Free Republic

The long-standing conflict between the state's Episcopal bishop and six conservative parishes, including one in Darien, continues after both sides failed this week to settle a civil appeal filed by the parishes. On Tuesday, lawyers for both sides participated in a pre-argument conference call with the United States Court of Appeals Second Circuit of New York, a mandatory step in every civil appeal case. "That was unproductive," said attorney Ralph Dupont, who represents the six parishes that are seeking several million dollars in damages. He said the case will proceed to the appellate court, with arguments scheduled to begin early...

SOURCE: CITIZENLINKDIRECT LINK Those who speak the truth about homosexuality are becoming targets. In spite of the fact that gay activists have long portrayed themselves as "victims," some are increasingly taking an aggressive posture, even to the point of threats and intimidation toward people who oppose their agenda. Just a few examples:     • A psychologist in Champaign, Ill., has been temporarily suspended from his job with the Minneapolis Police Department doing psych evaluations on police recruits, because gay activists objected to his relationship with the Illinois Family Institute -- a pro-family group associated with Focus on the Family.    ...

(AgapePress) - An orthodox Anglican priest says six Connecticut parishes that oppose the ordination of homosexuals are not giving up their legal fight against a liberal Episcopal bishop they have accused of abusing the power of his office. Last week, a federal judge ruled that a civil rights lawsuit filed by the conservative priests known to many as "the Connecticut Six" against Bishop Andrew Smith lacked federal jurisdiction. Smith is being sued for seizing the property of four parishes, suspending an orthodox priest, and threatening to defrock five others. One of the priests, Chris Leighton of St. Paul's Episcopal Church...

John Lankenau, the church attorney, has begun his investigation of a formal complaint against the Bishop of Connecticut, the Rt. Rev. Andrew D. Smith, according to three sources who requested anonymity because they are not authorized to speak on matters before the committee. After receiving testimony from the parties to the dispute, Mr. Lankenau will report his findings to the Title IV [Disciplinary] Review Committee. If that committee determines that the canons have been broken and that the charges are serious, a presentment may be issued and an ecclesiastical trial conducted. Punishment could include deposition. Prior to a determination by...

The bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut on Saturday removed a priest from his duties in a clash over the elevation of a gay bishop in New Hampshire. Connecticut Bishop Andrew D. Smith stripped Mark H. Hansen, formerly of St. John’s Church in Bristol, "of the right to exercise the office of priest in the Episcopal church." Smith had "inhibited," or suspended Hansen six months earlier. "It’s a very sad day," Smith said in an interview Saturday. Hansen was among six priests and their respective parishes who had asked to be supervised by a different bishop because they disagreed...

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) -- The bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut on Saturday removed a priest from his duties in a clash over the elevation of a gay bishop in New Hampshire. Connecticut Bishop Andrew D. Smith stripped Mark H. Hansen, formerly of St. John's Church in Bristol, "of the right to exercise the office of priest in the Episcopal church." Smith acted six months after Hansen's "inhibition," or suspension, that began July 13. "It's a very sad day," Smith said in an interview Saturday. Diocesan officials said last year that Hansen was suspended because he took an unauthorized...

Nineteen Episcopal lay leaders and priests from the Diocese of Connecticut have lodged an official complaint with the office of the Presiding Bishop against the Bishop of Connecticut, accusing the Rt. Rev. Andrew D. Smith of undermining the structure of the Episcopal Church and denying canonical due process for the so-called “Connecticut Six” clergy and their parishes. The complaint states that Bishop Smith unlawfully threatened the six rectors with inhibition, “arrogated to himself the management” of various properties and assets held in trust by the diocese on behalf of St. John's, Bristol; Trinity, Bristol; St. Paul's, Darien; Christ and Epiphany...

Nineteen Episcopal lay leaders and priests in Connecticut have officially charged Andrew Smith, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut, under provisions of canon [church] law. The notification of charges was sent Monday to Frank Griswold, Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church USA (ECUSA). Specifically, signatories charge Bishop Smith with undermining the structure of the Episcopal Church and denying canonical due process for the so-called “Connecticut Six” clergy. These charges accuse Bishop Smith of violating the Episcopal Church’s Constitution, national canons, diocesan canons, and the laws of the state of Connecticut. Laity and clergy from Christ Church, Watertown; Bishop Seabury,...

(AgapePress) - A spokesman for an Episcopal church in Connecticut that was forcibly seized by its liberal bishop because of its opposition to homosexuality says members of the congregation want their building and property back. Connecticut Bishop Andrew Smith recently made an unannounced visit to St. John's Episcopal Church in Bristol and suspended its orthodox priest, replacing him with a pro-homosexuality female priest. With the help of 12 assistants, Bishop Smith dismantled the church's website, hacked into its computers, and gained access to financial records. Dr. William Witt, a spokesman for the vestry, says members of St. John's are doing...

Back now in the States, I have been attending to my wife’s medical and emotional needs and my own need for a break before classes begin by visiting family and driving around old haunts in God’s country (i.e., upstate New York). While thus relaxing, I came across an account of the goings on between bishop Andrew Smith of the Diocese of Connecticut, Fr. Mark Hansen, and the parish of St. John’s, Bristol in the August 7 edition of The Living Church. Readers can, if they wish, brush up on the details by reading the account themselves, or by going to...

