Episcopal Church falls on its sword - response of orthodox bishops

http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=5714

[VirtueOnline] 24 Mar 2007--The Rt. Rev. William Wantland, former Bishop of Eau Claire had this to say: "First, I am deeply disturbed by the action of a number of heterophobic bigots, who encourage homosexuals to engage in a practice which is cruel and deadly. 91% of all male homosexuals engage in anal sodomy. Regular practice of anal sodomy will shorten human life an average of 26 years, even without factoring in AIDS. These people, purporting to act in the name of the Church, are as evil as those who would give whiskey to alcoholics. What 815 2nd Ave. (the national church's headquarters in New York City) is urging is death on a grand scale, and calling it care and support of their victims, without any regard for what they are doing. Don't ever say that TEC cares for or loves its homosexual members."

Second, the action is also based on a blindness to history. How dare they say that TEC is totally autonomous, and that TEC is not answerable in either liturgy or canon to others in the Anglican Communion. Do they not know how PECUSA came into existence? When an American Book of Common Prayer was first proposed in 1785, it was submitted to the Archbishops of Canterbury and York for approval. The Archbishops found it unacceptable, and the Americans were told to make a number of changes. Likewise, in proposed Constitution and Canons, the process for electing Bishops was unacceptable. So, in 1789, when General Convention met, it approved a BCP acceptable to the Archbishops, and a canonical process of electing Bishops that conformed to the demands of the Archbishops. There was absolutely NO claim of autonomy and the right to do as Americans pleased. But now, TEC has become an imperial force, answerable to no one.

"TEC is no longer a Catholic body. It is no longer even a Christian one. It is simply an embodiment of a corrupt, historically inaccurate, spirit of this age. And if the Anglican Communion does not see TEC for what it really is, even that Communion will be on its way to be a miserable footnote in Christian history."