Updated yet again Thursday afternoon
See earlier report South Carolina bishop accused of “abandonment”.
In the comments to that article, I provided links to some criticisms of what was, at the time, assumed to be the process being followed. It now appears that those assumptions were wrong. The Living Church reports:
In response to questions from The Living Church and others, the Rt. Rev. Dorsey Henderson, president of the Disciplinary Board for Bishops, provided this explanation regarding accusations brought to the board against the Rt. Rev. Mark J. Lawrence, Bishop of South Carolina.
See Bp. Henderson Explains Disciplinary Board’s Duty.
A question has arisen about the process for administration of the so-called “abandonment” canon (Title IV.16) especially as it applies to bishops. Although it has come in a couple of forms, the question might be expressed in this way: “Who initiates action when information arises which indicates that abandonment of The Episcopal Church may have occurred?”
In accordance with the canon, such proceedings are begun at the initiative of the Disciplinary Board itself (although this has not happened within memory, if ever), or when information is received by the Disciplinary Board from any credible source with standing to raise the issue. Perhaps the following is helpful.
Title IV.16 is entitled “Of Abandonment of The Episcopal Church,” and sub-section (A) is the portion thereof which relates to bishops. It designates that conduct which constitutes abandonment and specifies the process for administration of the canon when such conduct happens, or is alleged to have happened.
Title IV.17 is entitled “Of Proceedings for Bishops.” It addresses terminology applicable to Title IV.16, but the canons make clear that the process to be followed for abandonment is markedly different from that to be followed with other kinds of infractions…
This has provoked further critical comments:
ACI Title IV: Abandonment Without Offense? and Anglican Curmudgeon Bishop Henderson: It’s “Business as Usual” in the Church.
The full text of the Title IV canons can be found here (PDF).
Some more background can be found in this ENS news report from June: Disciplinary Board for Bishops formed for new Title IV canons.
Wednesday evening update
The Diocese of South Carolina has published this account of a meeting held yesterday, Bishop and Clergy of the Diocese Meet to Discuss “Serious Charges” Made Against Bishop Lawrence.
In an atmosphere of prayerful solemnity, the Bishop and Clergy of the Diocese of South Carolina gathered at Saint James Church, James Island, S.C. for more than two hours on Tuesday, October 12. In focus were the “serious charges” that have been made against Bishop Mark Lawrence and the diocese under the new Title IV canons.
Bishop Lawrence began by restating the diocesan vision of “Making Biblical Anglicans for a Global Age” and then traced the history of the current controversy in The Episcopal Church and the many obstacles they presented to pursuing our diocesan vision. He ended with the two recent diocesan conventions in which the diocese refused to be coerced into the Episcopal Church’s embrace of the new title IV canons which violate both due process and the Episcopal Church’s own constitution. Of further concern with the current allegations is that evidently this process doesn’t allow the accused to know who his accusers are…
Thursday lunchtime update
The State a newspaper in South Carolina reports Bishop urges calm over Lawrence inquiry
Retired Episcopal Bishop Dorsey F. Henderson Jr. sought Wednesday to quell tensions among S.C. Lowcountry clergy, saying the national church is not attacking its bishop, the Right Rev. Mark Lawrence.
Henderson, who heads the national Episcopal Church’s Disciplinary Board for Bishops, told Lawrence Sept. 29 that the board is investigating allegations, made by churchgoers within Lawrence’s diocese, that he abandoned the doctrine, discipline and worship of the Episcopal Church.
But Wednesday Henderson made clear that the inquiry is in its earliest stages and in no way implies that Lawrence may have committed any wrong. Henderson said he notified Lawrence and shared all the information the board had received.
“I thought he needed to know,” said Henderson, who led the Episcopal Diocese of Upper South Carolina until his retirement in 2009. “I thought it was only fair for him to know that we had this information and that we were studying it.”
…But Henderson said, “The idea that the Episcopal Church is after Bishop Lawrence and after the diocese is incorrect. I’m going to keep the board focused and, as much as humanly possible, to stay narrowly focused on the canon and to see if that information fits the definition of abandonment.”
