The Common Cause Partnership, seeking official recognition as a North American province of the Anglican Communion, welcomes the primates’ proposal for professionally mediated conversation, said Bishop David Anderson of the American Anglican Council.
 
“Since the orthodox Anglicans who left [The Episcopal Church] have been talked about at length by the Lambeth powers but not talked to officially or ‘on the record’, it would be nice to sit down and tell it like it is,” Bishop Anderson said in a recent email message. “The meeting should not be planned for an hour over tea, for there is very much that needs to be said, and it should not take forever to arrange as was the case with the Panel of Reference. That… was one of the low points of Lambeth’s caritas, designed as it was to fail from the moment of birth. We pray that Lambeth has moved forward from that.”
 
Bishop Anderson also decried the recent announcement by Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori that she has retained a special counsel for property litigation and discipline. Bishop Anderson said the planned increase in litigation lent added urgency to the need for professional mediation. “The level of existing and anticipated litigation that the Presiding Bishop” was disheartening for orthodox Anglicans both inside and outside the Episcopal Church, he said.
 
Save over 40% on a one-year subscription to The Living Church by choosing the online edition. It’s the fastest way to get your copy every Friday, and it’s just $24.50 for a full year! Click here  for complete details.