“We are not going to cross boundaries in this. If [dioceses] want to leave, then they’ve made their decision, and the doors are open ”” but only those who have taken the steps to walk away from the Episcopal Church,” he emphasised. The three Forward in Faith (FiF) dioceses of Fort Worth, Quincy, and San Joaquin confirmed at the FiF international conference in London last month that conversations about affiliating with an overseas province were “very far along” (News, 26 October).
When asked if it made any difference whether disaffected dioceses joined the Convocation of Anglicans in North America (CANA) or the Province of the Southern Cone, Bishop Venables said there was “No difference whatsoever. We just feel we’re here to help, and they decide where they’d like to find a home. People are free to choose. If a decision is to be made, we want it to be an accountable and shared decision that we all make, not just an unravelling that happens because circumstances take it that way.”
The Bishops of the Southern Cone have justified their action as a response to a “deep and desperate crisis”. They have cited the absence of references, in the US bishops’ response to the Primates from New Orleans, to Lambeth resolution 1:10 on human sexuality, and to the Anglican Covenant. They also cite the Episcopal Church’s continuing “blessing of what God seeks to redeem”; increasing lawsuits; disregard of the needs of orthodox parishes; and failure to provide alternative oversight.