Thursday afternoon update
Bishop Henderson has issued a further statement which is copied in full below the fold.
8 CommentsUpdated Tuesday evening
Aislinn Laing in the Telegraph Analysis: will Robert Mugabe keep his word to the Archbishop of Canterbury?
Zim Eye Anglican church does not allow homosexuality – Archbishop Williams
Mail Online Tea and scones with a tyrant: Archbishop meets Mugabe in controversial visit to Zimbabwe
SW Radio Africa Kunonga hides behind homosexual debate in Anglican saga
The Herald (Published by the government of Zimbabwe) Anglican Head Admits Gay Problem
Lambeth Palace press release: Archbishops meet with Zimbabwean Prime Minister
Zimbabwe Telegraph Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town Condemns “Thuggery” Against Zimbabwean Church
Mail Online Peter Mullen The Archbishop displays a distressing innocence on this foolish, pointless visit
Associated Press Report: Zimbabwe bishops threatened, abused
Nehanda Radio Archbishop Williams harassed in Zimbabwe
and
Attack by Kunonga ‘mindless and Godless’
Living Church John Martin Denying Mugabe a Grip-and-Grin
8 CommentsUpdated again
BBC Archbishop of Canterbury set to meet Robert Mugabe
Independent Williams’s ‘healing’ Zimbabwe trip starts with anti-gay protests
ZimGuardian Archbishop of Canterbury cheered in Zimbabwe
Voice of America Anglican Leader Visits Zimbabwe Amid Dispute Over Renegade Cleric
Zimbabwe Guardian Archbishop of Canterbury arrives in Zimbabwe
BBC Archbishop delivers message of hope to Zimbabwe
Reuters Archbishop of Canterbury to confront Zimbabwe’s Mugabe
Telegraph via Sydney Morning Herald Aislinn Laing Forthright archbishop takes good fight to Zimbabwe
AFP Anglican leader voices ‘concerns’ in Mugabe talks
Lambeth Palace has now issued this press release: Archbishops meet Zimbabwean President
Following their meeting with President Robert Mugabe, the Archbishops of Canterbury, Central Africa, Southern Africa and Tanzania issued the following statement at their press conference…
Full text below the fold. The accompanying Dossier of abuses committed against the Anglican Dioceses of Zimbabwe is a PDF file here. And is now also available as a normal web page here.
Subsequent press reports:
Guardian
David Smith Robert Mugabe offers Rowan Williams tea but little sympathy
Simon Tisdall If only UK politicians were as brave as Rowan Williams about Zimbabwe
Telegraph
Aislinn Laing Archbishop of Canterbury tells Robert Mugabe to act over church abuses
and
Archbishop of Canterbury confronts Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe over controversial Anglican split
New Zimbabwe Mugabe ‘on top of things’: Williams
Voice of America
Archbishop Hands Mugabe Dossier of Grievances
and
Zimbabwe’s Mugabe Meets With Anglican Leader Over Harare Church Dispute
AFP via Sydney Morning Herald Williams urges Mugabe to end attacks
Reuters Head of Anglican church confronts Zimbabwe’s Mugabe
BBC Rowan Williams hands Robert Mugabe Zimbabwe abuse file
3 CommentsUpdated frequently on Sunday as additional reports are published
The Telegraph reports Archbishop of Canterbury cheered in Zimbabwe.
Lambeth Palace has published the full text of the Archbishop’s sermon to the Anglicans in Zimbabwe.
Riazat Butt, and David Smith in Harare, write for the Guardian that Rowan Williams takes Mugabe to task in Zimbabwe sermon.
Associated Press via the Seattle Post-Intelligencer has a report, with numerous photos of demonstrators opposing the visit, headlined Archbishop says Christianity not about politics.
