AAC: SENIOR BISHOPS RESPOND TO MEETING REQUEST FROM PB'S COUNCIL OF ADVICE

Senior Bishops Respond to Meeting Request from Presiding Bishop's Council of Advice

American Anglican Council Washington, DC

May 3, 2004

For Immediate Release

On March 14, 2004, Bishops C. FitzSimons Allison, retired Bishop of South Carolina; Maurice Benitez, retired Bishop of Texas; William Cox, retired Assistant Bishop of Oklahoma; Alex Dickson, retired Bishop of West Tennessee, and William Wantland, retired Bishop of Eau Claire confirmed 110 individuals at a multi-congregational Service of Confirmation and Holy Eucharist in Akron, Ohio. Subsequently at the March 2004 House of Bishops Meeting, those Bishops gathered noted that they "repudiate and deplore the unilateral actions" of the five but decided not to seek disciplinary action against them. In a statement released March 24, the House of Bishops accused the five of using confirmation "as an instrument of division and defiance."

"Secretive in its planning, their action was discourteous, disruptive and a willful violation of our Constitution and Canons," the statement continued. The Bishops also emphasized that further "infractions" would result in unspecified "consequences." "At the same time, we hold these five bishops, and one another, accountable for the good order of the Church, the Body of Christ," the statement said. "Therefore, in the future any bishop performing Episcopal acts without the permission of the diocesan bishop will be subject to discipline under our canons."

Recently, the five senior bishops received a letter dated April 16, 2004 from the Rt. Rev. Charles E. Jenkins, Bishop of Louisiana and President of the Presiding Bishop's Council of Advice. In the letter Bishop Jenkins wrote, "The House of Bishops invites you to meet with the members of the Presiding Bishop's Council of Advice to discuss the reasons for your actions, and, to share information with you about the work we continue to do as Bishops to embrace the ministry of reconciliation for the mission of the whole church. I therefore invite you to meet with the Council of Advice in Atlanta, GA on Thursday May 27 at All Saints Church. We will begin at 9:00 AM and work until the late afternoon. The cost of travel will be your own responsibility but I will provide lunch for you on this day."

Referencing the crisis situation in which the Church is immersed, Bishop Jenkins wrote, "As a pastor, it is my hope that each priest that is in disagreement with his or her Bishop will continue to share personal views with the diocesan Bishop. I am convinced the Bishops of this Church are committed to responding generously to requests made in accordance with our plan for Caring for All the Churches." Emerging incidents in several dioceses suggest this often is not the case, however. Bishops Jenkins's letter repeated warnings against further actions, saying, "The House of Bishops also stated clearly that in the future, now that we approved a plan of pastoral care, any Bishop performing Episcopal acts without permission of the bishop diocesan will be subject to discipline under the canons of this church."

The five bishops today released a letter to Bishop Jenkins in response to the request. The letter in its entirety appears below: