Trinity Episcopal School for Ministry Names the Very Rev. Paul Zahl New Dean and President May 13, 2004 Zahl's Ministry to Play Integral Role in Future of Anglican Witness Ambridge, PA (May 13, 2004) - The Trinity Episcopal School for Ministry Board of Trustees announced today that the Very Rev. Paul F. M. Zahl has accepted a unanimous and enthusiastic call by the board to become the new Dean and President, succeeding the Very Rev. Dr. Peter Moore who will retire next month. Chairman of the Board of Trustees Hugo Blankingship said, "The Lord has blessed us indeed, as Paul will assume the awesome responsibility of Trinity's vital role as a bearer of an orthodox evangelical witness in North America." In partnership with Trinity's existing highly qualified and dedicated faculty, Zahl will be responsible for developing curriculum, programming and partnerships to prepare Trinity for long-term worldwide Christian ministry. According to the Rev. Canon David H. Roseberry, search committee chair, "After an exhaustive, prayerful, international search we have found an excellent leader who is responding to a genuine call from God. He will be able to lead our students, faculty and alums to preach and teach the Gospel throughout the world." He added, "The enormous worldwide response to our search (which included candidates from Canada, England and Africa among others) and the caliber of the candidates who emerged indicates that Trinity has come into its own. Trinity will be an important training ground for the next generation of Anglican leaders." Zahl, 52, was ordained in the Episcopal Church in 1976. With undergraduate studies at Chapel Hill and Harvard, and graduate studies at Nottingham, he was awarded the Doctorate in Theology from Eberhard-Karls-Universität, Tübingen in 1994. Since 1995 he has served as dean of Cathedral Church of the Advent in Birmingham, Alabama. Zahl and his wife, Mary, will relocate to Ambridge in early August, though he will assume the office of Trinity Dean and President on July 1, 2004. Trinity Episcopal School for Ministry in Ambridge, Pennsylvania, serves the Lord by forming Christian leaders, both lay and ordained. Trinity is a seminary in the Anglican tradition, especially serving the Episcopal Church as an evangelical, "Great Commission" seminary. Trinity also serves all those committed to the spread of the gospel, whatever their tradition. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Media Contact: Mr. Wicks Stephens Trinity Episcopal School for Ministry 311 Eleventh St. Ambridge, PA 15003 (724) 266-3838 wstephens@tesm.edu

INDONESIA 14 May 2004 An Indonesian church leader wrongly convicted of possession of firearms and imprisoned in Palu, Sulawesi, has been allowed to go to Jakarta for medical treatment due to the intervention of a Muslim cleric. Rinaldy Damanik was wrongly convicted of possession of firearms on 16 June 2003. He was sentenced to three years imprisonment, due to end in September 2005. Rinaldy was a signatory of the Malino peace agreement in December 2001 and has worked hard to end the violence. He has also been an outspoken critic of the police's handling of the anti-Christian violence, which many feel to be the real reason for his arrest. On 12 April 2004 he became extremely ill, frequently collapsing with a high fever. He had a stone in his urethra and was in urgent need of ultrasound treatment which could not be carried out in the provincial hospital. He was in constant acute pain and in and out of consciousness. At first, the authorities would not let him leave Palu for the necessary treatment. Pastor Damanik's legal advocates tried on several occasions to convince officials to allow his temporary hospitalisation in Jakarta to no avail. However, after the amazing and unexpected intervention of a senior Muslim cleric, officials finally let him and his entourage travel to Jakarta on Tuesday 4 May, accompanied by two prison guards and two policemen. Some months ago, the cleric had a vision during prayer that he was to visit Rinaldy in prison. Since then, Ustadz Idrus Alhabsy, who appealed on Damanik's behalf, has been impressed by Rinaldy's life and words. Recently, he became infuriated when he read in the newspapers about how Rinaldy was being treated and how he would die if he did not receive medical treatment. Alhabsy showed great compassion and courage of conviction when he went to the prison on 4 May and confronted the authorities, tearfully pleading for Damanik's release. This dramatic turn of events was very welcome. Very quickly, approval was given for Rinaldy to fly to Jakarta the next day, 5 May, for specialised treatment. Upon arrival in Jakarta, it was discovered that the stone in his urethra had miraculously dissolved without the need for an operation, though it caused a large scratch. He is still in some pain and will be treated further in Palu, due to stones in his kidneys and a possible Hepatitis B infection. Rinaldy Damanik's supporters have to raise the funds required for travel to and from Jakarta and for any hospital treatment that he receives there. Barnabas Fund has been able to be of service by allocating some funds for this purpose.

"But the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart and he would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the Lord said to Moses...he (Pharaoh) and his officials hardened their hearts." Exodus 9:12 & 34 Dear Brothers and Sisters, It is now becoming apparent to this writer and to the orthodox leadership in The Episcopal Church that God is hardening the hearts of its revisionist bishops. As He did with Pharaoh in the days of the Exodus, he is doing again today. And just as the wrath of God was visited upon Pharaoh, so it will be on ECUSA's unbelieving bishops. The hearts of unbelieving, canonically Fundamentalist ECUSA bishops are being turned against the truth; they have turned the truth of God into a lie and as a result they will now do all in their power to stamp out the remnant of orthodox, faithful believing priests, inhibiting them, reducing their status as rectors, demanding more and more money, while pushing congregations to accept unbelieving inclusionist priests to lead them. In one diocese after another the screws are being tightened, fear and loathing reigns as rectors and vestries weigh their future as letters pour in from revisionist bishops demanding loyalty to the Canons and Constitutions of the Church while the Faith itself is rubbished and made irrelevant. CONSIDER THE FOLLOWING: DIOCESE OF WESTERN NEW YORK Bishop J. Michael Garrison has come down hard on three rectors in his diocese writing letters demanding loyalty and money. He has lowered the boom on one orthodox rector, making unreal demands on him, in order to stifle the priest's canonical right for Delegated Episcopal Pastoral Oversight. DIOCESE OF BETHLEHEM Bishop Paul Marshall is coming down on Anglo-Catholic priest William Ilgenfritz, because the priest is orthodox. The bishop has written a book lauding lesbian love. DIOCESE OF PENNSYLVANIA Bishop Charles Bennison is waging war on three Anglo-Catholic parishes with multiple lawsuit actions pending. Now he is threatening an Evangelical parish priest, demanding the right to make a visitation even though his own Standing Committee has told him not to and the rector has asked for alternative Episcopal oversight. DIOCESE OF NEWARK Bishop John Croneberger has tossed out a Hispanic woman priest because she attended the Plano conference last year. They say she resigned, she says she was fired and has hired an attorney. DIOCESE OF ALABAMA Bishop William Parsley is playing hard ball with several parishes who want to join the Network. He gave Dr. Paul Zahl a hard time when he was Dean of Advent Cathedral. Parsley won't relent it seems till everyone has fallen into line with his way of thinking. DIOCESE OF MASSACHUSETTS Bishop Tom Shaw refused to ordain an Evangelical priest despite his four years of jumping through hoops. The deacon, Simon Barnes who is now resident in the Diocese of Pennsylvania will now be priested by Bishop Bob Duncan of the Diocese of Pittsburgh in the Diocese of New Jersey. Go figure. DIOCESE OF CONNECTICUT A dozen orthodox priests are in conflict with their bishop Andrew D. Smith. They watch and wait hoping the Lambeth Commission will give them room to breathe the fresh air of orthodoxy. One priest has already had a public face off with the bishop. DIOCESE OF MISSOURI A lone orthodox rector has told the bishop he's leaving and believes he has a legal, moral and ecclesiastical right to the property. Bishop George Wayne Smith thinks otherwise and it is all going to court. DIOCESE OF NEW YORK A lonely orthodox priest on the banks of the Hudson River walks on eggshells with Mark Sisk his bishop. He wants DEPO but has to face a tyrannical revisionist suffragan bishop in the person of Cathy Roskam. DIOCESE OF EASTERN MICHIGAN Bishop Ed Leidel faces a revolt from some six parishes in the Flint River Convocation (Deanery). Two priests have already resigned, parishes are losing people and money to the diocese is in free fall. DIOCESE OF VIRGINIA Several wealthy orthodox parish priests will shortly face the wrath of Bishop Peter Lee when he realizes that the money pool is drying up faster than he can replace it. They have it, he wants it. Their pain has only just begun. DIOCESE OF MISSISSIPPI The vestry of an orthodox parish expressed its displeasure to the Bishop Duncan Gray for assigning to them, as an interim priest, a man they say is not only a homosexual, but living in a non-celibate relationship with another man. The Bishop briefly engaged his brain and the priest was quietly recalled. This kind of thing went on for years in the Diocese of Washington under Bishop Ron Haines – dumping queer priests on unsuspecting orthodox parishes by his development officer Ted Karpf. DIOCESE OF SOUTHERN OHIO The Rt. Rev. Herbert Thompson, Jr. removed the Rev. John Reade, who has been serving as priest-in-charge at All Saints', Portsmouth, apparently to prevent any conflict that might arise from Fr. Reade's orthodox Christian faith and his decision to leave The Episcopal Church for the Roman Catholic Church. Fr. Reade was ordained to the priesthood in June 2003. Heaven forbid that Fr. Reade should lead others "astray". AND ALL THE WHILE THIS IS GOING ON Orthodox bishops cross diocesan lines to minister to faithful priests in a revisionist diocese, while a revisionist bishop (Walter Righter) works without permission in the Diocese of Pittsburgh. And to top off the insanity a queer bishop marries his partner in the revisionist Diocese of California, which the diocesan, Bishop Swing protested because it was a "marriage" and not a "blessing" as if that is going to impress the Primates. DIOCESE OF NEW JERSEY - THE OUTRAGE CONTINUES Ms. Mantelle Bradley, the pregnant lesbian priest Youth Ministry leader in the diocese gave birth and so could not attend the last Happening weekend. But not to worry, a source told Virtuosity, she was there showing off the new baby to all of the teens participating. And a couple of weeks ago, her baby was baptized by Bishop George Councell. "They had to have the baptism in her partners church because the two churches that Mantelle is vicar of were too small for the crowd of well-wishers which included the teens from around the diocese who idolize her," said the source. WEST COAST EPISCOPALIANS TO MEET Orthodox West Coast Episcopalians will meet in Long Beach, California, June 3-4. Among the Plano-West goals: preparing "for the emerging realignment of an orthodox and vital Anglicanism in the United States." THE HEAT IS ON ARCHBISHOP EAMES AND THE LAMBETH COMMISSION In an address to the Irish General Synod recently he said this: "I want to make plain to this Synod and to the wider Anglican Communion that without prejudice to the final report of the Commission what the media likes to term the conservative view and the liberal view are being listened to, noted and taken fully into account. It is wrong for anyone to conclude that the Commission is listening only to one or the other. It is wrong to think that the Commission is more sympathetic to one view rather than to another"-- much Anglican waffling. "The fact that pilgrims on the journey of the Church can differ on the interpretation of that same Scripture has produced much of our present crisis. So we need guidance on how we interpret Scripture". Really. The Global South have no difficulty in interpreting Scripture, they, along with most of us take the plain meaning of the text unless it is metaphor, Psalmody, poetry etc. Mel Gibson had no problem with the literalness of Jesus' pain and suffering and he figured out that the tomb was later empty...all by himself. No to sodomy yes to the resurrection, no PhD from Cantab or Oxon necessary. THE JEFFREY JOHN APPOINTMENT Strictly speaking, the appointment of the Dean of one of the historic cathedrals is made directly by the Crown. It became de facto a prime ministerial appointment in the 19th century, and is nowadays handled by a senior civil servant in 10 Downing Street, Mr. William Chapman, who identifies candidates, and consults with the diocesan bishop about the appointment. The evidence suggests that a series of recent decanal appointments have followed the New Labour agenda, such that it is very rare for a married male to be offered a deanery. Given the sensitivities involved with Jeffrey John it is extremely unlikely that this appointment would have been made without the full knowledge and at least passive consent of the Archbishop of Canterbury. A (ludicrous) distinction may have been drawn between the ministry of a bishop and that of a dean. "It now seems that the rule in Issues in Human Sexuality has been modified so that a gay lifestyle is permissible for the laity, but not for the clergy, unless they become senior clergy." "I wonder whether he will decide to wear a bullet proof vest for his installation? 'Safe sex plus safe consecration'?" ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY'S WIFE PLEADS FOR FAMILY VALUES Jane Williams made a plea for family values this week. "Divorce and infidelity have 'ravaged' British families much as war and Aids have destroyed lives in the Third World," she said. In a speech to the Mothers' Union, Jane Williams said that too many children were growing up without models of lasting, committed relationships. Her comments follow a series of high-profile divorces and allegations of infidelity surrounding the footballer David Beckham, who is idolized by many young people. Mrs. Williams, who is a theologian and mother of two, asked what chance young people would have of "building for themselves something they had never seen". "I have seen housing estates where families that are already fragmenting are all put together, often with poor public transport, no schools, no doctor's surgery, no shops," she said. "How can that possibly help to uphold the family?" BIRMINGHAM NEWS CLARIFICATION REGARDING DR. PAUL ZAHL "A story on the first page of Friday's Metro/State section was inaccurate on several points regarding the Rev. Paul Zahl, dean of the Cathedral Church of the Advent. The story said Zahl had resigned. Zahl says he has accepted the unanimous nomination of the board of directors of Trinity Episcopal School for Ministry in Ambridge, Pa., but won't resign until Trinity's board votes to elect him president and dean of the school. Zahl noted that he presented his decision to the cathedral's executive committee in person, although the story implied otherwise by saying he was out of town and unavailable for comment on the day he notified the committee. Zahl said the story also implied that his decision was related to controversy in the parish over his opposition to the Episcopal Church's first openly gay bishop. That was not the case, Zahl said." BISHOP GREIN, ANN RICHARDS AND GRACE CHURCH IN MANHATTAN Virtuosity has received word that Richards, who was cited as "the other woman" in Grein's divorce proceedings is going to marry the former NY Bishop. This will be her third marriage and his second. As a priest in the 'Diocese of Sodom' she requires Bishop Mark's permission. Can't imagine that being a problem. She is no longer with Grace Church but has gotten a job as chaplain of Grace Church School. What a great model of a Christian cleric for the school, faculty and students to emulate! No word on where they are tying the nuptial knot, but Grein must be happy on several counts. He walked away from 39 charges laid against him courtesy of Frank Griswold and an attorney Griswold brought in to look at the charges. He also walked away from a presentment against him, and the case of the Rev. Janet Kraft was nearly resolved when Federal Judge Wood refused to consider Janet's case against the former bishop. But Kraft is not giving up, Virtuosity was told, she is appealing to a higher court. Good for her. Kraft, you will recall, was a priest at Grace Church when she was dismissed by Grein so he could put Richards in her place. Makes you wonder just how corrupt the Diocese of New York is. And oh yes, the source for the rumor was Joan Grein. DIOCESE OF OLYMPIA ELECTS NEW SUFFRAGAN BISHOP She is The Rev. Bavi Edna 'Nedi' Rivera. She is the first Hispanic woman bishop and only the 12th woman bishop in the history of the Episcopal Church in the United States. A Virtuosity reader noted that Nedi Rivera's father refused to ordain women when he was a bishop. She, on the other hand, is an ardent feminist. "I do have to laugh about the Hispanic aspect. Her mother is white." DIOCESE OF WASHINGTON The Rev. Christopher Halliday (St. George's Episcopal Church, William and Mary Parish - Valley Lee, MD) was removed from the church by Bishop John Chane of the Washington Diocese for "violation of his sacred vows" and will no longer be a practicing priest in the United States and will be returning to England. Seems that Rev. Halliday was having an affair with a woman from England and his wife (Rev. Paula Halliday) found an email between the two and reported the affair to the Bishop. Rev. Halliday has been barred from having any contact with parishioners from the church and must make an appearance before the Vestry of the church to explain his actions and issue a personal apology before leaving the country. Now this is the same diocese that has pushed queer priests onto unsuspecting parishes, spent a million dollars crucifying one single Anglo-Catholic priest, and its former diocesan Bishop Ron Haines never allowed single or married white males to be priests in his diocese during his tenure...and Chane is among the worst of the worst revisionist bishops pushing queer rites and more. DIOCESE OF THE RIO GRANDE Where Bishop Terence Kelshaw is shortly to retire, the Diocese reported on the bishop search process. In the midst of the search the Standing Committee president of New Hampshire contacted the Rio Grande Search Committee to tell them he was appalled at the tactics of the Rio Grande Via Media. So much for the inclusionary methods of the Via Media. URGENT NEWS - MISSIONARY SUPPORT FUNDS NEEDED There is an urgent need to replace missionary support funds that are being lost because of ECUSA's sin, writes Bill Atwood of EKKLESIA. "The actions of the ECUSA General Convention to consecrate a non-celibate candidate in a same-sex relationship continues to create shockwaves around the world. Last month the Council of Anglican Provinces of Africa released a statement saying that CAPA Provinces were no longer willing to receive funds from 815 or revisionist dioceses. They made this decision lest they be accused of supporting the same-sex agenda of ECUSA by accepting funds." "I have received word that there are a number of missionaries appointed by the Episcopal Church that have been informed that they must sever their relationship with ECUSA and find orthodox sources of funds in order to stay in Africa. The challenge is significant. There is an immediate emergency need to raise money. While it will take some time to learn the full extent of the need, we are aware of an immediate need for almost $60,000 for missionary support to replace rejected funds. The total need will likely exceed $1,000,000 per year. As has been the case since our inception, 100% of designated funds are delivered to the field. There are not (nor have their ever been) any deductions for administrative overhead. Immediate support can be sent through the Ekklesia web site (www.ekk.org) or by check to Ekklesia, PO Box 118526, Carrollton, TX 75011-8526." THE JESUS SEMINAR AND SPONG ANNUAL ROAD SHOW In Nyack, NY recently Spong said, "Jesus cannot be bound in the Scriptures, creeds, doctrines or dogmas of the church." During his tenure as Bishop of Newark, the diocese went into free fall and lost more than 30 percent of its membership. Under Bishop John Croneberger it is faring no better. As for the future, Spong said the church has to first drop the concept of original sin. Mankind was never perfect and has never fallen, he said, but is still trying to become human. "We have to see the Christ figure as an experience of God that helped people become more fully human, to help set them free," he said. Truth is thousands are being freed up to leave the Episcopal Church precisely because of Spong and his nonsense. PRESIDING BISHOP'S EMAIL A Virtuosity reader noticed that the Presiding Bishop's e-mail address has been removed from the Episcopal Church website. The wag observed, "You don't expect it's because he's been receiving too much laudatory mail, do you?" ISLAMIC PERSECUTION AND SUPPORTING PERSECUTED CHRISTIANS One of the issues facing worldwide Anglicanism is Islamic persecution and the need to support persecuted Christians and fulfilling the Great Commission as the best response to this persecution. Dr. Peter Hammond who has been received as a minister in the Episcopal Church of Sudan will be speaking on "Revival Amidst Persecution in Sudan" at First Presbyterian Church 252 Admiral Circle Lawrenceburg TN 38464 on Thursday May 20 at 7PM for more information people can email pastor@soulfriend.org Dr. Hammond's website is http://www.frontline.org.za Dr. Hammond ministers in the war zones of Africa and has spent considerable time ministering in the war torn areas of the Sudan. CORRECTION - ADVENT CATHEDRAL In my last digest I said Bishop Parsley will nominate and place the new Dean of Advent Cathedral in Birmingham. Not so. A cathedral staffer wrote saying, "We are a parish church cathedral. Our relationship with the Bishop is governed by an agreement between the Advent and the Diocese. That agreement covers the selection of a Dean and states: 'When the office of Dean of the Cathedral is vacant, it shall be the duty of the Chapter to elect and call a Dean in accordance with and pursuant to the Canons of the Diocese as they relate to the call of a Minister.' Canon 8 of the Canons of the Episcopal Church in the Diocese of Alabama states: 'A Rector shall be elected by the majority of the Vestry, on written ballot, after prior consultation with the Bishop.'" CORRECTION - LAMBETH COMMISSION "You continue to name the Lambeth Commission on Communion as the Eames Commission. This is wrong. The Eames Commission reported on the Ordination of Women to the Episcopate in the last century, and took a particular line, which is not a precedent for the basis of the Commission's findings on this issue." CORRECTION - REV. JOHN KARANJA In a story on the recent Anglican Communion Institute held in Colorado Springs I referred to the Rev. John Karanja as a bishop. "I am not a bishop but a priest of the Anglican Church of Kenya teaching at Trinity Lutheran Lutheran in Columbus, Ohio." ADDITIONAL STORIES I am posting a number of stories in today's digest including another on the current malaise of The Episcopal Church. THE AKRON FIVE BISHOPS The Akron Five Bishops who crossed diocesan lines recently have written a response to Bishop Jenkins the president of the PB's Council of Advice. You can read that story today. Please feel free to forward them to your friends. With the Internet nobody needs to stay in the dark. Tell your friends to join by going to the website: www.virtuosityonline.org and signing up, or you can simply read the stories at the website. SUPPORTING VIRTUOSITY Please consider supporting Virtuosity. New stories are posted daily to the website. If you want to stay completely current then go to www.virtuosityonline.org and scan through the categories that interest you. The dates will show how current the story is. Please know that your financial support and encouragement makes this ministry worthwhile. This is a critical year in the life of the Anglican Communion and Virtuosity is pulling out all the stops to keep you informed on a daily basis. Please be generous and make a donation through PayPal at my website or send a check by snail mail to Virtuosity, 1236 Waterford Rd., West Chester, PA 19380. Thank you. All blessings, David W. Virtue DD

Annual convention of diocese begins today at Marshall University By Bob Withers The Herald-Dispatch Huntington -- Up to 450 delegates to the 127th annual convention of the Episcopal Diocese of West Virginia will face some divisive issues when they meet at Marshall University starting today. A lay organization called West Virginia Anglicans plans to offer resolutions during the three-day meeting to confirm the diocese's continued allegiance to traditional Episcopalian beliefs and practices and permit parishes to contribute financially to the diocese without also forcing them to support the national church. The resolutions are a reaction to a decision during last spring's 2003 General Convention of the Episcopal Church USA to elect the Right Rev. V. Gene Robinson, the first openly gay bishop in the Anglican Communion, as bishop of the Diocese of New Hampshire. The vote has prompted some Episcopalians to leave the denomination or curtail contributions to their churches, requiring budget cutbacks. "Whether the Episcopal Diocese of West Virginia remains united or whether it shatters as members and perhaps entire parishes leave it will be decided by (the) diocesan convention vote," says Dr. Matt Vester, senior warden of Trinity Episcopal Church in Morgantown and a WVA organizer. "Membership in the Diocese has declined 50 percent over the past 30 years. Should the Diocese of West Virginia fail to pass resolutions that distance it from the actions of the national church, this demographic and financial decline will likely accelerate." Vester says that 19 of 38 provincial Anglican churches and archbishops have declared broken or impaired community with the national Episcopal Church after the convention's vote and its decision to give dioceses the option of allowing same-sex blessings. Members of more than 15 parishes have joined West Virginia Anglicans, and the group has been experiencing steady growth each month since its creation in December 2003, Vester said. More than 200 families in the diocese have expressed support for the group's aims. But the group's views are far from being universally accepted. "The polity of the church is like the United States of America," says the Rev. Donald Vinson, rector of St. John's Episcopal Church on Washington Boulevard. "For a diocese to disassociate itself or declare void an action of the church is similar to a state like West Virginia declaring a national law void. I see those resolutions in that light." The Rev. Mark Seitz, rector of St. Matthew's Episcopal Church in Wheeling, is sponsoring a financial resolution that permits parishes to redirect the money that would normally go to the national church to a ministry designated by the diocese. Another resolution sponsored by Seitz dissociates itself from the actions of the General Convention that it says were "contrary to Holy Scripture" and that had the effect of "separating the church from the Anglican Communion and from the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church. The Rev. Kirk Haas, rector of Trinity Church in Morgantown who is sponsoring the resolution to reaffirm traditional teachings, says it is "not lawful for the Church to ordain any thing that is contrary to God's Word written." "The crisis that has been created in the Episcopal Church USA and in the worldwide Anglican Communion by the actions of the 2003 General Convention is primarily a crisis of how Christians can know spiritual truth," Haas says. "Without the universal authority of Holy Scripture, the Church is reduced to personal opinions that may be manipulated by the prevailing culture." Vester adds that the General Convention vote in effect established that the leaders of the national Episcopal church have the power to excise some parts of the Bible and substitute cultural prescriptions. "These actions also establish that a plain reading of the Bible is no longer possible, since what might seem obvious to a lay reader may now be deemed irrelevant or even repulsive by some leaders within the national structure," he says. The Right Rev. W. Michie Klusmeyer, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of West Virginia, says that West Virginia Anglicans have no status in the diocese or the national church. "They are not an official body of any kind in the church," he says. The convention, which opens at 1 p.m. Friday in the Marshall Student Center, is open to the public.