Zim Guardian has Mugabe, Archbishop of Canterbury Set for Fiery Meeting
AFP Anglican leader cheered in Zimbabwe amid Church split
BBC Archbishop of Canterbury on ‘healing’ Zimbabwe trip
Reuters Archbishop of Canterbury denounces attacks on Zimbabwe church
Telegraph Aislinn Laing Archbishop of Canterbury attacks ‘mindless and Godless’ assaults on Anglicans
Press Association Williams backs Zimbabwe’s Anglicans
6 CommentsUpdated Sunday morning
The Sunday Telegraph has two reports:
Aislinn Laing in Harare and Jonathan Wynne-Jones Archbishop Rowan Williams warned over meeting with Mugabe
The Archbishop of Canterbury has been warned by senior church leaders that he risks handing a propaganda coup to President Robert Mugabe by seeking to meet the Zimbabwean dictator on Sunday.
Aislinn Laing Zimbabwe Church row as Archbishop of Canterbury visits: meet the child orphans who are its victims
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, arrives in Zimbabwe on Sunday in a bid to heal a growing rift in the country’s church. Aislinn Laing visited an orphanage where 80 unhappy children are among its victims.
Two other earlier reports:
Voice of America has Archbishop of Canterbury Due in Zimbabwe; No Word on Mugabe Meeting
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams, was expected in Harare, Zimbabwe, this weekend for a major service Sunday at the City Sports Centre with Anglicans from the Church of the Province of Central Africa under Bishop Chad Gandiya.
Williams is expected to meet with President Robert Mugabe on Monday in what most see as a bid to end an acrimonious and at times violent rift among Zimbabwean Anglicans that started in 2007 when Harare Bishop Nolbert Kunonga resigned from the church saying homosexual priests and congregants had gained influence…
RadioVOP Anglican Does Not Support Homosexuality – Archbishop Of Canterbury
The Anglican Church of the Province of Central Africa (CPCA) on Thursday said it does not condone homosexuality.
“It is reaffirmed that the CPCA position regarding homosexuality is crystal clear. In terms of Canon 22, marriage is between one man and one woman and in consequence, homosexuality is not acceptable in the CPCA which comprises Botswana, Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe,” Reverend Clifford Dzavo, the secretary for the diocese of Harare said in a statement.“We therefore reiterate that the CPCA does not condone homosexuality. Whatever happens in other Provinces worldwide does not affect us as we do not necessarily share the same views with them.”
Press releases from Lambeth Palace:
Archbishop Rowan arrives in Malawi
Archbishop meets President Bingu wa Mutharika of Malawi
Archbishop’s Malawi sermon – God’s healing and mercy are there for all
Sunday morning updates
ENI via ACO Williams, Malawi president discuss church agriculture projects
New Zimbabwe Mugabe to challenge Williams over sanctions
PRESIDENT Robert Mugabe will engage the visiting Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams over homosexuality and the “illegal sanctions” imposed by the West, a spokesman of the Zimbabwean leader has said.
Zim Eye Mugabe may refuse to meet Rowan Williams
President Robert Mugabe may refuse to meet Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams as it emerged after more thanthree weeks waiting, Mugabe is still to respond to the former’s request for audience, amid fierce fighting between ousted Bishop Kunonga and the current head of the Anglican church in Zimbabwe, Chad Gandiya.
Without providing more details, a source in the President’s office on Friday indicated that it was still not clear President Robert would accept Williams’ meeting request.
His statement was weighed in by presidential spokesman George Charamba who said that “if ever the two are going to meet”, Mugabe and the State in Zimbabwe “have nothing to do with the goings-on in the local chapter of the Anglican Church.”
BBC Archbishop of Canterbury on ‘healing’ Zimbabwe trip
CNN Archbishop wants to meet with Mugabe over Anglican persecution allegations
AFP Mugabe wants to quiz Anglican leader on gays, sanctions
2 Comments…Mugabe’s spokesman George Charamba did not say if the two men would meet, but told the state-run Sunday Mail newspaper that if they did speak, the 87-year-old president would challenge Williams about gays and sanctions.
“Fundamentally, he would want to know why the church of the British state, the Anglican Church, has remained so loudly silent while the people of Zimbabwe, and these people include Anglicans, are suffering from the illegal sanctions,” Charamba said.
“The second issue that the president wants this man of God to clarify is why his Anglican Church thinks homosexuality is good for us and why it should be prescribed for us.
