In New Westminster diocese, it is reported that seven priests, who oppose the actions of the diocesan synod in authorising those parishes who wish to do so to conduct same-sex blessings, have been charged with eccclesiastical offences.
The charges, identical for all seven clergy, include disobedience to the bishop, contemptuous or disrespectful conduct towards the bishop, schism, conduct causing scandal, and “otherwise offences against the lawful authority of the bishop.”
Here is the report of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and here is the CP agency report as seen in the Vancouver Sun.
0 CommentsThis item appears in The Times at the end of an article about something else.
Leaders of the evangelical wing of the Church of England yesterday took the first steps towards schism by officially downgrading their relationships with supporters of homosexual ordinations and same-sex blessings (Ruth Gledhill writes). The councils of Reform, the Church Society and the Fellowship of Word and Spirit, three of the most influential evangelical organisations in England, said they were in “impaired communion” with any Anglican bishop who fails to uphold the traditional line on homosexuality. This means they will not grant full recognition to Canon Gene Robinson, the gay bishop-elect of New Hampshire, to the bishops who elected him there nor to the Right Rev Michael Ingham, whose diocese of New Westminster in Canada has authorised a rite for same-sex blessings. Provinces and dioceses of the Anglican Communion are expected to make similar declarations after Canon Robinson’s ordination as bishop on Sunday.
Here is the press release from the Church Society website.
0 CommentsMonday’s British newspapers all report on Gene Robinson in various ways.
The Independent not only reports Gay pastor employs bodyguards after threats but also features an interview with him, Gene Robinson: ‘Is the issue of my sexuality bigger than everything that holds us together?’.
The Telegraph has Gay bishop kept under 24-hour FBI guard.
The Times has two stories. From New York, Church begins property wrangle as schism looms reports the Pittsburgh lawsuit mentioned here yesterday, and in Gays are like wilderness Israelites, says bishop Ruth Gledhill reports on yesterday’s LGCM conference service in Manchester.
In the Guardian, Gay bishop vows to accept US post.
The BBC radio programme Sunday interviewed both Bishop Duncan of Pittsburgh and Bishop Ingham of New Westminster this morning. Listen here (Real Audio required). This contains some fascinating statements.
Bishop Duncan gave no indication that I could detect that American conservative bishops intend working within ECUSA structures, but clearly intend to ignore existing diocesan boundaries. Bishop Ingham said that alternative oversight arrangements set up by him, and endorsed by the Canadian House of Bishops had been offered but rejected by New Westminster conservatives. He also noted that Bishop Duncan had visited New Westminster without permission and accused him of “cross-border raiding”.
In other news today:
A separate feature on the programme concerns the LGCM conference (Real Audio required).
0 CommentsThe Church Times:
Primates teeter on brink of split
Dr Williams encourages ‘extended oversight’
The six conservatives who met RW “… were encouraged to consider the question of oversight as part of developing their relationship with ECUSA. The Archbishop was keen that they should work as closely as possible with the Presiding Bishop in developing the issue along these lines,” [Jonathan Jennings] said, … “encouragement” for the “Network of Confessing Dioceses and Parishes” should not be interpreted as the Archbishop’s seeking a relationship outside ECUSA.”
Comment: Is the American Anglican Council seriously listening to RW? See this new item on their website, American Anglican Council Begins Preparations for Realignment of Anglicanism in America.
Commission will comb Anglican canon law
Wandering into schism Leader
An extract:
0 CommentsMost disturbingly, the Primates wander into the minefield of schism and then content themselves with describing the scenery. It is common knowledge that the issue of homosexuality causes “profound pain and uncertainty”. If the perspective of “small and struggling Churches in the developing world”, as Dr Williams put it, is widely known, how did that come about?
Through engagement, not separation. How can the Primates best fulfil the promise made at the Lambeth Conference about listening to the experiences of homosexual people? By continued communion with those provinces in which homosexual people have the freedom to speak without fear of victimisation.
The BBC has this story on Gene Robinson’s presentation, which links to a video 26 minutes long of his remarks (Real Player required).
The Press Assocation report is here.
ACNS has published the text of Michael Ingham’s presentation, and also has this news story.
More material can be found at the conference website and specifically here.
Update BBC report of church service here.
0 CommentsRuth Gledhill reports in The Times that David Hope will delay his retirement “to help the Archbishop of Canterbury through the Anglican Church’s troubles over homosexuality”, Archbishop sticks with job to halt a gay sex schism.
The Bishop of Oxford has written a letter to The Times, Dispute on gay canon, complaining that the paper misrepresented his views in reporting his recent diocesan newspaper article.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that Calvary Episcopal Church has sued Bishop Robert W. Duncan Jr., his assistant bishop and the Pittsburgh Diocese’s board of trustees to prevent them from transferring ownership of any church property, Episcopal property lawsuit filed here.
The Washington Post has published a report Conservatives Funding Opposition, Priest Says which contains charges that the American Anglican Council is closely linked to another right-wing lobby the Institute for Religion and Democracy (IRD), “a think tank that tries to counter what it sees as left-wing activism in mainline Protestant churches”.
This link has been reported previously in the (London) Observer, the Church Times, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and elsewhere.
1 CommentThe Today radio programme broadcast an interview with Canon Gene Robinson this morning. You can hear the full interview here (Real Audio required).
Other reports this morning:
Ruth Gledhill in The Times says that Church draws up secret plans for Anglican ‘Pope’ and in another story with Richard Owen (in Rome) Pope renews his hard line on sex.
1 CommentThis evening, Frank Griswold has issued a document For the Primates of the Anglican Communion. Earlier, he had issued this A Word to the Church addressed to ECUSA members.
In tonight’s document he says
I have collected a number of reports from around the world, relating to the primates meeting and the events which precipitated it. These show a variety of views.
On Wednesday Australian radio station ABC National broadcast part of the RW/Humphrys BBC Today interview in their programme The Religion Report and followed it by their own interview with David Jenkins. Here is a transcript.
Peter Jensen said this to his diocesan synod on Monday, about the Primates’ statement.
The Bishop of Oxford has published an article, Why Jeffrey was the right man for Reading in the Oxford diocesan magazine, The Door, which also carries a news story about the article.
This article has generated considerable publicity elsewhere, on the BBC, in The Times, in the Guardian, and in the Telegraph.
Addition
Here is the BBC Radio interview with Richard Harries on the Today programme (Real Audio required).
I’ve been looking at the websites of conservative lobbying organizations, and I am confused as to how many separate bodies there really are.
The Anglican Communion Institute which despite its name has no official status but appears to be based in Colorado, USA has published this statement and this brief analysis. This is the body which lists George Carey as a director. Then there is also the Anglican Institute also based in Colorado, and seems to overlap the above. And then there is Communion Parishes which clearly has close links with the first of these at least.
The American Anglican Council, which organised the recent Texas meeting has published this interview [sorry, broken link] with Emmanuel Kolini, Archbishop of Rwanda. And then there is this letter from David Anderson and David Roseberry.
Anglican Mainstream seems to have mostly repeats of AAC statements about the primates meeting, apart from this one.
Maybe someone closer to these groups can explain to us.
1 CommentThis morning’s Press Association report is Only God Can Make Me Quit, Says Gay Bishop-Elect.
On Monday, the Telegraph carried a signed opinion column by the new editor Martin Newland, The Church’s unity is more important than sexuality along with a news story, God urging me on, says gay bishop. The next day, they published this letter from Lib Dem MP Simon Hughes.
The Times on Monday had It may be messy, says gay canon, but I’m following God’s calling.
The Guardian had Gay canon feels ‘God approved’ promotion.
On Sunday night, the BBC had Gay bishop reaffirms role which includes a link to a video clip including part of an interview with Gene Robinson. On Monday morning, the BBC had Gay US bishop-elect replies to critics. There is a radio interview here (Real Audio required).
Turning to reports from elsewhere, in addition to those already reported here…
Revised Item
I reproduce below, with the author’s permission, the whole of a note which he has prepared as an eyewitness to the Pittsburgh meeting at which Robert Duncan spoke on Sunday.
