A retired bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Quincy on Thursday said he won’t fight charges that he broke church law last year by performing confirmations at a San Diego church.
“You can’t fight them because it’s true – I did it,” Bishop Retired Edward MacBurney said.
The 80-year-old MacBurney, who lives in Clinton Valley, Iowa, served as bishop of the west-central Illinois diocese from 1988 to 1994.
. . .and [url=http://newsok.com/article/3216192]here[/url]
is what +Cox says in the News OK report:
[blockquote] A trial was never held, but the House of Bishops voted him out Wednesday for abandoning the communion of the church.
“Which I did,” Cox said.[/blockquote]
God Bless them both….
And we thank you for doing it, Bishop. God bless you.
Fierce may be the conflict,
strong may be the foe,
but the King’s own army
none can overthrow;
round his standard ranging,
victory is secure,
for his truth unchanging
makes the triumph sure.
Joyfully enlisting,
by thy grace divine,
we are on the Lord’s side,
Savior, we are thine!
From the hymn, Who is on the Lord’s Side, words by Frances Havergal
Bishop MacBurney, thanks for your witness to the LORD’s love.
“Yes, I abandoned the rat ship…er…the communion of this Club…uh, Church.”
“You can’t fight them because it’s true—I did it”
Well, you could fight the charge by (1) asserting claims of conscience and (2) arguing that the House of Bishops should refuse to depose a bishop for ministering to an Anglican congregation. You wouldn’t win but the points are still worth making.
PS to #6: You might call this approach “looking them in the eye and making them pull the trigger.”
In so doing it, you would provide an educational experience to ECUSA’s dear, sweet “moderate” and “Windsorwimpish” bishops.
If you break the law, you pay the consequences. MLK, Gandhi, and every person who has ever done it for a good cause knows that. In fact, that is the point – to make people aware of injustice.
It’s not comfortable, but necessary.
Fortunately, he has his pension, and even if he’s deposed, the house of Bishops won’t take it from him.
If they tried to take his pension from him, they’d be breaking Federal law…….and none of them wants to go to jail! Necessary? Sure…..if you want to stifle dissent! “Injustice?” It sure is! Do I agree with Bishop MacBurney? I sure DO!
John Wilkins #8, was this the fate of those who non-canonically “ordained” females to the priesthood, the gay to the diaconate and the priesthood against existing canon? Injustice-awareness seems to be purely one-sided, doesn’t it?
#10. Thanks for bringing up the two wrongs makes a right argument. But it’s old news. If convention had decided to defrock them, they could have and chose not to. No need to assume they wouldn’t pay the penalty. As far as the gay deacon, that was brought before the court. As it should have been. And dismissed. As it also should have been.
#11 proves the point he attempts to refute: enforcement of the canons is selective. As often happens, might makes right and justice be damned.