By Julia Dunn The Washington Times May 14, 2004 One of the largest and most liberal Episcopal dioceses in the country is banning its clergy from solemnizing same-sex "marriages" in anticipation of Monday, when the Massachusetts Judicial Supreme Court has said homosexual couples will have the right to "marry." The decision was announced in a May 6 letter by Massachusetts Episcopal Bishop Thomas Shaw to clergy in the 79,000-member diocese, the country's third largest after Virginia (89,000) and Texas (86,000). "I have ... advocated for the full civil rights of gay and lesbian people and their families," Bishop Shaw wrote. However, "there is a contradiction between what our civil laws will allow and what our canons and the Book of Common Prayer state, which is that marriage in the Episcopal Church is between a man and a woman." This was a surprise decision because Bishop Shaw and his two assistant bishops openly support homosexual "marriage," as do a majority of Episcopal delegates who voted at a March 13 diocesan convention to approve the state Supreme Court's ruling. However, anyone who signs a marriage license and conducts an actual marriage ceremony, rather than a church "blessing," for a same-sex couple as of Monday will be breaking church law and subject to defrocking. "Maybe this is a sop to the people like myself who feel badly as to what's going on and who are splitting from the Episcopal Church," said Gerry Dorman, a board member for the Massachusetts chapter of the American Anglican Council, an Episcopal group that opposes same-sex unions. "They've been ordaining gays and blessing same-sex unions here for a long time," he said of diocesan officials. "The diocesan directory lists same-sex spouses as well." Several dioceses in the Episcopal Church routinely "bless" homosexual couples who are not permitted to "marry," such as a much-publicized rite last month in San Francisco involving a retired Episcopal bishop, the Rev. Otis Charles, who "married" his male partner. The diocese retaliated a day later by revoking his license to officiate and removing him as an assistant bishop. The dioceses of Delaware, Nevada, Massachusetts and New Hampshire have official same-sex "blessing" ceremonies. Similar rites for the Long Island, Hawaii and Washington dioceses are being developed. However, only in Massachusetts will clergy be able to perform the legal functions of solemnizing a marriage, which includes the signing of a marriage license. "The question is," said the Rev. Ian Douglas, professor at the liberal Episcopal Divinity School (EDS), a seminary in Cambridge, Mass., "can priests be legal agents of the state if their own church says no?" A lesbian professor at EDS, the Rev. I. Carter Heyward, told the Boston Globe that she plans to defy church law and perform two lesbian unions this month. She did not respond to a phone inquiry yesterday. The Diocese of Massachusetts also did not respond to inquiries on how Miss Heyward would be disciplined for her act. A minister with the New England synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America informed Bishop Margaret Payne of an intent to disobey, according to the Globe. The synod declined to release the name of the clergy in question, but did say in a statement that the denomination does not even have rites for same-sex blessings. Pastors also may not officiate at a same-sex "marriage," the statement said. Episcopal clergy who disobey any orders from their bishop are subject to "inhibition," which means they are not allowed to function as a pastor for a set amount of time, usually six months. If they have not changed their actions, the bishop can then file a "presentment against them in an ecclesiastical court, where they will be defrocked if found guilty." Most Christian denominations forbid same-sex blessing ceremonies, as do Orthodox and Conservative Jewish groups. However, the Reform and Reconstructionist Jewish groups do. The Unitarian Universalist Association, which is based in Boston, not only allows the practice but has scheduled dozens of same-sex "weddings" at its churches across the state. Meanwhile in Boston, a federal judge yesterday declined to grant an emergency stay on same-sex "marriages," and conservative legal groups said they were taking their case to the federal appeals court. "We will appeal this case as far as necessary to ensure that the separation-of-powers principle is upheld in Massachusetts. The Republican representative form of government must be restored so the people can have a chance to define marriage," said Matthew Staver, president of Liberty Counsel, one of several conservative groups representing 11 Massachusetts lawmakers and a Catholic activist. In arguments Wednesday before U.S. District Judge Joseph Tauro, the plaintiffs said the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court overstepped its authority when it unilaterally redefined marriage law to allow same-sex "marriage" in its Nov. 18 Goodridge decision. The Massachusetts attorney general's office and lawyers with the Gay & Lesbian Advocates and Defenders said the high court was within its purview in its decision.

By David Quinn Religious Correspondent Irish Independent May 14, 2004 Divisions over homosexuality emerged yesterday as the three-day annual General Synod of the Church of Ireland drew to a close in Armagh. Delegates publicly disagreed over how homosexuality should be regarded by the Church, with some arguing for a more inclusive attitude and others insisting that the Church had to remain faithful to the teaching of the Gospel. The disagreements are a sign of the splits within the Anglican communion worldwide that have become more visible since the election of an openly gay man as bishop of New Hampshire last year. The bishops had not intended that the issue of homosexuality would be raised at the Synod but several delegates were provoked into speaking when Dr Joan Turner of the Church's marriage council pleaded for a re-consideration of the Church's traditional teaching on homosexuality. In an official presentation, she urged delegates to "reconsider our understanding of the concept of personality, including sexuality". She said "this will involve careful re-analysis of what we mean by homosexuality while adhering to the Christian ideal of marriage as a life-long commitment of one man with one woman." However, Dermot O'Callaghan, a delegate from the diocese of Down and Dromore, said that she had "undervalued marriage" by describing it as an ideal, "as though it is unattainable" and he was "concerned that the concept of showing generosity towards homosexual practice will weaken marriage". Mr O'Callaghan was backed by Stephen Crowder of Clogher diocese, who said that "just because someone has a genetic disposition to violence does not make it right. Nor does it make sexual conduct of various kinds right." However, Dean Michael Burrows of Cork diocese said he did not want the public to think "that the Synod is attentive only to the side represented by Mr O'Callaghan".

