Bishop Schori's personal Canon Theologian appointed to represent the Anglican Communion in official Roman Catholic/Anglican Eccumenical Dialogue

from BabyBlueOnline by BabyBlue

The Canon Theologian to the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church has been appointed to represent the Anglican Communion in official ecumenical dialogue with the Roman Catholic Church.

Anglican Communion Office announced that the Rev'd Dr. Mark McIntosh, a priest from the progressive Episcopal Diocese of Chicago now on leave at a university in England has been selected to officially represent the Anglican Communion in the the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commisson (ARCIC). He also serves as the Canon Theologian to Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori as well as chaplain under her authority in the Episcopal House of Bishops.

This is in apparent defiance of the intent in the Archbishop of Canterbury'sPentecost Letter issued last May where he specified that:

provinces that have formally, through their Synod or House of Bishops, adopted policies that breach any of the moratoria requested by the Instruments of Communion and recently reaffirmed by the Standing Committee and the Inter-Anglican Standing Commission on Unity, Faith and Order (IASCUFO) should not be participants in the ecumenical dialogues in which the Communion is formally engaged.

Following the publication Archbishop of Canterbury's May 28, 2010 letter, five American Episcopalians were removed from the Orthodox, Lutheran, Methodist and Old Catholic dialogue commissions, while Dr. Katherine Grieb of the Virginia Theological Seminary was demoted from membership in the Anglican UFO commission to consultant status, George Conger reports.

The Church of England Newspaper is reporting that Mark McIntosh was personally selected by Kenneth Kearon, the General Secretary of the Anglican Communion.

In addition, Dr. McIntosh is one of the co-authors of “To Set Our Hope on Christ” a paper presented to the ACC meeting in Nottingham after the Episcopal Church was asked to step back from voting membership following the actions of the General Convention in 2003. The paper sought to defend the Episcopal Church’s innovations of doctrine and discipline over human sexuality, ordination, and marriage following the election and consecration of Gene Robinson as the Episcopal Bishop of New Hampshire.

While the American Dr. McIntosh is currently licensed in the Church of England's Diocese of Durham (where the bishop's seat is vacant following the departure of Bishop N.T. Wright), the appearance of this appointment of the Presiding Bishop's Canon Theologian violates the very spirit of Rowan Williams Pentecost Letter - that the Episcopal Church's actions have brought the Communion into crisis. It is clear that Dr. McIntosh has had a front row seat in advocating these actions.

Such a move appears to keep the Episcopal Church influentially engaged in the hierarchy of the Anglican Communion despite its recent communion-breaking actions. The Church of England has lost bishops in recent weeks to Rome and this is the response? Does this action not undermine any attempt to engage in genuine and meaningful ecumenical dialogue between the Anglican Communion and the Roman Catholic Church?

Does this action not break the trust of Anglicans - as well as Roman Catholics - not only in England and the United States, but also around the world?

In the meantime, let's not forget where our real hope resides. It's not easy, but amazing things are happening in ministry, in the common ministry of Anglicans and Roman Catholics and more will be happening this year.