(Update: If you were expecting Mark Lawrence to acknowledge that he played any roll whatsoever in his rejection as bishop of South Carolina, this article will disappoint you. Hat tip: Doug S.)
This item is a write-thru of a previous item. Because facts are our friends.
From ENS:
Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori has declared “null and void” the election of the Very Rev. Mark Lawrence to be the 14th bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina….
Canonically adequate ballots were received by South Carolina from 50 diocesan standing committees. (Jim’s note: 56 consents are required.) Several other standing committees were reported to have consented, but no signatures were attached to their ballots, or the ballot itself was missing from South Carolina’s records, Jefferts Schori reported. Any committee that did not respond is considered to have voted no.
“In the past, when consents to episcopal elections have been so closely contested, the diocese has been diligent in seeking to have canonically adequate ballots submitted, asking Standing Committees to resubmit their ballots when necessary,” she added. “It is certainly my hope that in future any diocese seeking consent to an election will use all possible effort to ensure that ballots are received in an appropriate form and in a timely manner.”
Read it all.
I am hoping to keep Daily Episcopalian a recrimination-free zone. The way out of this situation is for the diocese to re-elect Lawrence, for Lawrence to restate his stance on various contentious issues, and for the Standing Committees to respond in a timely fashion.