Response to the House of Bishops Statement

http://wvparson.blogspot.com/2007/03/response-to-hofb-statement.html

[Fr. Tony Clavier] 24 Mar 2007--When I finished reading the Statement of the House of Bishops of March 20th, a rather depressing thought filled me. Given the auto-propaganda instilled in American from birth about the “particularity" of America, its foundation, purpose, moral and political superiority, is it really possible for Americans to belong to any international body, political or religious, as an equal and co-dependent party? I again realized that the intensity of such “jingoist” sentiments increases in periods when the “End of Empire” seems a possibility.

The statement is interesting in that it wraps what would seem to be the most altruistic agenda in the bright paper of ecclesial nationalism. One expected that when the text was adopted all pledged allegiance to the TEC Flag and sung the National Anthem. Perhaps this is a bit harsh a judgment, but it is very important that something is said at this point about what I perceive to be the ethical flaws in the statement. I am not referring to the sexual issues, but rather the matter of how Christian values should be applied to the responses made by our leaders. I’ve also had some rather mischievous thoughts about sending the Statement to a family systems expert who is not an Episcopalian to get some thoughts on the contents and revelations about our collective episcopate!