Last week Bishop Andrew Smith of Connecticut did the very thing which he had been threatening for several months. Without a trial he ignored all semblance of due process as he declared a priest of his diocese, Fr. Mark Hansen of St. John's Bristol, to be "inhibited," claiming that he had abandoned the Anglican Communion. I wrote an open letter to Bp. Smith on April 17, 2005 to warn him against the actions which he has now takenclaiming that Fr. Hansen has abandoned the Anglican Communion is nonsense, since just the night before the Letter of Inhibition was written, he...

I also attended the meeting last night (Sunday, July 17) with Bishop Smith and offer my report (and then a brief observation). Dr. Witt did a masterful job of presenting our questions and concerns but, as has been reported elsewhere, the Bishop clearly did not want to answer our questions. Rather than explain his actions, he continued to responds by saying "we all need to take baby steps together." When he was pressed, the closest he came was when he said, "the gap had grown too large." He never explained the gap, or whom it was between. Bishop Smith was...

One of the biggest “red flags” of neurology is the “blown pupil”. This term refers to a pupil (the black portion in the center of the eye) that is dilated on one side. If this dilatation occurs suddenly in the context of a severe headache, this may be a sign of severely increased pressure within the brain. The brain may be in danger of being pushed through the foramen magnum (the hole through which the spinal cord joins the brain). That’s bad. All of the most vital functions of the body are controlled by the “brain stem” (the area of...

July 18, 2005Andrew D. Smith, Bishop Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut1335 Asylum AvenueHartford, CT 06105-2295  Dear Mr. Smith:    After following the events of the Episcopal Church USA for the last ten years and learning of your recent inhibition of Father Hansen and the take-over of St. John's Church in Bristol, the following word stands out in my mind:        HYPOCRISY Hypocrisy:  taking a vow that the Bible contains all things necessary to salvation, and then by your words and actions, rejecting those things with which you now disagree; Hypocrisy:  Entitling your Bishop's Column from the April-May edition of Good News: "Life! ....

One down, five to go. At 9:30 a.m. on July 13 liberal Episcopal bishop Andrew Smith of Connecticut, several of his administrators, a pro-gay feminist priest, a locksmith, and a computer technician swooped into conservative, 200-congregant St. John's Episcopal Church in Bristol, Conn. They pried open the locked pastor's office, confiscated pastoral and church records, took down the church's website and redirected traffic to the diocese's website, changed the locks on all the doors, and announced to protesting church leaders and members that the diocese had taken over St. John's. Bishop Smith said he had suspended Rev. Mark Hansen from...

One of six Episcopal priests who had opposed the Connecticut Anglican bishop’s support for the ordination of a gay bishop was temporary banned from his church Wednesday. The Bishop who took this first step toward defrocking blamed an unauthorized sabbatical for the move; the six priests blamed the Bishop. Bishop Andrew D. Smith “inhibited” the Rev. Mark Hansen – rector of St. John’s Church since 1990 – from his duties for the next six months. Hansen had been on sabbatical since April 10 – a move the bishop said was detrimental to the church. In Hansen’s place, the bishop installed...

Has the Episcopal left finally gone too far?  It must be emphasized that this letter to Connecticut's Episcopal Obergruppenfuhrer Andrew Smith from a San Antonio, Texas rector consists only of words, of which there have been far too many for far too long.  But I can't recall too many conservative Anglican words quite this strident:The Rt. Rev. Andrew D. Smith, Bishop The Diocese of Connecticut Dear Bishop Smith, Your actions this past week are an insult to everyone who values the diversity that makes up the Episcopal Church, and a shameless misuse of ecclesiastical authority. Your raid on the office of St....

Everyone should know that we have done nothing wrong! Not Father Mark, not the vestry, not the parish! We did everything by the book. Applied for DEPO, informed Bishop Smith of Father Mark’s sabbatical, wrote numerous letters to Smith (so far as I am aware without a reply back). Over the past few months while Father Mark was on sabbatical, the congregation’s pastoral needs were well taken care of. God Bless Father Clay Knapp for supplying us with Sunday Eucharist. Also Father Thomas Beck provided for Tuesday weekday worship. And as if that wasn’t enough, the rest of the CT6...

A recent statement by the Bishop of Connecticut (issued through his spokesperson, Karen Hamilton), which has been masquerading as a piece of journalism, includes distortions of fact and blatant misrepresentations; it is proof positive of the need for immediate intervention here in Connecticut. There are two major issues that must be addressed: Bishop Smith’s abandonment of orthodox Anglican faith and order and his continued harassment of faithful clergy and congregations in Connecticut. Theological DivideAt its core, our disagreements with Bishop Smith involve the most basic issues of theology and Christian teaching. Since Andrew Smith became diocesan bishop in October 1999,...

Bishop Smith had invited all the clergy of the Diocese Of CT to the Cathedral in Hartford to share a conversation with him about the impasse between him and the “CT Six.” These are the six parish rectors whom Bishop Smith and the Standing Committee of CT have found have “abandoned the communion of the church.” The turn out was very strong. I would say about double what we had for renewal of vows. At least 150 clergy by my count. The tone of the meeting was prayerful and sober. That the contorversy was painful and exacting a high price...