“He thinks the Archbishop will be polite enough to point to him that portion of the Great Book (that) sanctions homosexuality and sanctions sanctions.”
Updated Saturday afternoon to add the Chichester results.
Updated Saturday evening to add the Exeter results.
Updated Sunday to add more details of the Chichester debates (below the fold).
Three more diocesan synods held their debates on the women bishops legislation today.
1) At Lichfield the main motion
That this Synod approves the proposals embodied in the draft Bishops and Priests (Consecration and ordination of women) Measure and in draft Amending Canon Number 30.
was carried in all three houses. Here are the detailed voting figures.
| For | Against | Abstentions | |
| Bishops | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Clergy | 45 | 13 | 0 |
| Laity | 46 | 18 | 2 |
The usual following motion (text below) was defeated.
That this Synod
1. Desires that all faithful Anglicans remain and thrive together in the Church of England; and therefore
2. Calls upon the House of Bishops to bring forward amendments to the draft Bishops and Priests (Consecration and Ordination of Women) Measure to ensure that those unable, on theological grounds, to accept the ministry of Women Bishops are able to receive episcopal oversight from a Bishop with authority (i.e. ordinary jurisdiction) conferred by the Measure rather than by delegation from a Diocesan Bishop.
The diocese has published this: Lichfield Diocese approves draft women bishops’ legislation.
2) At Chichester the main motion (as above) was defeated.
| For | Against | Abstentions | |
| Bishops | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Clergy | 30 | 35 | 0 |
| Laity | 37 | 41 | 0 |
There were two following motions seeking greater provision for opponents. The first (as above) was carried by 80 votes to 52. There was also a motion as at Manchester which was carried by 87 votes to 50.
The diocese has published this: Chichester votes NO.
Alastair Cutting has sent us more details of the Chichester debates as published on the Chalice wesbite; these are copied below the fold.
3) At Exeter the main motion was carried in the houses of clergy and laity (which is what matters for this purpose), although it was defeated in the house of bishops.
| For | Against | Abstentions | |
| Bishops | 1 | 2 | |
| Clergy | 30 | 18 | |
| Laity | 45 | 16 |
The synod also passed the following motion:
That this synod request the General Synod to debate a motion in the following form:
That this synod:
1. Desires that all faithful Anglicans remain and thrive together in the Church of England and therefore
2. Requests the House of Bishops, in exercise of its powers under Standing Order 60 (b) to amend the draft Bishops and Priests (Consecration and Ordination of Women) Measure so as to incorporate the amendments proposed by the Archbishops of Canterbury and York at the General Synod group of sessions in July 2010 as follows:
In clause 2 (1) leave out the words ‘way of delegation to’ and after clause 2(1) insert –
(2) The episcopal ministry referred to in subsections (1), (3) and (5) shall be exercisable by virtue of this section and shall not divest the bishop of the diocese of any of his or her functions.
Here are the voting figures.
| For | Against | Abstentions | |
| Bishops | 3 | 0 | |
| Clergy | 33 | 13 | |
| Laity | 26 | 23 |
The diocese has published this: Women in the Episcopate legislation.
23 CommentsLaura Brosnan asks in The Guardian How can it be fair to say I can’t be saved by God if I’m gay?
“Christian friends rejected me when I came out to them, citing Leviticus. But my faith comes from the love of God, not the Bible.”
Riazat Butt writes in The Guardian about UK chaplains in Afghanistan: ordinary priests with an extraordinary flock.
“With their camouflage Bibles and combat crosses, the forces’ 278 chaplains are outsiders in the church and the military.”
Martin L Smith writes for the Daily Episcopalian about Money, might and the name of God.
23 CommentsThe Irish Times in Dublin reports: C of I planning conference on sexuality for early 2012
A MAJOR conference on sexuality is being planned by the Church of Ireland for next spring and a pastoral letter will be issued by its archbishops and bishops in the next few days. The move follows a three-day meeting of the church’s House of Bishops this week.
