House of Bishops response 'to questions and concerns raised by our Anglican Communion partners' posted to Episcopal Life Online
Read it all here ...
Knee-jerk commented summary below:
Summary
We reconfirm that resolution B033 of General Convention 2006 (The Election Of Bishops) calls upon bishops with jurisdiction and Standing Committees "to exercise restraint by not consenting to the consecration of any candidate to the episcopate whose manner of life presents a challenge to the wider church and will lead to further strains on communion."
Of course they do.
We pledge as a body not to authorize public rites for the blessing of same-sex unions.
Which they couldn't do anyway without the consent of the House of Deputies nationally.
We commend our Presiding Bishop's plan for episcopal visitors.
As well they should.
We deplore incursions into our jurisdictions by uninvited bishops and call for them to end.
"Univited bishops." How polite!
We support the Presiding Bishop in seeking communion-wide consultation in a manner that is in accord with our Constitution and Canons.
"In accord with Constitution and Canons" is phrase key here.
We call for increasing implementation of the listening process across the Communion and for a report on its progress to Lambeth 2008.
Again ... as well they should. And as we go to meet next month with ACO staff about precisely that topic in London how nice to have our bishops behind us!
We support the Archbishop of Canterbury in his expressed desire to explore ways for the Bishop of New Hampshire to participate in the Lambeth Conference.
Again, as well they should and "here, here!"
We call for unequivocal and active commitment to the civil rights, safety, and dignity of gay and lesbian persons.
Should go without saying but we're glad they did.
Official statement to follow shortly.
9 comments:
Susan, does this mean that Tracy Lind cannot obtain consents if elected in Chicago?
Susan,
I really wonder about the B033 line. It explicitly mentions non celeibate homos as being part of that list. No wiggle room for Terry Lynd now, it seems to me. As a gay priest, I feel slapped in the face.
RFSJ+
OK ... this is my blog and I can say what I want. Right?
The B033 line sucked. B033 ITSELF sucks! But believe me, what they ended up saying PALES in comparison to what they were being pressured to say.
Yes, it is ALWAYS an affront to the dignity of every human being when the church fails to live up to its high calling to support that dignity 100% 24/7.
And.
Given what they were up against the good outweighs the bad.
IMHO.
And now we get to work and repeal B033 and keep pushing on liturgies for blessings.
(PS - It's Tracey (with an "e") Lind)
I agree that it could have been worse, no question; but the BO33 "clarification" - yes, this means non-celibate gay and lesbian people - felt like a blow the the head. How I feel is probably different than what I think; I think that the real fruit of this meeting (no pun intended) came in the conversations, the work on houses, the liturgy. There was a lot to feel relieved about, particularly the strong statements from some of the conservative bishops who are not about to go affiliate anywhere else. I can get behind any conservative who loves being a classic Anglican, holding so many things in tension in the face of our awareness that God will never be explained or contained by the Church. I think a lot of bishops probably came away with the same kind of relief; we really can work together, we really Do hold many of the same values, and conservatives are not all reactionaries.
Still. It does make we want to go home and wathc "Dancing with the Stars."
Susan, where can we read what they were being pressured to say? Sorry not to know.
The House of Bishops must look at these things thru the lens of B033. Considering that, their statements are not bad at all. They have done the best they could in this particular situation. The way forward for the Church is the repeal of B033, which I think will happen at the next GC. Just because things did not suddenly "fast forward" to perfection doesn't mean we give up. We keep on pushing forward.....an "inch at a time".
Sorry - but this makes me want to throw up.
WaterBird
Dear Susan,
With all due respect, we have once gain cow-towed to the right and, Integrity's release appears to affirm the "ok, for now" attitude. When will enough be enough and Integrity start to really work for justice instead of trying to make roses out of vinegar?
Christopher_
I'll be extremely saddened if Tracey Lind is elected but refused confirmation because of this decision. I realize that B033 already "prohibited" her confirmation, but I was under the impression that many of our Bishops admitted that B033 was a mistake. Sad to see it underlined in red ink.
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