Communion-sponsored mediation proposed for South Carolina

ACI urges use of the Windsor process to resolve split
November 21, 2012
By George Conger

Resolution of the South Carolina standoff would best be served by an international intervention of the type proposed by the Anglican Communion's Windsor Continuation Group, the Anglican Communion Institute (ACI) said last night in a paper released on its website.

The American-based church think tank has proposed the national Episcopal Church and the Diocese of South Carolina take up the recommendations of the Windsor Continuation Group formed by Dr. Rowan Williams.

The ACI stated the WCG recommended that in cases of theological dispute between a diocese and province “a provisional holding arrangement” for the diocese be crafted that would “enable dialogue to take place and which will be revisited on the conclusion of the Covenant Process." the rest

It is unclear if such a proposal will be received favorably by the national church. Speaking on 17 Nov 2012 in Chicago at an academic conference, the former Archbishop of Canterbury Lord Carey described the situation in South Carolina as "utter madness." He argued the Episcopal Church had lost sight of its essential mission and was now a creature of its canons. While not sharing Lord Carey’s views on the underlying issues, the former Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church Frank T. Griswold conceded the Episcopal Church in recent years seemed to have lost its spirit of “liberality” and did not handle well dissent.