It was precipitated by disclosure early last month that the Dean of Leighlin (Carlow) Rev Tom Gordon and his same-sex partner of 20 years had been married in a civil ceremony at a registry office last July. Formerly a lecturer at the Church of Ireland theological institute in Dublin and a co-ordinator of religious programmes at RTÉ, he was installed as Dean of Leighlin last year…
The Belfast News Letter reports: Archbishop had notice of cleric’s gay union plan
…Asked whether when he was first told of the same-sex union he realised that it would be a very difficult issue for the Church, the archbishop says: “Of course, of course.”
He adds: “There was nothing more that I could do. The civil partnership legislation is a freedom that he has and, technically, it’s not just not my diocese, it’s also not my province, it’s in the province of Dublin.
“But obviously then the urgent matter was to try and get an opportunity to begin to grapple with the issues as they have now presented themselves and that’s what we’re trying to do.”
So has he been surprised by the vocal opposition from evangelical and traditional Anglicans, many of them in Northern Ireland?
“I’m not surprised that it’s vocal,” he says. “I think probably the extent to which it has been sustained is interesting but this is a free country; this is a church which believes in people having the right to express themselves freely and I’ll defend that right if it is necessary to defend it.”
Asked whether the Church has a position on whether same-sex activity is sinful or normal, the archbishop says: “Sinful and normal are not alternatives. And so obviously, as you perfectly well know, there are different views within the Church as to whether or not a committed same-sex relationship is sinful.
“There has been a traditional view which has in effect not accepted the appropriateness of sexual relations between same-gender people. That is the traditional view.
“That view had come under question and that is where we find ourselves now and that’s why there’s a debate across the communion and that’s why we’ve got the present situation as it affects the Church of Ireland.
“The Church itself hasn’t thoroughly debated these new developments and the implications of these new developments. “That’s why it is necessary, it seems to me and to my fellow bishops, to put in train a way for the Church to address those matters.”
And earlier Church summit to address gay tensions
3 Comments…last night the News Letter learned that disillusioned conservative and evangelical members of the Church of Ireland are planning their own meeting next week.
The meeting, to be held in Northern Ireland on Monday, is to be addressed by a visiting bishop from outside Ireland, as some parishes become increasingly unhappy at the Irish bishops’ leadership…
Updated Friday afternoon
additional items below the fold
Official press release issued Wednesday:
Lambeth Palace Archbishop to pay a pastoral visit to the Church of the Province of Central Africa with map:
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams is today embarking on a week-long pastoral visit to the Church in Malawi, Zimbabwe and Zambia at the invitation of the Archbishop of the Province of Central Africa, the Rt Revd Albert Chama. During the course of the week Dr Williams will meet with bishops, clergy and parishioners to celebrate the life and ministry of the Anglican Church in the region…
British press reports:
Riazat Butt Guardian Rowan Williams seeks meeting with Robert Mugabe
…The Foreign Office, attempting to quash speculation that Williams is engaging in a form of freelance diplomacy, said that the archbishop’s visit was purely as head of the Anglican church.
A spokesman told the Guardian: “He is not a representative of the government and his proposed meeting with Mugabe in no way reflects a change of government policy.
“The archbishops of Zambia, Southern Africa and Tanzania are also part of the delegation of senior Anglican leaders visiting Zimbabwe.
“It is not for us to comment on the appropriateness of the archbishop’s visit, which is in a pastoral and not a political capacity.”
The Foreign Office said the situation of Anglicans in Zimbabwe had worsened in recent months and as head of the church, Williams’s “desire to support them is understandable”.
The UK ambassador to Harare discussed the visit with the archbishop when they met in London in July, the FCO said, adding that the two will meet again during the visit and that British officials will “continue to offer logistical support”…
Aislinn Laing Telegraph Archbishop of Canterbury to meet Mugabe amid Anglican rift
…Chad Gandiya, the Anglican-appointed Bishop of Harare, said Dr Rowan Williams was “very likely” to meet Mr Mugabe on Monday, with a time and place yet to be confirmed.
“With these things it is impossible to say for sure, but it seems that the Archbishop has been granted an audience with the president,” he said…
African press reports:
ZimOnline Williams visit for solidarity: church
…When Kunonga and former Manicaland bishop Elson Jakazi revolted against the Church of the Province of Central Africa (CPCA), the supreme authority of the Anglican church in the region, they claimed they were doing so because the mother church supported ordination of gay priests.