Among other points, he has reported the following additional detail on point 4 of the original summary which now also appears on the AAC website.
4. The “Network of Confessing Dioceses and Parishes” has Archbishop Rowan’s encouragement.
“Some of you heard me talk about a network of confessing Dioceses and parishes in the remarks that I made at Plano. I can now attribute them: that’s a direct quotation from Archbishop Rowan. It was at Plano I knew that, but now he’s prepared to talk about that network of confessing Dioceses and Parishes. … This has Archbishop Rowan’s encouragement. He said clearly to the four of us Bishops who were there that the details of that would have to be developed Stateside in each Province in which it is developed.”
Simon’s comment
I have some trouble understanding this, since Duncan’s speech at Plano does not, as far as I can tell, contain any unattributed quotations. My suspicion is that Duncan is back-projecting, and what happened at Friday’s meeting is that RW used the phrase quoting Duncan. But we await any comment from Lambeth about this meeting.
Original Report:
4 CommentsAgain, the British national newspapers have quite a lot to say.
The Observer
Jamie Doward Warning to Williams: backing gays will cause riots and death
Leader Why the Church must not split
David Aaronovitch Way of the cross
Richard Ingrams Bishops confuse liberals
Also a feature with references to the CofE, Have you told your mum yet?
There is a veritable flood of writing about this.
The Times
Ruth Gledhill Threat of schism over gay bishop is empty, say liberals
Home town split over Robinson
Leader Tolerating intolerance
Andrew Brown So that’s all agreed, then, my fellow bishops. We don’t agree
Mary Ann Sieghart The burden of being a fair-minded Archbishop
Letters
The Church Times has this report by Bill Bowder on its website (not in the paper), Primates face up to rift.
Anglicans Online has this report by me, Primates acknowledge reality.
1 CommentRowan Williams this morning gave his first “news programme interview” since becoming Archbishop of Canterbury to the BBC Today radio programme. Here is the audio link.
He states that he personally opposes the consecration of Gene Robinson going ahead, because of the difficulties it is causing to other provinces, and that he would not be able to ‘license’ Gene Robinson to function as a bishop in England (all visiting Anglican clergy from overseas have to obtain prior archiepiscopal approval to ‘minister’ in either York or Canterbury provinces).
Update the full transcript of the interview, as broadcast is now on ACNS.
For the bit that wasn’t broadcast, see here.
Earlier this morning, the programme covered the Primates Meeting and related matters in this discussion between John Humphrys and Robert Piggott, listen here (Real Audio required).
At the end of the programme there was a further interview with Njongonlulu Ndungane and with Peter Jensen (who is not a primate). Link to audio of this.
Update
The BBC has published this report of the interview ‘Huge crisis’ over gay bishop with substantial quotes. I hope the full text becomes available later. There is a link on that page to a further video report from Robert Pigott which also includes quotes from the radio interview and a short clip of Paul Handley, editor of the Church Times.
Update (added by Simon Kershaw, Monday 20 October 2003)
Monday’s Guardian carries this letter from Jonathan Jennings, press secretary to the Archbishop of Canterbury, in which he simultaneously denies that Lambeth Palace asked for the interview to be edited or parts to be cut, and that ‘representations were made’ to the BBC. He also says that he wants to ‘clarify’ the situation. The story is further reported in the Sunday Telegraph and in today’s Guardian
Here is the statement issued by the Diocese of New Hampshire, yesterday, after the Primates Meeting.
The Bishop and Standing Committee of the Episcopal Diocese of New Hampshire met today in response to the London meeting of the Primates from the 38 autonomous Provinces of the worldwide Anglican Communion for prayer, bible study and discussion….
STATEMENT FROM THE DIOCESE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
And here is the one from the Diocese of New Westminster
Bishop Michael Ingham’s response to the statement of the Primates of the Anglican Communion
0 CommentsThe Primates’ statement from Lambeth today should be welcomed by members of the Diocese of New Westminster….