Washington Bishop: Archbishop ‘Contributes to Confusion’

In the future the ABC and the NYT will have to consult with Bp. Chane before they do their jobs. It's obvious that neither share Chane's sensibilities and if they'd just consult him before taking any action we could clear up this terrible situation. ed.

Source: The Living Church

The Rt. Rev. John B. Chane, Bishop of Washington, has lashed out at Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams for encouraging separatist elements in The Episcopal Church to establish a rival Anglican province in North America. He declared it "highly unlikely" that the new province would receive official recognition.

"It would be folly for the Archbishop to even consider recognizing a non-geographical province because it would unleash chaos in the Communion, with theological minorities in every jurisdiction seeking to affiliate with like-minded Anglicans in other provinces," Bishop Chane wrote on the diocese's website. "Unfortunately the Archbishop has contributed to the confusion and anxiety the leaders of the proposed provinces have sought to foster by meeting on numerous occasions with [Bishop] Duncan and his allies. These meetings have bestowed an unwarranted sense of legitimacy on those who seek to deconstruct the Anglican Communion."

Bishop Chane also criticized The New York Times and other media organizations for the prominence with which it reported last week's launch of the new province.

"The movers of the proposed new province embarrass themselves, The Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion by the self-serving media coverage they have worked so hard to achieve," he said. "To learn that The New York Times considers the complaints of these deposed, retired and irregularly consecrated bishops to be front page news suggests a fixation on ‘culture wars' reporting that deprives readers of a true sense of the challenges facing the church in this country."

Bishop Chane said he felt compelled to respond "because our clergy and congregations need to know the current status of the irregularly proposed new province within our church," he said.