dismissive response by the Anglican Primate of the Southern Cone of the Americas, Archbishop Gregory Venables, who told the Anglican Journal that his Canadian-counterpart was either in denial or practicing hypocrisy. He retorted the disruption charges levelled against him by the Canadian liberal Anglican leadership, saying they have broken the Lambeth agreement – to bless same-sex relationship – and therefore it was odd that they used the same phrase to attack him.
"They have broken historic agreements – the Lambeth Conference agreement and the Windsor Report – to go ahead with blessing same-sex relationships. To use that argument against us is a bit odd, to say the least," said Archbishop Venables in a telephone interview with the Anglican Journal.