tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6786565.post111205301200135208..comments2023-12-17T16:13:06.670-05:00Comments on In a Godward direction: A Memorable DaydreamTobias Stanislas Haller BSGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08047429477181560685noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6786565.post-1112452512273801632005-04-02T09:35:00.000-05:002005-04-02T09:35:00.000-05:00Ah, Br. Thomas has no particular inside informatio...Ah, Br. Thomas has no particular inside information, just the best guess I can make from the available information.<BR/><BR/>My guess is not that the bishop won't try, just that there is little chance of it actually happening. But that doesn't make the risk ignorable and is surely cold comfort to those tasked with struggling in those places.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6786565.post-1112308709299276662005-03-31T17:38:00.000-05:002005-03-31T17:38:00.000-05:00I fear you may be correct, Simeon. This is all the...I fear you may be correct, Simeon. This is all the more ironic given the sexual orientation of a former bishop of Dallas. I have it on good authority (an elderly retired priest who served in Dallas <I>many</I> years ago) who told me half a decade ago that back in his salad days it was common knowledge among the clergy of like orientation, and that the diocese became rather a safe harbor. I have no idea, by the way, which bishop this retired priest referred to, but share his bemusement at how things have changed.Tobias Stanislas Haller BSGhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08047429477181560685noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6786565.post-1112138655749893342005-03-29T18:24:00.000-05:002005-03-29T18:24:00.000-05:00I agree that there is nothing to be "gained" in th...I agree that there is nothing to be "gained" in this possible action, other than the buildup of emotional steam to provoke further angry partisanship. I've seen that pattern before, as when ESA departed from the Episcopal Church in the early 90s. The partisan goal is supercession of the Episcopal Church, not influence over it; they believe this is what is going to happen when their new church is recognized as the legitimate voice of Anglicanism in North America. The agenda has been laid out; we can only await the sad denouement.Tobias Stanislas Haller BSGhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08047429477181560685noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6786565.post-1112055695469677552005-03-28T19:21:00.000-05:002005-03-28T19:21:00.000-05:00It seems to me that this daydream is only that. S...It seems to me that this daydream is only that. Suppose that Diocese X holds an election. What do they gain by doing so and having the bishops fail to consent? They get to say "you're being inconsistent?" Well, they <I>already</I> say that. And the situations are so obviously different, that there is no additional credibility to saying that.<BR/><BR/>Would they proceed to seek a non-canonical ordination of such a candidate? We have what we are already facing as a prospect in Pittsburgh and Fort Worth: the outright attempted secession of a diocese from the Episcopal Church.<BR/><BR/>Would they try that? Perhaps. The people who have been doing this stuff have <I>already</I> been breaking key canons whose purpose is to regulate disputes. A certain fat man who speaks a lot in the name of Diocese X is very fond of making up new rules, claiming nobody else is following them, and then saying this legitimizes his folk from following the rules which are not new, but out there on paper in black and white.<BR/><BR/>So if Diocese X provokes things in this way, it isolates them. (Notice that Diocese X, Pittsburgh, and Fort Worth are the only ones in any danger of secession; other places like Albany and San Joaquin and SW Florida and Dallas are certainly not.)<BR/><BR/>Moreover, outright secession forces them to lose, because they immediately and instantly lose all power and influence in the Episcopal Church. This is why these folks, including the fat spokesman for diocese X, make lots of blustery threats, but cannot carry through on them.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com