Monday 29 October 2007

Clarifying Fragility

Clarification to the Sunday Telegraph report referred to earlier has come unofficially. It is an actual House of Bishops document, working towards matters of the Covenant, leaked, but the Telegraph report also misses this text:

we commit ourselves to refrain from intervening in the life of other Anglican churches except in extraordinary circumstances where such intervention has been specifically authorised by the relevant instruments of Communion.
The explanation can be found here, thanks to Pete Broadbent (who is a bishop). Nothing in the Church of England comes close yet to warranting foreign intervention.

Still, there is a document, it was leaked, and there is consideration of authorising an exception to the bishop - diocese relationship by a method so far described as "illicit".

It's back to these instruments of Communion again, the Covenant process and all of that. A national Church may want to tell the Communion, organising such foreign intervention, where to get off.

Er, meanwhile, Reform is most likely to remain disappointed then, as more than suspected.

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