Wednesday, September 19, 2007

From the Bishop of Upper South Carolina (on the Lawyer/Bishops’ Report)

http://www.standfirminfaith.com/index.php/site/article/6030/

[Stand Firm] 19 Sep 2007--Apparently it has been reported that I have repudiated the document entitled "The Constitutional Crisis, 2007: A Statement to the House of Bishops, the Archbishop of Canterbury, and Honored Visitors."

That is not accurate.Bishop Doss, some time ago, requested that I participate with a group of lawyer-bishops in working on the document, and, honored to be invited, I agreed to do so. However, due to my own vocational demands -- and perhaps some procrastination -- I did not study the draft and offer suggestions until the very end of the process. Consequently, when I did respond, the work had been completed and sent to the printer.

I did ask -- too late -- that my name be dropped from the list of contributors because, in fact, I had contributed nothing to it. It would be inappropriate for me to take credit for the work of others-but this is not to be interpreted as a repudiation. This document, nothing less than a "magnum opus" is truly worthy to be considered by The Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion -- indeed, as an appropriate part of the process commended to TEC and the Communion in the Windsor Report.

The other reason that I asked that my name not be published -- that is, in addition to the fact that I had not taken advantage of the opportunity to contribute to the document's content -- is, as I explained to Bishop Doss, that I would be "concurring in part and dissenting in part". The concept of an Anglican Constitution is a bold suggestion, and merits our serious study, dialogue and reflection. My contribution to that dialogue can be summarized with these general observations....

No comments: