So where does that leave us?
Well, firstly there is the matter of the complainant. I am not aware as to who Richard Chartres received the formal complaint from, but he or she should by now have received a copy of the Bishop’s report. Whether the process concluded at section 11 or 12, the complainant has a right to appeal. That means that we may not have heard the last of this. If anybody knows who the formal complainant actually is, do let us know!!!!
Secondly, the fact that the process appears to have concluded at section 12 and 13, and given that the Bishop threatened to take further action against Dudley were he not to permit his letter to be published, implies that despite the paucity of an apology in Dudley’s letter (regret rather than repent – where have we heard that before) it is very clear from the disciplinary procedure that what Dudley did was wrong. The key to the interpretation of the letter is this sentence:
I undertake not to provide any form of blessing for same sex couples registering civil partnerships
.
The implication is clear. What Chartres is threatening is not just action against Dudley, but action against anybody who now performs any form of blessing of a civil partnership (i.e. to equivilate it in any way to a marriage).
Equivilate? Equivilate? Is t his something a rider does with a horse in a competition? L
Larry, never mind the blessing, I’d have had him for ‘popish innovation’ based on the photos alone. I know there has been an essay on this already posted on this site, but why do the ‘higher’ churches always seem to be staffed by people of his ‘trendy’ type. The liturgy is the thing, never mind the theology.
Jon
Oh just found this as well [url=http://www.mailonsunday.co.uk/femail/article-1032348/I–8216-duped-8217-relationship-homosexual-clergyman-crowned-Mr-Gay-Auckland.html]link[/url]
very interesting reading.
Jon
[i]elves remind our commenters, please use tinyurl.com or turn a long url into a link. thanks[/i]
EquivAlate, I meant equivAlate. Picky aren’t you? 🙂
I have made the necessary edit in the piece.
Why thank you, Peter. but………………..
Equivalate? Equivalate? This has made my spellcheck coff and coff and underline things in red, and in general barf. For Heaven’s sake, Peter where DID you get this “word” It isn’t in my OED, but then, I don’t own an OED. As Laugh in uster say, “Look that up in your Funk and Wagnall’s. Ha ha ha Peace, Peter. Larry
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/equivalate
*cough*
Philistine….