Friday, May 08, 2009

Press Conference Underway: ACC kicks the "Covenant Can" down the road



Go George Conger. It does appear that the non-English-as-first-language-speakers have been tricked.

It's shameful. How could Rowan Williams agree to this? Why would anyone want anything to do with these people?

Now Kearon is telling the press that because they didn't get to hear all the "indabaing" in the "discernment group" - it's a farce.

Go George, go George.

Haste in the meeting room, Robert is saying. Kearon and company had to spend forty-five minutes to figure out how to fix it. We're very close to breaking up, we need to do something. How is with the amount of confusion and haste, why can't there be any clarification for the delegates, if we're on the brink of schism, why can't there be more time for for discussion?

Kearon - "maybe you just don't want a press conference!" Did he really just say that?

Chis Sugden now asking questions. We now have a situation of further delay, doesn't this meeting present a major failure of what the Archbishop of Canterbury achieve at the start of the conference.

That's only one province anyhow, says Kearon about TEC. No one is fooled, no one is fooled.

No, we all knew that the Covenant was going to go to the ACC and then to the churches. That's what we were told at Lambeth. That is not true, Kearon. We were told exactly how this was going to work and that's what has been done - until a couple of hours ago when the Joint Standing Committee got elevated as the power that runs the Communion.

George is now speaking - is this just another kick the can down the road?

Kearon says they are not being unfaithful to the Communion. Section IV is going to a working group.

It's so over. If it goes to a working group, The Covenant is finished.

Section 1, 2, 3 are going no where. 4 is going to working group and then the working group to the JSC ... no, says Kearon, well, actually the text says that there will now be a revised Ridley Draft.

It appears there is still major confusion. Now there are "working groups" being proposed that will send it to the Joint Standing Committee - God knows when - whenever.

Chris is asking why the people were taken by surprised - so basically what I hear Kearon saying is that the Joint Standing Committee ejected the Anglican Covenant Design Group's resolution and rewrote it to fit the TEC agenda.

Attempt to clarify the confusion and there was no attempt, says Kearon. So there was confusion. What was on purpose. I've seen that done so many times at General Convention.

And Schori is smiling because she now has full control over the language and process of the Anglican Covenant. What a trick.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Sorry, for sounding so thick, but this is way over my head, BB, did TEC actually get it's way, or will there end up being a satisfactory resolution to all this?

Anonymous said...

The ABoC is complicit in this, sorry, but there can be no doubt in this. He allowed this to happen, because he's intentionally been dragging his feet all along. We need to seperate, and an alternative Archbishop to be elected to serve the true Anglican communion.

Unknown said...

Your not thick, Anon. That was one the most appalling examples of a legislative session I think I have ever seen. And yes, Rowan was in the middle of it. Anglican TV trained their cameras on their 45 minutes of caucusing to come up with what basically appears to be a devastating loss. It would be one thing if it was fair and open and transparent and clear - but it wasn't. It was manipulative, cynical, and unjust. It was wrong.

There are four days left to this - but in the mind of Kenneth Kearon it's done - and it's all good.

bb

Truth Unites... and Divides said...

Excellent commentary BabyBlue. Kudos for your blogging journalism.

Dale Matson said...

bb,
You seem to have the thoughts and the underlying sense of what is happening down pretty well. Are you an "Empath" also. (Wasn't that the gal in Star Trek the Next Generation?)Whatever, anyway, you are good!

Anonymous said...

A large group of the primates need to write the ACC and say "NO way" or write the ABC - without a unified public statement (now) by a large group of them the Anglican communiun is done
Paul

Anonymous said...

Let's face it. TEC "won". GAFCON "lost". And the ABC - finally - sided decisively with TEC: The covenant section 4 (the only one that matters) is now being rewritten decisively by TEC in its own image.

However much we may hate it: that is the result of this meeting.

Orombi's boycott of the ACC meeting is now shown to have been very wise. The GAFCON will now go their own way: communion with all provinces that have not ratified The Jerusalem Declaration will be stopped by the end of the year, and in particular, full support will finally be provided to Evangelical parishes in the UK (most likely via Nazir-Ali).

Basically: the ABC & TEC won the battle.

But - in winning the battle, they have decisively lost both the Anglican Communion and the war. Several GS delegations are preparing to leave ACC immediately - basically it is all over now.