The Episcopal Church, USA, has elected Katharine Jefferts Schori as its next Presiding Bishop. I suppose she should properly be addressed as Her Grace or Her Eminence. If there was any doubt that the Episcopal Church in the USA was about to marginalize itself from the rest of the Anglican World Communion, that doubt has now been removed.
As refugees from ECUSA my wife and I have been adrift in the rest of Christendom for several years now. Along with many of our friends we feel this is another move in the wrong direction. It is a matter I do better not to discuss.
Ft. Neuhaus comments at First Things.
The election of Katharine Jefferts Schori as the presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church (ECUSA) is an occasion of great sadness for all who care about the unity of Christians. Those who have always been skeptical of the ecumenical effort may well say, “I told you so,” and indulge in a measure of schadenfreude. That is not, I would suggest, a faithfully Catholic response.
[...]
The election of Bishop Schori is on a trajectory of continuity with earlier Episcopal actions. In the mid-seventies, ECUSA unilaterally decided to ordain women to the priesthood, and the Church of England followed suit....the great and more recent commotion in ECUSA was sparked by the ordination of Gene Robinson, a practicing gay priest, as bishop of New Hampshire....
...a commission of ECUSA some months ago issued the Windsor Report, which proposed that the ECUSA apologize to the Anglican Communion for difficulties caused by the election of Robinson and that a moratorium be declared on ordaining gay bishops and blessing same-sex unions. Bishop Schori was sharply critical of the Windsor Report, and her election is a decisive repudiation of its recommendations. Schori is an unequivocal supporter of Gene Robinson and of the blessing of same-sex unions. She is reported to be a friend and strong supporter of the retired Bishop John Spong, perhaps the most leftist of ECUSA bishops, who has long agitated against core doctrines of historic Christianity such as the inspiration of Scripture and the divinity of Christ.
At each step of the way, Rome pleaded with Anglicans to reject such grave departures from the orthodox Christian tradition. It may be that there will emerge from the breakup a new configuration of the Anglican Communion with which serious dialogue can be resumed. A few bishops of ECUSA and a larger number of clergy and parishes are involved in “continuing Anglican” movements and are working in tandem with the African and Asian provinces.
More at the link, if the reader is interested.
Those with an unquenchable thirst for news of the Episcopal Church go to Canon Kendall Harmon's blog, titusonenine.
This man is the only individual I have found keeping a perfect blog. Timely, complete, and on task. Enough light stuff to keep from getting bogged down, but by and large serious as an oncologist.
Time online is among many other stories. London Times also.
No comments:
Post a Comment