It is certainly true that he had significant concerns; but it is equally true that leaders in our church need the freedom to express their convictions forcefully and to seek to influence the church’s course of action. That is a quality of our church that we cherish.
I was engaged in subtle ways to try to subvert and retard what (breakaway Bishop John) Schofield was doing, because I realized that with the prevailing attitude in the diocese it was simply ineffective to just directly oppose it.
The Diocese of Southwestern Brazil has elected a new bishop coadjutor.
For those disaffected by recent decisions to bless the unions of gays and lesbians, Bishop Clarke will formally present the scheme for alternative oversight to diocesan council in January.
Broadhurst’s distaste for C of E politics will come as no surprise to those who’ve watched with the least interest. In February he said on BBC’s HARDtalk that “the Anglican experiment is … over,” and a few months later he was noted as one of those planning for an ordinariate in secret meetings between three CoE bishops and advisers to Pope Benedict XVI.
The letter writing in Pennsylvania continues. This week, the witnesses at the trial of Bishop Bennison of Pennsylvania respond to the news that he claims they knowingly perjured themselves.
Bishop Lawrence’s thinking is problematic. An Episcopal diocese is no more independent of the Episcopal Church than a state is independent of the federal government. This is nothing short of an attempt to craft ecclesiastical nullification. And of late, we have had too much practice in that with four other dioceses claiming nullification on the road to secession.
Ever since the heavy doses of disappointment and anger over process in last summer’s Jeffrey John debacle, our keyboard fingers get itchy every time an announcement is made about an opening for a bishop’s spot in the CoE. So forgive this small indulgence.
“He played a pivotal role in his country’s struggle against apartheid and extraordinary example of pursuing a path to forgiveness and reconciliation in the new South Africa. He has also been an outspoken voice for freedom and justice in countries across the globe; a staunch defender of the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons; and an advocate for treatment and prevention programs to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS.”