There are reports of the hearing of the appeal being made by Richard Coekin against the action of Bishop Tom Butler of Southwark.
The Times Vicar defends protest against gay marriage
Church Times Scott-Joynt hears Southwark appeal
Church of England Newspaper Southwark appeal hearing for vicar
Meanwhile Mr Coekin is busy as described by the CEN in Why reaching men with the Gospel is no picnic in the park as well of course as here.
Ah yes, but what we all want to know is – what was the verdict???!!!
Folks seem bent on one hand on leaning so hard on autonomy as to imagine communion doesn’t matter at all, and on the other on leaning so hard on our communion of relationships as to pretend they have institutional substance. Yes, we want (even those of us who are American and progressive) interdependence; but that desire doesn’t create structures that aren’t there. Allegations are made about creating “facts on the ground.” This is the same action, with a different focus. Claim what he wishes, there are canons of the Church of England specifically to which Coekin is subject, and they… Read more »
I can understand Bp Tom Butler’s lawyer trying to keep the case narrowly focussed on Rev Richard Coekin’s alleged infringement of church Canons. If, for instance, it came to light that the Bishop had not applied Canons to other clergy (if, say, he were aware of “partnered gay clergy” in his diocese who were not complying with church teaching and HoB rules) he would look rather biased… and might be exposed to the recent House of Lords ruling that saw a scottish woman priest’s employment tribunal reinstated because the church had not applied its rules equally…
Marshall, you’re quite right about the ordinands. One of the most astonishing things in the aftermath of the ordinations was how few people seemed to understand this simple fact that three young men, two of which used to be CofE ordinands but this is neither here nor there, were ordained into the Church of England of South Africa. Whether these ordinations are valid or not is, in the first instance, for the Church of England of South Africa to decide. Whether “we” (in the CofE or in ECUSA) consider these ordinations valid depends on whether we acknowledge ordinations performed within… Read more »
I understand that the Church of England recognizes the validity of ordinations in CESA and that there is at least one clergy in Southwark diocese who was ordained in CESA. I don’t think Coekin has broken any canon law, but that’s for a court to decide. On the other hand, I’m told by people over there that there are quite a few clergy in that diocese livng in same-sex relations who have never been disciplined for that.
I think it would be useful to know when the C of E decided to recognise the orders of CESA and how it went about it. Was it discussed in Synod? I think not. Was it discussed by the House of Bishops? Was the attitude of the Church of the Province of South Africa discerned or taken into account? I think it happened during Abp Coggan’s time at Canterbury and was mostly seen as a legal matter — whether the Overseas Clergy Act could be applied to CESA. I dont know what,or perhaps who, prompted it. Until then I think… Read more »