DUNCAN SAYS PARSLEY "MISCHARACTERIZES" NETWORK A STATEMENT FROM BISHOP ROBERT W. DUNCAN, ACN MODERATOR, IN RESPONSE TO BISHOP PARSLEY'S LETTER TO THE CLERGY OF THE DIOCESE OF ALABAMA I read with deep concern Bishop Parsley's statement and letter of Pastoral Direction to the clergy of the Diocese of Alabama. In this communication, Bishop Parsley described the Network of Anglican Communion Dioceses and Parishes (commonly known as the Anglican Communion Network) as a "divisive organization outside the canonical structures of the Episcopal Church, the charter of which is undermining of the good order and mission of this church." As Moderator of the Anglican Communion Network, I must address these serious mischaracterizations Bishop Parsley has made. The Episcopal Church violated its own Constitution by its decisions at General Convention 2003 resulting not only in intractable divisions within the Episcopal Church, but also within the Anglican Communion. The Archbishop of Canterbury first recommended formation of a network of "confessing" dioceses and congregations. In response to that call, the Anglican Communion Network is developing as a biblically-based missionary movement dedicated to upholding a faithful expression of Anglicanism in North America. The creation of the Anglican Communion Network, quite contrary to Bp. Parsley's assertions, has enabled many orthodox Episcopalians to justify remaining in the Episcopal Church during this time of crisis. I am extremely confused about why Bishop Parsley expresses such hostility to a network which was conceived by Archbishop Williams and is recognized by 14 Anglican Primates, serving as the only American connection to Anglicanism in the eyes of some primates. Bishop Parsley voted against innovations in sexuality at General Convention and is on record for orthodox Christianity. I would have expected him to embrace the Network rather than condemn it, and I invite him to have conversations with me and other ACN bishops so he can better understand the mission and ministry we offer. We would be delighted to address his concerns point by point. In the meantime, I urge him to reconsider his Pastoral Directive prohibiting association with Anglican Communion Network as well as well any potential actions against his clergy and laity. Attempts to use Episcopal power as a means of limiting the freedoms of faithful Episcopalians have proven utterly bankrupt over the last 30 years, leaving disunity and broken fellowships wherever they have been put in place. As a policy tool, I suspect they will serve a "basically" conservative bishop like Bishop Parsley no better than it has the radicals with whom his votes at General Convention are in such sharp disagreement.

Special Report By David W. Virtue 5/13/2005 FIVE bishops who participated in the irregular confirmation of 110 persons at a multi-congregational action in Akron, Ohio recently, have replied to a letter from the President of the Presiding Bishop's Council of Advice, saying they would assent to a meeting if it was "honest and open" not done in secret and that 10 additional people be invited to listen to the discussion but not to participate. The five bishops include C. FitzSimons Allison, Maurice Benitez, William J. Cox, Alex B. Dickson and William C. Wantland. In their letter to Bishop Charles E. Jenkins, the orthodox five said the Council of Advice would choose five and they would choose five. "Our hope and prayer is that our meeting can in some way help facilitate a reaffirmation of the Christian faith as the indispensable basis of our unity." The five bishops then launched into what they viewed as the central issue regarding faith and order in The Episcopal Church. "We appreciate your letter saying that you recognize that our commitment is to Christian Faith and Anglican Doctrine but your suggested agenda seems not to reflect this concern." The five bishops argued that being "accountable to one to another" should be subordinate to the much more serious matter of our common accountability to the faith which we as bishops, have sworn to guard. "Your claim that 'faith and order' are 'givens' and 'cannot be considered apart from one another' is generally and desirably the case. It is not true, however, of the history of Christianity in which catholic Christians, including St. Athanasius, clearly honored faith over territorial order in cases of heretical and schismatic bishops (cf. the Arian and Donatist schisms among others)." "Since the time of Bishop Pike the House of Bishops has tended to reduce essential and substantial theological concerns to mere matters of 'how we treat each other' (to quote your concerns) and in the case of Pike, from his denial of Christology and Trinity, to his 'tone and manner.' Your suggestion of inviting a 'facilitator' ('with no theological agenda'), and the Presiding Bishop's assistant for 'Pastoral Development' seems to follow this same line of thinking. We do not wish the issue of faithful doctrine to be reduced to mere interpersonal relations. Our primary concern is not personal; and pastoral, as important as that may be, but objective, impersonal, and classical concerns for the faith that has been entrusted to us as bishops." The five orthodox bishops sad they were willing to meet with the Council of Advice if "we are all committed to a discussion of the faith of the Church as the essential principle of unity." Note: If you are not receiving this from VIRTUOSITY, the Anglican Communion's largest and most widely read biblically-orthodox online news service, then you may subscribe FREE at www.virtuosityonline.org. Virtuosity has had more than 1.6 million hits at its website. Readers can be found in 45 countries on six continents.

Conservative, West Coast Episcopalians plan meeting By Sandi Dolbee UNION-TRIBUNE RELIGION & ETHICS EDITOR May 13, 2004 Seven months ago, Episcopalians upset over the election of an openly gay bishop gathered in Plano, Texas, to take a stand for their beliefs. Next month, a West Coast offshoot of that meeting will be held in Long Beach. Among the goals: preparing "for the emerging realignment of an orthodox and vital Anglicanism in the United States." The focus of "Plano-West," to be held June 3-4 at the Long Beach Convention Center, is on mission and evangelism, said the Rev. Tony Baron, an Oceanside priest and one of the organizers. But a key element will be an opportunity for like-minded conservative Episcopalians to support each other. "This is a chance for us to see who's out there and who does feel the same," said Baron, who is rector of St. Anne's Episcopal Church. It also will be an opportunity for participants to discuss a recently formed maverick network that is challenging the authority of the U.S. Episcopal Church. Launched in January, the Network of Anglican Communion Dioceses and Parishes was set up to offer disgruntled churches alternative "spiritual authority." Under the network's plan, these parishes would break away from their local bishop and realign themselves with bishops approved by the network. The reason for this chasm centers around the consecration of Bishop V. Gene Robinson in New Hampshire. Robinson, a priest who is divorced and living with a longtime same-sex partner, was elected bishop by his diocese last June. Two months later, his election was confirmed by a majority vote at the denomination's national meeting in Minneapolis. The repercussions have been divisive both in the 2.3 million-member Episcopal Church and the worldwide, 77 million Anglican Communion to which the U.S. denomination belongs. Much of the Anglican Communion opposed Robinson's consecration. Baron said the election shunned conservatives. "What I object to more than anything else is the process," he said. "The process violated what we are as Anglicans. It was a command decision where a consensus decision was needed." No churches in the Episcopal Diocese of San Diego have formally aligned themselves with the breakaway network, and the region has so far avoided some of the open fractures occurring elsewhere. But that could change, depending upon who becomes the new local bishop. San Diego Bishop Gethin Hughes, a conservative, is retiring, and an election for his replacement is scheduled in the fall. While Hughes voted against Robinson's elevation, he also has called for maintaining unity. The emphasis appears to be on maintaining the status quo — at least for now. "We love Bishop Hughes," Baron said. "We're going to honor him. This is his last year. We want to make his transition a joyful one and a peaceful one." "Plano-West" is being sponsored by the Los Angeles chapter of the American Anglican Council, a conservative group that also helped organize the network. Baron expects from 1,200 to 2,000 clergy and lay people — including about 30 local priests — to attend the Long Beach gathering (an East Coast version held in Virginia drew more than 2,600 participants). A spokesman for the diocese said Bishop Hughes does not plan to attend. To register for the conference, participants must sign a "statement of faith," which includes that "all Scripture is God's Holy Word" and that "God set aside marriage to be between one man and one woman." Meanwhile, splits within the Episcopal Church are continuing to occur. Among the recent ones was in Robinson's own diocese in New Hampshire, where about 40 parishioners have left to form a breakaway parish. Two other churches there have taken steps to affiliate with the conservative network but have not quit the diocese. In New Jersey, St. Anthony of Padua Church in Hackensack has applied to the Newark Diocese to be led by Wisconsin's retired Bishop William Wantland, a network supporter, instead of resident Bishop John Croneberger, who backed Robinson. These fractures may be a sign of things to come in other Protestant denominations whose rules are set by democratically styled elections. Last week, some conservatives in the United Methodist Church suggested that it study ways to execute an "amicable separation" because of deep divisions over homosexuality and other issues. While delegates to the Methodists' General Conference in Pittsburgh instead endorsed a last-minute statement on unity, the battle is not over. As one conservative leader put it: "The division of our church has already happened. It just hasn't been named or formalized yet." The Associated Press and Religion News Service contributed to this report.

