OHIO: ANGLICANS UNITED APPLAUDS UNPRECEDENTED ACTION

A Statement by the Rev. Todd H. Wetzel, Executive Director, ANGLICANS UNITED & LATIMER PRESS

Anglicans United applauds the unprecedented actions of 5 Faithful bishops in confirming 110 people in Ohio this past Sunday.

For more than a decade, the liberal faction of the Episcopal church has acted in a way that proves it is easier to get forgiveness than it is to get permission. They were repeatedly denied permission for their agenda of ordaining homosexual persons and performing same-sex marriages by successive General Conventions. Yet, they "in good conscience," they continually permitted or "looked the other way" while same-sex blessings and homosexual ordinations proceeded unabated.

Now that these agenda items have been approved by General Convention, it is time for all Faithful Episcopalians to consider actions of ecclesiastical disobedience for reasons of conscience. Faithful Episcopalians in the Diocese of Ohio have stood by through James Moodey and Clark Grew and watched the evisceration of this once proud diocese. Twenty years ago, it numbered over 40,000. It now numbers less than 24,000.

If you are in a diocese headed by an apostate bishop, disobedience of Canon Law - exactly mirroring what the liberals have done for the past decade - is "in good conscience". The liberals have said that we must listen to them and observe their ways. We have. We, sadly, must now meet and match their repeated defiant behavior in support of the Gospel and the Lord we love.

As a father of two boys, I can assure you that I made hard decisions about which bishop would lay his hands on my sons' heads. These parents and priests have done the same. This weekend's House of Bishops meeting must come to grips with the fact that application through the bishop for alternative oversight will not work. It will be fraught with arrogant egos instead of true compassion for every single sheep. The old notion of diocesan boundaries has already been destroyed by the liberals. Now, conservative and faithful, orthodox Episcopalians have the right to be ministered to by a Godly Bishop. The Rubrics and Canons make the definition of Godly clear. Today, many Episcopal Church, USA bishops do not fit the definition.

Anglicans United strongly urges the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church and the House of Bishops to provide more than "adequate" oversight. We challenge you to make access to Godly oversight available to every traditional parish in these United States.