Posted on 07/06/2005 7:37:43 AM PDT by sionnsar
The court in Pennsylvania recently ordered Bishop Bennison to answer Bishop Moyer’s complaint, overruling a First Amendment defense plead by Bennison. What I find most interesting, however, are the letters from Bishop Griswold, which are attached as exhibits. Bishop Bennison had hidden these letters for a time and had refused to produce them in the discovery process.
It is a long PDF, and takes some time to download, but this is an important piece in the current situation in our beloved Episcopal Church, so read it all.
For those who are unfamiliar with the case, ECUSA’s canons have a procedure to inhibit and depose a priest for “abandonment of communion,” which was intended to ecclesiastically handle situations where priests have swam the Tiber or joined some other church, or who have simply walked off the field with no explanation. Moyer did neither of these - he simply refused to allow Bennison to celebrate the Eucharist, baptize or confirm. In short, the Pennsylvania 1 is in the same situation as the Connecticut Six, just further down the road in the canonical process.
What is the big problem? The Canon regarding abandonment of communion is a procedure that does not allow for an ecclesiastical trial. I will be discussing this issue with my fellow deputies; I think a resolution is in order at GC2006 to repeal this canon and require a trial for deposition.
Traditional Anglican ping, continued in memory of its founder Arlin Adams. Careful... Now might be quite a time to rescind canon laws meant to keep priests from swimming the Tiber. ;^D
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