Updated Monday evening
Jonathan Wynne-Jones wrote in the Sunday Telegraph about that Kearon email, Williams ‘fostering schism, aide fears’ without mentioning the original report in the Church Times at all.
Jim Naughton pointed out that the headline refers to remarks made by Bishop Paul Marshall, not by Kenneth Kearon.
William Crawley took the Telegraph report at face value, and headlined Kenneth Kearon: Rowan Williams is fomenting schism, thus also attributing to Kearon a remark he has not made, at least not in public.
The Living Church has just reported: Third Episcopal Bishop Invited to Primates’ Meeting.
And, the Diocese of Pittsburgh has just published both a press release and the Full Text of the Request to the Global South Primates as well as A Pastoral Letter from Bishop Robert Duncan. There is a related report from the Living Church here.
Another report from the Living Church: George Conger describes how Episcopal Church Figures Prominently on Primates’ Agenda. Also, the Anglican Journal has a similar review of the meeting in Primates’ meeting likely to be difficult.
Updated Wednesday morning
Last Sunday’s radio programme Sunday had an interview with Jonathan Wynne-Jones about all this, listen here (5 minutes).
This Primates meeting is fast turning into a trial.
“The Episcopal Church is not in any way a monochrome body,” Archbishop Williams observed, “and we need to be aware of the full range of conviction within it.” Like all the other provinces of the AC ARE “monochrome” bodies? Why can’t we hear the “full range of conviction” in THEM? Say, the Rt. Rev. Mdimi Mhogolo, Bishop of Central Tanganyika (see here http://anglicanfuture.blogspot.com/2007/01/mutual-responsibility-and.html )—or even Davis Mac-Iyalla from Nigeria? While I am pleased that +Christopher Epting will be speaking, I OBJECT to this continuous effort to portray TEC as “different” “special”—-heretical?—compared to the rest of the Communion. There is multiplicity… Read more »
Since this document would have had to be turned over to the plaintiffs in Calvary vs. Bishop Duncan and all in accordance with the judicial order requiring expedited discovery with a deadline of January 31, it is not surprising that The Diocese and bishop has chosen to reveal its contents. In this manner the diocese will have a chance to “get ahead of the story” so to speak. Calvary, the plaintiffs in this case, petitioned the court to grant such expedited discovery as it believed that the Diocese and +Duncan had not complied with the settlement that had been reached,… Read more »
I can only echo the comments of JCF. Will the Primates of the ‘Global South’ be willing to be as gracious as the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church of the Untied States and allow those from their own Provinces,who disagree with them, to be invited to address the meeting? I think not. When WILL His Grace the Archbishop of Canterbury show an evenhandedness in his dealings with conflicting opinions across the Anglican Communion? And the presence of His Grace the Archbishop of York does little offer a broad perspective of the life of the Church of England. Let ++Cantuar… Read more »
Yes Tanzania is supposed to define the ConsEvs line in our sands of time and place and person, or else Nigeria will not attend the next Lambeth?
See: http://www.livingchurch.org/publishertlc/viewarticle.asp?ID=2897
Has anybody information about which African primates will meet with whom in Nairobi before the Primates’ Meeting? Who has organised this caucus, and what is its agenda? This “instrument of communion” seems to be developing into an “instument of oppression”. I’d take big odds that this is a planning meeting for taking over the agenda of the main event to achieve a narrow political end. It seems very likely that it is a rehearsal for how the members of the caucus will attempt (probably successfully) to take control at Lambeth. Is it worth the candle to persist, do you think?
Can anyone think of anything good that has ever come out of a Primates Meeting? Does it have any solid achievements to set against its record as a focus of disunity?
Bishop Robert Duncan of Pittsburgh writes: 29th January, A.D. 2007 4th Monday After the Epiphany TO THE CLERGY AND PEOPLE OF THE DIOCESE: “Our position simply stated is this: We are the Episcopal Church in this place and we have no intention of standing anywhere except where we have always stood (“the Faith once delivered to the saints”) or being who we have always been (mainstream Anglican Christians). ” For 15 or 20 years this has been the ever-stated position of the Networkers and their allies. But is it too good to be true? The test of Truth is Time;… Read more »
You can lead a Primate to water but you cannot make him drink. If Canterbury is anything but helpless in this regard, least of all able to lead by example by drinking freely and deeply with people of the whole range of active views, then CoE joins the list of provinces to be expunged and excommunicated by Abuja. Yes to Anglican Mainstream. No, to Inclusive Church. Ironic. Inevitable, given Rowan Williams? Are we now witnessing a birth of bell jar Anglicanism? Afraid of the world Jesus came to save? Disgusted completely by the world Jesus came to save? Lying about… Read more »
I find it fascinating that Bishop Duncan speaks of “being accompanied” by a “non-Network, Windsor-compliant bishop.” Unless there is some additional name yet to be revealed, this seems to imply that Bishop MacPherson of Western Louisiana will be present to “accompany” Bishop Duncan. This seems to me the height of cheek. Bishop MacPherson has been invited directly by the Archbishop of Canterbury. He has recently accepted election as chair of the Presiding Bishop’s Council of Advice. If Bishop MacPherson agreed with Bishop Duncan that there was no longer a home in nor a place for The Episcopal Church, I can’t… Read more »
To be fair, I think William Crawley is right to link the Telegraph report and the secretary general’s view: the SG said he agreed with Paul Marshall’s analysis and Marshall said the ABC is fomenting schism. Simple logic leads to the conclusion that the SG thinks the ABC is fomenting schism. Or am I missing something?
Jenny I do accept the validity of making such a link. I just think it is poor quality journalism: (a) not to even mention the Church Times source (published on Friday, available to the Telegraph journalist in central London on Thursday) when you recall that William Crawley is the host of BBC Northern Ireland’s main Sunday morning radio Religious Affairs discussion programme. I’d be astonished if Crawley didn’t have access to the CT on the web! (b) not to even mention Marshall’s original article, published some time ago now, thus giving the impression in the blog item that Kearon was… Read more »
Anglicanus is spot on when he poses the question: “When WILL His Grace the Archbishop of Canterbury show an evenhandedness in his dealings with conflicting opinions across the Anglican Communion?” ++Rowan Cantuar has turned out to be a sick JOKE, although most of us felt he was a good choice in 2002 before he stabbed his friend Jeffrey John in the back. What a misogynist act and a humiliation for PB Jefferts Schori, lawfully and canonically elected to represent TEC as Primate, to have the ABC invite TEC’s Constitution-and-Canon-Law-violator +Robert Duncan to the meeting as well as one of her… Read more »
Surely, Duncan did not run? they don’t want their “numbers” on paper, do they?
hello simon. Sorry not to reply earlier. I’ve been on holiday. I went back and had a look at Crawley’s bbc blog and he wrote a whole post on the Marshall letter before writing on the Kearon business. You seem really upset by the Sunday Telegraph and Crawley on this. Come clean: did you write the Church Times article?! I’m a journalist myself and I don’t agree with you analysis here.
Jenny
Not only did I not write that article for the CT but I had no knowledge of the email until I read about it there. That’s why I was upset! 🙂
We’ll have to agree to disagree on this. I can live with that…