News for Week Ending 12/19/2011

Papua New Guinea approves Anglican Covenant

According to an Anglican Communion News Service story of December 15, 2011, the Anglican Church of Papua New Guinea has approved the Anglican Covenant. It becomes one of a handful of churches that has so far adopted the Covenant unambiguously. Anglican churches in South East Asia and Ireland have adopted the Covenan with reservations whose implications are unclear. (See Pittsburgh Updates story here.)

Illinois judge denies summary judgment in Quincy case

On December 16, 2011, an Illinois state judge denied the request for summary judgment made by The Episcopal Church and the Episcopal Diocese of Quincy regarding control of diocesan assets. (The Quincy diocese voted to leave The Episcopal Church shortly after the Pittsburgh diocese did. See Pittsburgh Update story here.) In a four-page opinion and order, Judge Thomas J. Ortbal admitted that the Episcopal Church's case was strong but argued that it was not so unassailable as to justify summary judgment. The legitimacy of a diocese’s leaving The Episcopal Church has yet to be definitively adjudicated in the case of any of the four dioceses that experienced schism three years ago.

Province IV bishops meet with S.C. bishop

According to a December 15, 2011, story by Episcopal News Service,six Province IV bishops meet with Bishop of South Carolina Mark Lawrence December 14 in discussion about Lawrence’s justification for sending quitclaim deeds to parishes of his diocese. (See most recent Pittsburgh Update story here.) In a statement released by all the bishops involved, including Bishop Lawrence, the discussion was characterized as “honest” and “forthright.” The statement included no suggestion that anything was resolved by the meeting.

Trinity Cathedral becomes exclusively Episcopal

On December 15, 2011, the Cathedral Chapter of downtown Trinity Cathedral voted to reassert the provisions of its charter making it once again exclusively an Episcopal cathedral. The Cathedral had been operating under a Special Resolution since 2008, acting as the cathedral both for the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh and the Anglican Diocese of Pittsburgh. (See Pittsburgh Update story here.) A letter of explanation from Provost (the Rev. Canon Dr.) Cathy Brall can be found on the Cathedral’s Web site. The Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh published a story on the return of the Cathedral to exclusively Episcopal control on December 17. According to that story, “Bishop Price is extending a special invitation to show solidarity and support for the Cathedral by joining him there for his annual Christmas Eve Eucharist.”

On December 19, the Anglican Diocese of Pittsburgh posted a note about the vote on its Web site. In it, Archbishop Duncan accuses Trinity Cathedral of embracing “exclusivity.”