The following has been sent out by the Anglican Communion Office in London to all parts of the world. It had already been circulated in the USA. My comments on it follow the text.
ACNS 3128 - USA - 11 September 2002
'The difficulties . . . are at heart pastoral':
The Presiding Bishop's statement on the conflict at Church of the Good ShepherdFor more than a year I have sought to resolve the impasse between the Bishop and Standing Committee of the Diocese of Pennsylvania and the rector and vestry of the Church of the Good Shepherd, Rosemont. Although I have no canonical authority in this diocesan matter, I have employed every means at my disposal to help find a way forward that honored the concerns of all, and strongly urged that they enter into a process of mediation. During this time, I have met with Bishop Bennison as well as Father Moyer and members of the Vestry of the Church of the Good Shepherd.
To my mind the difficulties between the parties are at heart pastoral, and therefore resolution could have been found without recourse to canons and rubrics. This failure to resolve the conflict has been costly for all involved. As chief pastor of the Episcopal Church in the United States it grieves me deeply that this rift has occurred in the body of Christ. It grieves me further when a bishop's ministry is not welcomed by a congregation, a diocese loses the services of one of its priests, and the mission of the church risks losing the commitment and energies of dedicated members of a congregation.
I am aware that some have said this conflict is an indication that those with "traditionalist" views do not have a place in the Episcopal Church. I cannot say strongly enough that this is not the case. Unfortunately, it is the difficult and anomalous situations that draw notice, as if they were normative. Indeed, this occurrence is a sad exception to how the ecclesial life of the Episcopal Church in the United States is lived.
The Most Revd Frank T Griswold
Presiding Bishop and Primate
The Episcopal Church, USA
Comments by the Revd Dr. Peter Toon on the above.
1.Bishop Griswold believes that the real issue between the parties was/is pastoral. I am not clear whether he means the pastoral care of the bishop for his priest, the pastoral care of the bishop for this one parish, a part of his diocesan flock, or in reverse the pastoral submission of a priest to his bishop, as well as the pastoral care of a parish by the rector. It could be one or all or more than these things. "Pastoral" is a word often used in the ECUSA imprecisely and seems to be a way of saying that the matter involves emotions, convictions, and principles which cause people to disagree or argue or separate, and that suitable dialogue, conversation, therapy and patience will usually help - and that legal action does not help.
2. Bishop Griswold does not seem sufficiently to allow that there are within the ECUSA (as in the Anglicanism of the North or West) emerging doctrinal & ethical divisions that are so wide and deep that no means of uniting them are in sight-not even the best "pastoral" means. That is why various emergency measures like Flying Bishops have been used in England in order to mitigate such emerging divisions. The only way that churches such as Rosemont (and e.g., All Saints' Wynnewood and St James the Less, Philadelphia) can stay within the diocese of PA and in the ECUSA is if reasonable recognition is made of these divisions in Anglicanism and in their light politically wise and genuinely caring decisions are taken by the majority to give space to the minority (the so-called traditionalists), who have often asked for such consideration in the ECUSA.
3. Bishop Griswold says that traditionalists are not being pushed out of the ECUSA. I think that this is what he genuinely believes, even though it may not be supported by the public evidence. However, if they are not being pushed out, and if their doctrinal position is to be taken seriously, then he most surely knows that traditional parishes committed to historic orthodox doctrine and ethics cannot in conscience allow into their chancels and pulpits bishops who knowingly and clearly reject such orthodox teaching and deliberately teach what is ( to traditional people) heresy and immorality. Not a few such "heretical" bishops sit on the ECUSA bench of bishops.
4. Bishop Griswold ought (not should, for it is surely a moral duty) in the light of his own stated views be seeking to implement with all speed a generous and soundly based system of Flying Bishops as a means for the immediate future of keeping traditionalist parishes in the ECUSA in a state where they are not under threat but are encouraged to grow and prosper. And part of this moral duty includes persuading his fellow bishops of the need for and rightness of such a system.
5. If Bishop Griswold is - as he here claims to be - the CHIEF PASTOR of the ECUSA [this seems to be a promotion from presiding bishop of the house of bishops] then his moral duty is absolutely clear. There are some sheep in his fold with a good pedigree who are being badly treated by some of the rest. As the senior shepherd he needs to manage and guide his flock in a better way so that this persecution ceases. If needs be, he must make special provision for grazing rights for the minority until such time as all can graze in the same field.
6. If Bishop Griswold would set out in a major statement on a major occasion his intention of making honourable space for traditional Anglicans in the ECUSA , including provision of suitable Episcopal care, then I for one would believe that he is acting PASTORALLY in his capacity as CHIEF PASTOR. Then he must move quickly from words to deeds so that relative peace can be obtained.
7. Bishop Griswold with his present stance of doing nothing to preserve and commend classic orthodoxy is making a strong case to the world for an alternative National Anglican Church in the USA made up of orthodox-minded people who have already left the ECUSA together with the remnant of orthodox-minded people who remain within the same.
The Rev'd Dr. Peter Toon
Minister of Christ Church, Biddulph Moor,
England & Vice-President and Emissary-at-Large
of The Prayer Book Society of America
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