U.S. Catholic Misreads Episcopal Church Situation

Saw this today at U.S. Catholic.

The Anglican Communion is inching further toward dissolution, with Archbishop Rowan Williams suspension of the Episcopal Church, U.S.A. because it violated a moratorium on ordaining bishops with same-sex partners with Mary Glasspool in L.A. Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori responded with a strongly worded rejection of the action, all but accusing Williams and conservatives in the Anglican Communion of ecclesiastical imperialism. ...................

this isn't really about the acceptance of people of different sexual orientations in the church or about the ordination of women. It's about where authority rests in the church. Presiding Bishop Schori and the Womenpriests movement clearly lean toward the local, while Archbishop Rowan Williams and Bishop Amos lean toward the central. ..........................

..................... Butler Bass claims history is on the side of the grassroots, but I'm not so sure. Catholics tend to favor the "both-and" of tradition, but what happens when the distance between two positions is so far apart?

I do have to give it to Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori. She has really got people thinking she stands for the little guy and gal.

The problem is this is incorrect. I guess it depends on by what you mean by "Local".

If you mean by local amassing more and more power in the Central Office in New York well I guess that is local.

If you mean by local suing Episcopal congregations and now possibly some very historic Dioceses well I guess that is local.

The fact is under her tenure the the TEC head office and National Conference has accumulated a lot of power. In fact I suspect Catholic Liberals might not be too pleased if the United States Catholic Bishops Conference had such authority.

Further if you look at parts of this document dealing with arguments for Sex Sex marriage it appears the TEC is progressive American Exceptional ism on steroids which it fill compelled to export worldwide . See “Same-Sex Relationships in the Life of the Church”. and look at the progressive last argument.

The problem is The Archbishop of Canterbury is not a Pope Light. He is being urged to action by various other local communities. Especially in Africa.

The problem here is not so much a centralization of power issue. The issue here is more akin toe Eastern Orthodoxy. In the Orthodox system you have various "Churches" in communion with each other. They also are hesitant about making any new bold moves as to Doctrine unless they all agree. That is the problem here.

While certain leaders like to dress this up as "Local authority" in reality it is much more closer to an American Imperialism than people wish to admit.