COMMENTARY By David W. Virtue The House of Bishops has more double standards than former US president Bill Clinton. Consider the following. The president of the Presiding Bishop's Council of Advice Bishop Charles E. Jenkins calls on the carpet five orthodox bishops for participating in an irregular confirmation in the Diocese of Ohio lead by Clark Grew who managed, during his tenure, to reduce the diocese by more than half. This is no no said the Louisiana Bishop to the five bishops. He demanded they appear in Atlanta, at their expense, and face whatever retribution he and his fellow revisionist bishops planned to dole out to the uninclusive five. The five blasted back with a letter saying that if they were in trouble how about those bishops who have publicly denied or attempted to rewrite the faith. Or those 84 bishops who voted against the HOB Resolution B001 and by doing so refused to affirm the authority of Scripture, the Creeds, Sacraments, and the Apostolic Ministry thereby denying the vows they made at their consecration as Bishop. So, not being able to affirm the doctrines of the Bible, but affirming non-biblical sex is okay? What sort of logic or morality is this? Or take the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice (RCRC) which sponsored the "March for Women's Lives" on the Mall in Washington, DC recently. One of the primary purposes of RCRC outlined in its mission statement is support of the constitutional right to abortion. Participants carried signs with slogans demeaning the sanctity of life. Both the Episcopal Church USA and the Episcopal Women's Caucus are members of RCRC and were listed as co-sponsoring organizations for the event. The Episcopal Church is supposed to uphold life, especially the life of the unborn, but it doesn't, and in the face of this American holocaust, Frank Griswold, ECUSA's Presiding Bishop blasts President Bush for his Iraq policies that has seen less than 800 die to free a nation from tyranny! The Episcopal News Service ran a story applauding participation by individual Episcopalians that included the Rev. Margaret Rose, director of the Episcopal Church Office of Women's Ministries; Executive Council members Louie Crew and John Vanderstar; long-time women's rights activist and General Convention deputy Marge Christie; and Maureen Shea, director of the Government Relations Office. They marched under the banner of "justice" according to the Episcopal Church's official news service. So "justice" and a woman's "rights" take precedence over the rights of the unborn; unborn that Jesus specifically tells us to protect and nurture. This was nothing more than participation in a blatant pro-abortion activist rally. The Episcopal Church thought the opposite. Forget the unborn, the rights of aggrieved Episcopal women and sodomites like Louie Crew matter more. Or what about a lesbian priest in the Diocese of New Jersey whose partner, a fellow lesbian priest and she have just had a baby, cheered along by a lot of impressionable teenagers, and the baby is baptized by the bishop two Sundays later. The woman heads Youth Ministries for the Diocese! This is perversion and illegitimacy all rolled into one…and she gets it all with the bishop's blessing! Or take Bishop Spong…oh please, whose 12 Theses is a slam dunk against 2,000 years of church teaching, and does the HOB even slap him on the wrist? Not a chance. Frank Griswold told orthodox Bishop C. FitzSimons Allison that he (Spong) has been responsible for people staying in ECUSA, Spong's worldview being more acceptable that those orthodox bishops. Those bishops who support Spong's nonsense would be perjuring themselves if they now changed their minds and said anything that was remotely orthodox. And another blatant act of immorality took place On November 2, 2003 when the Episcopal Church abandoned the clear teaching of Holy Scripture as well as the faith and order of Anglicanism by consecrating a non-celibate homosexual to the episcopacy. Only weeks before that Frank Griswold signed off on a document at Lambeth saying he would abide by the Lambeth Resolution on human sexuality. Did he? Of course not, he went right ahead with the consecration, raising his middle finger to his fellow primates. As a result Peter Akinola Primate of Nigeria got so mad he swore he would never sit down with Frank again, demanded he repent and told him what he could do with all his money. Since then unfolding events in ECUSA are demonstrating that the situation is getting worse with revisionist bishops coming down hard on orthodox parish priests in half a dozen dioceses, and the hammer lock grip is spreading like Hitler's SS troops across Europe. The worst theatrics occurred this past week in California when a retired ECUSA bishop announced he was marrying another man, thus speeding up the slide into a secularized religion that scarcely resembles anything like the spiritual and moral foundation upon which Christ formed His Church. The bizarre sight of a 78-year old retired bishop of Utah and former seminary president "marrying" his homosexual partner in an Episcopal Church in California, wearing crowns of laurel wreaths like latter day portraits of Dante Aligheri only mocks great scholars, artists, soldiers, and those athletes who won in competitions and were given the laurel wreath as seen as a symbol of excellence. This is beyond this writer's ability to parody. The bishop said he was "guided by his belief that all human beings are called upon to live as fully as they can." Ironically news reports failed to note that marriage is a holy institution ordained by God - a sacramental union of a man and a woman. What the bishop and Felipe did was a mockery that would have the Church Fathers rolling over in their graves. And the irony of it all is that his bishop, William Swing (the perfect name for a California bishop) pulled his license to assist him saying he never approved of Otis's "marriage", it was only supposed to be a "blessing". Not according to Charles and Felipe. One wonders if PUNCH magazine were still around (it died in 2002) what a writer like Malcolm Muggeridge would have done with this absurd nonsense. One hopes a writer for Saturday Night Live is now, even as we speak, mugging up some lines for an obvious take off of the whole thing. One can imagine a number of writers working on a script called "It's All About Love": A Celebration of Music, Orgasms and Equal (just give me MOE…) Sex for all, by something calling itself Claiming the Blessing and for a donation of $10,000 you get two tickets for a private dinner with V. Gene Robinson!!! It's not possible to out satirize this stuff? The sitcom possibilities are endless. And then when all else fails in The Episcopal Church, and the revisionists think they might not get their way before a resolution is passed at a General Convention, the pansexualists stamp their little feet and bleat 'local option'. And lo and behold whatever aggrieved whiner has a behavior problem, the rage rises, there is much gnashing of teeth and hey presto the behavior is immediately ratified to include his or her diverse needs. This begs the question, what about 'local option' for three dioceses who do not want to ordain women to the priesthood? Not a chance, they get paid a visit by a nasty group of aggrieved women in ECUSA (armed with an appropriate resolution) demanding that the bishops be obedient to the House of Bishops or else. Canonical fundamentalism to the end and to hell with history, tradition, reason and Scripture. For orthodox Anglicans, these events illustrate unequivocally that we face an unparalleled attack not only on the sacrament and sanctity of life and marriage in both civil and religious arenas, but on the doctrine that maintains it all and the discipline to enforce it. The revisionist Bishop of Vancouver Michael Ingham predicted correctly that the horizon holds a not too distant battleground centered on the exclusivity of Christianity — is Jesus truly the way, the truth and the life, or will He be reduced to "one of the ways" to fulfillment and self-actualization? We know what side he and 62 revisionist ECUSA bishops have chosen. The only question now is how the Episcopal Church will be divided up. One hopes and prays that the Lambeth Commission and the Primates of the worldwide Anglican Communion will see what is truly being wrought in the name of "inclusivity" and sexual diversity and be prepared to come down like a ton of bricks on the whole rotten situation and declare Ichabod — the glory has departed - over the whole charade called The Episcopal Church.