However this is not true as the Anglican Church in Africa is largely conservative and has strongly opposed ordination of gay priests.
Kunonga and Gandiya were excommunicated in 2008. A staunch supporter of Mugabe, who tried to use the pulpit to defend the Zimbabwean leader’s controversial policies, Kunonga was excommunicated together with several priests and other church leaders who backed his revolt against the CPCA…
The Zimbabwean Archbishop to pay a pastoral visit to Central Africa
And also Coltart intervenes in Anglican saga with a great cartoon:
4 CommentsMinister of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture David Coltart has ordered Mash East Provincial Education Director to produce a detailed report of school children and teachers who were evicted by ex-communicated Anglican church leader Nolbert Kunonga in Mrewa.
I have instructed the Mashonaland East Provincial Education Director to prepare a report detailing what happened to the teachers, headmasters and children. I got a very disturbing report that teachers were physically beaten up. This is very disturbing as it affects lives of school children,” said Coltart in an interview this week.
Kunonga evicted headmasters, teachers and priests for allegedly aligning themselves with the diocese of his arch-rival, Chad Gandiya.
“I have said time and again that politics should stay out of schools. What is happening in the Anglican Church is not religious – it is politics,” Coltart said.
The Venerable Peter Burrows, Archdeacon of Leeds, is to be the next Suffragan Bishop of Doncaster in the Diocese of Sheffield.
He will be consecrated as a Bishop in York Minster on 2 February, and take up his post shortly afterwards.
0 CommentsA complaint has been made, by some members of his diocese, that the Bishop of South Carolina Mark Lawrence has “abandoned” The Episcopal Church.
See these news reports:
Episcopal News Service Mary Frances Schjonberg South Carolina bishop investigated on charges he has abandoned the Episcopal Church
…The allegations are being investigated by the church’s Disciplinary Board for Bishops. Communicants in the Diocese of South Carolina filed the information with the board, according to the Rt. Rev. Dorsey Henderson, board president. Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori and the House of Bishops were not involved in making the claims, Henderson said in a fact sheet released by the church’s Office of Public Affairs.
“Therefore, the matter is not being handled by the Presiding Bishop’s office or anyone in the employ of the Episcopal Church Center,” Henderson said in the fact sheet.
Henderson said he has been in contact with Lawrence, whose ministry has not been restricted during this phase of the process.
Under Title IV, Canon 16, a bishop is deemed to have abandoned the communion of the Episcopal Church by an open renunciation of the doctrine, discipline or worship of the church; by formal admission into any religious body not in communion with the church; or by exercising episcopal acts in and for a religious body other than the church or another church in communion with the church…
Living Church Doug LeBlanc Board Hears Case against Bp. Lawrence
The Rt. Rev. Mark J. Lawrence, Bishop of South Carolina, is being investigated on accusations of abandoning the Episcopal Church, and his diocese has released a 63-page document of the evidence brought against him.
Lawrence and the Very Rev. Paul C. Fuener, president of the diocese’s standing committee wrote in a letter to members of the diocese that on Sept. 29 the bishop “received communication from the President of the Disciplinary Board for Bishops that ‘serious charges’ have been made under Title IV of the Canons of The Episcopal Church. … Since several of these allegations also include actions taken by the Convention of the Diocese of South Carolina, after sustained prayer and discernment, it has seemed appropriate to both the Bishop and the Standing Committee to make these allegations available to the members of the Diocese.”
See these documents:
A Statement From The Archbishops And Bishops Of The Church Of Ireland.
20 CommentsWe met over three days in an atmosphere of prayer and worship to reflect on current disquiet in the Church caused by disagreements on the matter of human sexuality. We acknowledge that this tension is a cause of distress to many.
Our discussions were frank and careful and, at times, painful. We committed ourselves to listen carefully to one another and speak openly about our differences within the context of a variety of reactions within the Church. Strengthened by our honest interchange of views, we corporately agreed a way forward.
