In the combox dicussion under S.M. Hutchens' article, "The Conservative Episcopalian Mess", upon which I commented yesterday, an ACNA priest who happens to be a Facebook friend of mine objected to what he viewed as the article's unfairness:
I wonder if the writer has spoken to other bishops? Well over 70-80% of ACNA bishop are against WO. Right now the College of Bishop are prayerfully seeking the Lord as how to deal with this matter. The author seems to show a level of ignorance of someone who is outside the fight, and complaining about how the boxer is swinging!
Now it is true that the majority of the ACNA's bishops are against WO, but as Hutchens said in his reply,
Alas, though, I have been around long enough not to be even slightly impressed with a bunch of bishops, or anyone else, “prayerfully considering things.” In fact, I am almost at the point where when I am told that things are being considered prayerfully by anybody, I may assume that they wouldn’t change their pre-formed opinion on the article under consideration even if one appeared from the dead. If they manage to do what they should, now that will be impressive. (Emphasis mine.)
Indeed. The ACNA needs to decide whether or not it is truly a branch of the one, holy catholic and apostolic church, as Anglicans have long asserted about the Church of England and her progeny. If it is, then it will end the uncatholic innovation of women's ordination forthwith. If, rather, it agrees with ACNA theologian William Witt that Anglicans are mere "Reformation Christians" and accordingly that it is under no obligation to "prayerfully consider" the admonitions of Rome, Orthodoxy and Anglicans who still believe that their church is a branch of the Catholic Church, then let ACNA say so and go its merry Protestant way.
If the trend over at the ACNA Facebook page is any indication of just how prayerfully its managers are considering the question of women's ordination, well, it is clearly out of sync with the majority of the bishops. Several days ago I posted a link there to an important new work by Geoffrey Kirk entitled Without Precedent: Scripture, Tradition and the Ordination of Women. My post lingered on pending status for awhile and eventually disappeared. Yesterday I posted a link to the Hutchens article along with the quotation I set forth in the blog entry below. It went to pending status, and this morning I found that my post again had disappeared. They clearly aren't having any.
All of which highlights why we can all appreciate the quandary in which the majority of bishops find themselves. Should they "manage to do what they should", ACNA will rupture. And that's precisely why they won't do what they should. Unity trumps Catholic faith and practice.