Sudan rebels capture bishop, missionary Believed to be 'renegade element' charging men with treason April 11, 2002 By Art Moore © 2002 WorldNetDaily.com Rebel forces in southern Sudan detained an Anglican bishop and a missionary on charges of "treason and insurrection," according to a U.S.-based evangelical Protestant group. Rev. Peter Hammond, director of Frontline Fellowship, and Bishop Bullen Dolli of the Episcopal Church of Sudan were arrested Saturday in Yei Province by the Public Security Office of the SPLM, the Sudan People's Liberation Movement, said In Touch Ministries International of Tempe, Arizona, a sister organization to Frontline Fellowship. Frontline Fellowship announced today that the two men have been released. On Saturday they were dragged out of a church seminar at which they were teaching and interrogated for three hours by military intelligence of the Sudan Peoples Liberation Army, according to Frontline Fellowship. Hammond's affiliate called the charges "trumped-up." "Such an accusation needs only to be stated to be dismissed as ridiculous," said Bill Bathman, president of In Touch Ministries International, or ITMI. Kristi Messick, ITMI administrator of African affairs, told WorldNetDaily she believes the arrests were made by junior officers of the SPLA, against the wishes of senior officials. In January, a "renegade element" of the SPLA arrested ITMI missionary Tim Keller of Arizona, Messick said. He was released in 24 hours after being marched 20 miles by gunpoint. Hammond and Dolli might have been detained by a similar element, Messick suspects. "My opinion is that this must have to do with money," she said. Messick explained that Frontline Fellowship, which has helped train chaplains for the SPLA for the past seven years, has been viewed by the rebel army as a friend. The SPLA is fighting for autonomy from Khartoum's militant Islamic regime, which has declared a jihad against the mostly Christian and animist south. Since 1983 about 2 million people have died from the fighting and war-related famine. The brick cathedral in Lui where Bishop Dolli ministered was bombed into rubble last year by Khartoum forces. His brother was taken from home by government agents who tied a rope around his neck and dragged him from a military jeep for three miles. With skin ripped to shreds, agents poured gasoline over him and burned him alive. Dolli now cares for his brother's four children. Hammond has helped bring attention to the Khartoum regime's "holy war" against the south, which has been characterized as genocide. Last year the government issued a personal threat, warning that he should expect to be bombed and shot when in the country.

By Ruth Gledhill, Religion Correspondent THE TIMES LORD CAREY OF CLIFTON, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, launched an unprecedented attack on Islamic states last night, saying that the world was in great peril. In a lecture that will anger Britain's allies in the Middle East, he said that countries in the Islamic world do not reflect "the true values of Islam". In his second attack on Islamic countries in two months, he was careful to differentiate between the religion, which he praised, and its contemporary political expression, which he once again criticised. "I am talking rather about a sharp ideological tension that separates the West from another world, that we call Islamic," he said. This Islamic world, he went on to argue, "does not reflect the true values of Islam". Calling for more elasticity between doctrine and science, he said: "The challenge to Muslim countries, it seems to me, is to create environments where learning — religious and theological, scientific, artistic and literary — can flower unrestricted and be open to women as well as to men." Lord Carey, in the seventh annual Sternberg lecture to an audience of academics and students at Leicester University, said that there was a failure of understanding between the West and Islam. The lecture, the fourth in a series on Islam by Lord Carey, was endowed by Sir Sigmund Sternberg, the philanthropist who helped to found the International Council of Christians and Jews. In the third lecture in the series, at the Gregorian University in Rome in March, Lord Carey provoked anger in the Muslim community for his accusation that Islamic societies had become authoritarian and committed to power and privilege. The former Archbishop declined to apologise and raised similar concerns as he did in March. He said that his fears arose "from deep appreciation of Islam and indeed of all mainstream religions and, yet, from an increasing frustration that we have not yet managed to achieve a real and fruitful dialogue based upon understanding and truth." He challenged the association of the West with decadence in the Muslim mind and of Islam with terrorism in the Western mind. He had become aware of deep-rooted Islamaphobia in Britain. He said that it was not effective to dismiss such worries as nonsense. Lord Carey also voiced disquiet about America's policy in Iraq and the abuse of Iraqi prisoners. He described the decapitation in Iraq of Nick Berg as barbaric but added: "In our disgust the West must resist the temptation to take the moral high ground." Iqbal Sacranie, secretary-general of the Muslim Council of Britain, said: "The real problem is that he fails to recognise the sovereignty of Muslim countries and their right to govern their affairs according to their own genius, their own culture and their own faith." Dr Zaki Badawi, principal of the Muslim College, said: "I feel his diagnosis is not totally correct. George is a great friend of mine. I am going to send him a library on Islam dealing with the areas where he thinks there is a conflict."