A pastoral letter to the Church will be issued through the Clergy in the next few days. It will highlight key themes and outline a process by which the Church may move forward. This will involve a major conference in Spring 2012 to which members of the General Synod and others will be invited. The conference will provide an important opportunity to learn from and listen to one another as the Church strives to discern the mind of Christ.
As Bishops we commit ourselves to work together on these issues. In addition, we envisage that further study and research on biblical, theological and legal issues will be required.
The Archbishops and Bishops of the Church of Ireland
- The Most Revd Alan Harper, Archbishop of Armagh
- The Most Revd Michael Jackson, Archbishop of Dublin & Glendalough
- The Most Revd Richard Clarke, Bishop of Meath & Kildare
- The Rt Revd Harold Miller, Bishop of Down & Dromore
- The Rt Revd Paul Colton, Bishop of Cork, Cloyne & Ross
- The Rt Revd Ken Clarke, Bishop of Kilmore, Elphin & Ardagh
- The Rt Revd Ken Good, Bishop of Derry & Raphoe
- The Rt Revd Michael Burrows, Bishop of Cashel & Ossory
- The Rt Revd Alan Abernethy, Bishop of Connor
- The Rt Revd Trevor Williams, Bishop of Limerick & Killaloe
- The Rt Revd Patrick Rooke, Bishop of Tuam, Killala & Achonry
- The Rt Revd John McDowell, Bishop of Clogher
We first reported on Sydney Anglicans and the threat to world Anglicanism at the end of August. Now here’s an update.
The coverage at ABC in Australia in response to the original excerpt from the book continued: in addition to the article Serious flaws in Muriel Porter’s misguided polemic by Mark Thompson previously linked, there was also another one by Michael Jensen, Are Sydney Anglicans actually Anglicans? and another by Peter Kurti It’s Anglicanism, Jim, but not as we know it.
Later, Bruce Kaye wrote about all this in Terms of engagement in Anglican war of words.
Now, Anglican Media Melbourne has published two articles: a news report on the book launch by Roland Ashby Sydney’s ‘harsh sectarianism’ a threat to church and a review of the book by Alan Nichols Exposing the agenda of the Sydney Diocese.
And, in England, John Richardson has written a review for New Directions which can be read here.
9 CommentsUpdated Saturday night to add the Peterborough results.
Two more diocesan synods held their debates on the women bishops legislation today.
1) At Ripon and Leeds the motion
That this Synod approve the proposal embodied in the draft Bishops and Prietsts (Consecreation and Ordination of Women) Measure and in draft Amending Canon No 30.
was carried overwhelmingly in all three houses. Here are the detailed voting figures.
| For | Against | Abstentions | |
| Bishops | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Clergy | 42 | 3 | 0 |
| Laity | 30 | 4 | 2 |
A ‘following’ motion calling for stronger legal provision for alternative male bishops to be set up by statute rather than a code of practice was debated but was defeated by 70 votes to 12.
The diocese has issued this press release: Overwhelming vote for women bishops.
2) At Peterborough the main motion (in favour of the legislation) was carried in all three houses with these voting figures.
| For | Against | Abstentions | |
| Bishops | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Clergy | 37 | 10 | 2 |
| Laity | 30 | 14 | 5 |
The following motion, seeking more provision for opponents, was defeated in all three houses:
| For | Against | Abstentions | |
| Bishops | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Clergy | 9 | 35 | 3 |
| Laity | 20 | 27 | 2 |
At Michaelmas Scott Gunn writes about Angels: setting the record straight.
Andrew Brown writes for The Guardian: Creationism explained.
“You can believe in a Creator without being a ‘scientific creationist’. The distinction is important and needs preserving.”
Alom Shaha writes for The Guardian that Faster than light story highlights the difference between science and religion.
“‘Belief’ means something different to scientists and the faithful … we’re open to the idea Einstein may have been wrong.”
Giles Fraser writes in The Church Times that we should Examine the inequalities of a feral society.
Jaweed Kaleem reports in The Huffington Post on a survey: [American] Readers Prefer Literal Bible Translations Over Common English, New Survey Shows.
9 Comments