For nearly three years, the Rt. Rev. David C. Bane Jr., has been under increasing pressure to resign as Bishop of Southern Virginia. The conflict came to a boil at the annual diocesan council meeting last February with repeated calls for Bishop Bane to step down before a compromise resolution calling for three outside bishops to evaluate the diocese and make recommendations for improvement was eventually adopted. At a pre-council hearing Oct. 1, Bishop Bane announced his resignation effective at the conclusion of diocesan council next February. He spoke with The Living Church about his time as bishop and his opinion on the roots and nature of the conflict.

Q: Was this an offer you could not refuse or did you decide to retire free of coercion?

A: No, my retiring and the timing of my retirement is my own decision as explained in the attached statement. Last year there was tremendous pressure from a small, very determined group for me to leave, but I did not do so simply because it would have hurt the people of this diocese and caused division for years to come.

Q: Was your mind already made up after diocesan council back in February or did you only recently decide to make the announcement?

A: I pretty much came to this decision in August while on vacation in Canada. There is a lot of new leadership in place, particularly on the executive board, as a result of voting at diocesan council last February. There are still a few unhappy, unhealthy people, but overall things are going pretty well. However, there is the very real danger that people will notice the many positive changes in the diocese over the past six months and make the mistake of thinking that the major problems are behind us. That is not the case, and I am convinced that my remaining as bishop could well prevent the next stage of much deeper healing from happening. As long as I am here it provides far too much of an easy out for those who simply want to find a scapegoat instead of taking on the more difficult and challenging systemic issues. This is a decision made out of love, not political pressure.

Q: Canonically speaking is this a retirement or a resignation?

A: Interestingly the canons do not allow for a bishop to retire. It is always a resignation, even when it is canonically required for reasons of “advanced age.” I guess the thinking is that one is ordained a bishop for life. I talked about my decision at the House of Bishops’ meeting in Puerto Rico. My original thought was to make my retirement effective at the end of June, but a number of my colleagues said it made the most sense to make it official at council and allow the same group that elected me to say goodbye. The press release which reported that the standing committee would not let me wait until the end of June is incorrect. The timing was my decision.

Q: We have been told that this is not about church teaching on human sexuality or your vote at the 2003 General Convention, but the timing of when the dispute first became public is suspect and the published reasons for the dispute just don’t seem to be consistent with the level of hostility. Is this a clash of ideologies?

A: My vote at the 2003 General Convention was one more thing, but I don’t think it was the overriding issue. Even in the diocesan profile before I was elected nine years ago they concluded by saying something to the effect: “We are left with the troubling question of whether we are setting our new bishop up for failure even before he or she gets here.” Basically they were saying that the qualities we want in our next bishop and the objectives we want that person to accomplish don’t line up. In that profile, the clergy listed “issues of trust” as their most serious concern, but what issues of trust they were concerned about was never specified.

Q: The diocesan vision is one of the reasons specifically cited for the controversy. Was that a factor, and what would you say is the correct proportion of liberals and conservatives in the Diocese of Southern Virginia?

A: Certainly the liberal and conservative divide was a factor that kept us from making progress. I don’t know if it is even intentional. I don’t think it was the primary cause, however. Even after nine years in this diocese, I really don’t know what the breakdown of liberals and conservatives would be. Our clergy and lay deputation all voted one way and I voted the other. I don’t know how representative that was of our diocese as a whole. I know the views of some of the more outspoken members on both sides and that certain congregations tend to be either more conservative or more liberal, but I really don’t what the percentages are among the average people in the pews. I don’t think anyone does. Perhaps that ties back into the trust issues among the clergy. I don’t know.

I must add that our continuing practice of moving from one episcopal election to another sets our dioceses, and therefore our Church up for failure. We would never do that in our parishes, but so far we have not figured out that the same dynamic applies to dioceses and perhaps more so. I think this oversight is a missed opportunity and I thank God that all of us in the Diocese of Southern Virginia now recognize that need and are moving from my retirement to an interim process. This is a great diocese and I invite you to watch the miraculous transformation that is about to happen here. What has happened over the past nine years is a necessary prelude to our growth as a Christian community.

Q: Any specific plans for the future?

A: What I would love to do first is take some time off and work on my prayer life of all things. Eventually I would like to come back in some capacity that allows me to work on bishops and especially clergy health.

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