Rev. Canon Phil Ashey: Archbishop Welby, what will you do about it?

Posted September 28, 2015

I’m not fond of litigation.  I take our witness to the world very seriously, and the damage to that witness from Christians suing each other is serious. And even though my former profession as a criminal prosecutor put me in the position of litigating daily in the courts, I would much prefer followers of Jesus Christ being able to follow I Corinthians 6 and work out their disagreements within the Church, through church or secular sponsored arbitration services and negotiated settlements.

I cannot, however, let the injustice pass that occurred in the oral arguments before the South Carolina Supreme Court, between the Diocese of South Carolina (Bishop Mark Lawrence) and The Episcopal Church (TEC.) There must have been quite a few people watching the live stream—because there apparently wasn’t any room for me to access it when I tried. But attorney Alan Haley (aka The Anglican Curmudgeon), was able to watch it and then review it again in the archives to make the following point.

The newest Justice of the South Carolina Supreme Court, Kaye Hearn, should have recused herself from the hearing. During the proceedings, she demonstrated blatant bias, prejudice, and disregard for court precedent throughout the hearing. It is no surprise that she is a member of a TEC congregation in South Carolina and a founding member of The Episcopal Forum of South Carolina, which helped bring disciplinary charges against Bishop Mark Lawrence under TEC’s Title IV.

Alan Haley has done an exhaustive job detailing the evidence of bias in Justice Hearn’s questions, citing for any listener the exact point in the tape where she speaks...  the rest

So we come back to the Archbishop of Canterbury and his call for a gathering of Primates.  If this is not just another “gabfest,” if this is really an attempt to return to the authority the Primates were willing to exercise back in 2007 at Dar, what will this Archbishop of Canterbury do with TEC, the Anglican Church of Canada and the endless litigation?  The new Presiding Bishop of TEC, Michael Curry, will be there. He has just a month before he takes office—but so far, his utter silence on TEC’s litigation speaks volumes. There is no reason to believe this late in the game that he will change any policy or strategy. The litigation will go on as long as the dollars remain to fund it.