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Bishops, Anglican Communion Institute call for E-mail
Investigation
by Steve Waring and
George Ponder
Allegations of conduct unbecoming a member of the clergy will be lodged by
three bishops against a member of the national Executive Council and the president
of Integrity in response to the misappropriation and publication of private
correspondence.
Bishops John Howe of Central Florida, Mark Lawrence of South Carolina, and D. Bruce MacPherson of Western Louisiana, along with other leaders of the Anglican Communion Institute (ACI), are concerned about a possible "dirty tricks" campaign waged against the ACI by the Rev'd Canon Mark Harris, the Rev'd Susan Russell, and an unidentified member on the staff at the Diocese of Washington.
Priests "publishing the private emails of bishops is a matter of grave pastoral disorder," said the Very Rev'd Philip Turner, former dean of Berkeley Divinity School at Yale and a member of the ACI. The publication of the correspondence also may violate laws concerning attorney-client privilege, Bishop MacPherson said.
The dispute involves the misappropriation of emails and a draft of an ACI paper titled "Bishops' Statement on the Polity of The Episcopal Church." Most of the private correspondence contained a standard legal disclaimer noting that the information was privileged and intended solely for those to whom it was addressed.
On April 21 Canon Harris published snippets from the bishops' statement and 13 email messages exchanged among the ACI leaders and their lawyer. The following day, Ms. Russell published the bishops' statement along with extracts from the emails and the Washington Blade, a secular gay-interest newspaper, published an expurgated version of the email exchange.
"Since when do we have priests publishing the private correspondence of bishops to each other?" Bishop Howe asked.
Writing on an internet blog maintained by Integrity Ms. Russell applauded the "outing" of the ACI because she said it was advocating an "unprecedented power grab by anti-gay bishops."
A spokesman for the ACI said the organization did not contemplate pursuing civil or criminal remedies for the misappropriation of the private documents. One of the bishops said that formal ecclesiastical charges have not been preferred against either Ms. Russell or Canon Harris, but the matter has been brought to the attention of Bishop J. Jon Bruno of Los Angeles, which is where Ms. Russell is canonically resident, and the Bishop Wayne Wright, where Canon Harris resides.
Bishop MacPherson said it was a sad commentary of the current state of the church that such correspondence would be published, but he was more distressed by the damage the leaked information had done to the point the 14 bishops who signed the statement were trying to make.
"My prayer is that we will be able to find our way back as a church to following the constitution and canons that have been handed down to us," he said. "The current leadership is moving away in another direction."
—Steve Waring
is news editor of The Living Church. The Rev'd. George Conger is a frequent
contributor to that publication.
Editor's Note:
Shortly after the posting of the new item entitled "3 Bishops, ACI Call for Email Investigation," the Rt. Rev'd D. Bruce MacPherson contacted Steve Waring, news editor of The Living Church with the following comments.
"For clarification, please note that when we spoke Wednesday afternoon, May 27, 2009, that my comment about 'a sad commentary on the state of the church' was in reference to this particular matter just being further evidence of a continuing deteriorating condition, and not being that "such correspondence would be published."
"Also, I am not certain where the part of being "more distressed by the damage" etc, came together from, for what I stated in response to your question was that I didn't feel the leak had that much impact, as we were ready to release the piece in a matter of hours."
"Lastly, and please understand
that I am not being "picky", but the closing quote is missing an important
inclusion about General Convention, as I was trying to emphasize the role
of General Convention, which we recognize. "...to following the constitution
and canons,
and polity that has been handed down and provided through the actions
of General Convention ..." The last sentence about leadership is accurate."
Thanks and know of my appreciation for your labour on behalf of us all.
The Rt. Rev'd D. Bruce MacPherson
