A.S. Haley: Falsehoods Being Spread in South Carolina

July 10, 2014

Now intrudes upon my vocation one of the more unwelcome of my duties as an Anglican Curmudgeon. Having practiced as a trial lawyer for 44 years, the last six of which have been constantly embroiled in litigation with the attorneys for the Episcopal Church (USA), I would rather let the courts sort things out according to the merits of the law and the precedents.

But in the blogworld, anyone can express an opinion -- on any matter whatsoever -- and when the person with the opinion has an advanced degree, he or she thereby gains a sort of Internet prestige that not everyone touts, or can enjoy. After all, a Ph.D. degree is possessed by a very small proportion of those blogging on the Internet, and so it must carry some weight -- right?

As usual, the answer is: "It depends -- on what field the degree is in, and on what field in which the particular Ph.D is expressing his or her opinion." The Presiding Bishop of ECUSA has a Ph.D degree in oceanography, but that degree (as such) does not make her an expert in Episcopal Church canon law (as the posts gathered on this page abundantly illustrate). In all of her canonical decisions, she has accepted the advice of her Chancellor, who is an expert in the Church's canon law, but who has a rather blasé view of the function of canons (scroll down to "milestone #2").

Moreover, since the Presiding Bishop has (most irregularly, for a nonprofit religious organization) allowed her Chancellor to employ his own law firm to prosecute the 70-odd cases brought by ECUSA (or to which it is or was a party), one would have to believe that the Chancellor is not exactly a disinterested party when it comes to expressing opinions on Church canon law. His firm's very employment depends upon the opinions which he furnishes (in confidence, of course) to the Presiding Bishop! the rest