The Catholic movement in The Episcopal Church has degenerated from a theological imperative into haberdashery, the retired Bishop of Fort Worth, the Rt. Rev. Clarence C. Pope, Jr., told a reporter for The Living Church, explaining his departure to the Roman Catholic Church.<\/p>\n
On Aug. 6, Bishop Pope wrote to Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, resigning from the House of Bishops, and telephoned his successor, the Rt. Rev. Jack L. Iker, to announce his decision.<\/p>\n
Bishop Pope said the Catholic movement, which has been part of \u201cAnglicanism from the time of the Elizabethan Settlement, has gradually dissipated until we are left with lots of \u201d\u02dccatholic\u2019 vestments worn in areas of The Episcopal Church where \u201d\u02dclow church\u2019 used to be the order of the day.\u201d\u009d<\/p>\n
The movement has reached its end within the current institutional structures of The Episcopal Church, Bishop Pope asserted, and as a matter of conscience, it was time for him to go.<\/p>\n