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Posted on 10/08/2003 9:44:55 AM PDT by ahadams2
Disciplinary proceedings begun against Anglican bishop
NEWS RELEASE ECCLESIASTICAL PROVINCE OF BRITISH COLUMBIA AND YUKON
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KELOWNA, B.C., OCTOBER 8 2003 -- Archbishop David Crawley, Metropolitan of the Anglican ecclesiastical province of British Columbia and Yukon, has announced disciplinary proceedings against Yukon Bishop Terry Buckle for actions Bishop Buckle has taken outside his own diocese.
The proceedings, which Archbishop Crawley said "will take their proper course," follow actions taken by Bishop Buckle in the Anglican Diocese of New Westminster where several parishes are disaffected by a decision last year of the diocesan synod to bless same-sex unions. Under church law, bishops cannot function outside their own diocese unless they have the permission of the local bishop.
In a letter to Anglicans of British Columbia and Yukon, Archbishop Crawley noted that Bishop Michael Ingham of New Westminster has "inhibited" Bishop Buckle from functioning as a bishop in the diocese. "I as the Metropolitan of British Columbia and Yukon have required Bishop Buckle to respect that inhibition and refrain from interfering in the life of the Diocese of New Westminster," Archbishop Crawley writes.
"In continuing to assert that he has full episcopal authority over the disaffected parishes in New Westminster, Bishop Buckle is acting unlawfully." Bishop Buckle's actions constitute a fundamental attack on the structures of the church, Archbishop Crawley says.
He adds in his letter that he had hoped and prayed that conflict in New Westminster "might be settled by the guided process of reconciliation" urged by Canadian bishops and that Bishop Buckle might "withdraw his unlawful offer to the disaffected parishes in New Westminster. ... Bishop Buckle has not done so."
For more information, contact Archbishop David Crawley, 250 762 3306 diocese_of_kootenay@telus.net
The full text of Archbishop Crawley's message to the Anglican Church follows:
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Sisters and Brothers, I had hoped and prayed that the conflict in the Diocese of New Westminster might be settled by the guided process of reconciliation urged by our National House of Bishops and the Council of General Synod. Equally, I had hoped that the Rt. Rev. Terence Buckle, Bishop of Yukon, would abide by the motion passed by the House of Bishops and the Council of General Synod urging him to withdraw his unlawful offer to the disaffected parishes in New Westminster of episcopal oversight with full jurisdiction.
Far from withdrawing, Bishop Buckle is now asserting that he has full episcopal jurisdiction over several parishes in the Diocese of New Westminster. In so doing, he is attacking the fundamental structures of our Church.
The basic structural unit of the Anglican Church of Canada is the diocese. A diocese comprises a geographical area and in the civil Province of British Columbia, all diocesan boundaries are fixed by acts of the Provincial Legislature. Anglican parishes can exist only as units within a diocese.
The Canons of General Synod, which govern our Church, state specifically that a bishop from outside cannot function in a diocese without permission of the diocesan bishop. Further, the Canons provide the diocesan bishop with the authority to inhibit any other bishop from functioning in the diocese.
The Rt. Rev. Michael Ingham has formally inhibited the Rt. Rev. Terence Buckle, Bishop of Yukon, from functioning within the Diocese of New Westminster. I, as the Metropolitan of British Columbia and Yukon, have required Bishop Buckle to respect that inhibition and refrain from interfering in the life of the Diocese of New Westminster. At his installation as Bishop of Yukon, Bishop Buckle swore before God, as do all bishops, obedience to the Metropolitan of the Ecclesiastical Province and to the Canons of the Anglican Church of Canada.
No bishop of the Anglican Church of Canada can claim or assert any authority within the bounds of another diocese. Any bishop proven to be doing so can be suspended, deprived of his or her position as bishop, or be deposed from the order of bishops.
In continuing to assert that he has full episcopal authority over the disaffected parishes in New Westminster, Bishop Buckle is acting unlawfully and any commissionings, licensings, appointments he might claim to have made, or confirmations he has performed are unlawful.
Disciplinary proceedings against Bishop Buckle as provided in the Canons have begun and will take their proper course.
Parishes cannot remove themselves from the authority of their diocesan bishop and place themselves under the authority of another bishop. Any parishes in the Diocese of New Westminster accepting Bishop Buckle's claim to authority over them are acting unlawfully and contrary to the Canons of the Anglican Church of Canada.
No Anglican Primate, Archbishop or Bishop from any part of the Anglican Communion other than Canada has any authority to appoint, license, commission, ordain or confirm anyone anywhere in the Anglican Church of Canada, and any such person claiming that authority is acting unlawfully.
Our Church is governed by the General Synod, the Provincial Synods and the Synods of the Diocese. Within the Canons established by these bodies, the Archbishops and Bishops of the Church are responsible for maintaining the order of the Church. The Canons of our Church are designed to maintain and protect the life of the community of the faithful.
Many of us are deeply grieved and embarrassed that a Bishop, who has sworn an oath to maintain order in the life of the Church, is himself the author of disorder.
I ask you to pray for the life of our Church in the Ecclesiastical Province of British Columbia and Yukon.
Archbishop of Kootenay Metropolitan of British Columbia and Yukon
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