Traditionalist Bishops Satisfied with Statement
Episcopal News Service. October 4, 1989 [89175]
PHILADELPHIA, September 28 -- From the beginning, one of the big questions for this House of Bishops meeting was: Will the traditionalists get enough out of the pastoral statement to keep peace in the church?
The answer seems to be yes.
In the closing minutes, after the statement had been passed unanimously by this 200th anniversary meeting of the House of Bishops, the bishops who have represented the spectrum of the church over the ordination of women embraced on the podium in a show of collegiality and understanding.
Bishop Clarence Pope of Fort Worth, president of the traditionalist Episcopal Synod of America (ESA) and a long-time opponent of the ordination of women, called Bishop David E. Johnson of Massachusetts to the podium and told a hushed house, "It has been a joy to be here." He then embraced Johnson and Presiding Bishop Edmond L. Browning to the applause of the bishops.
"We recognized that a great deal that was pulling us apart was not personal," Johnson said later in an interview. "We reclarified that, although we disagree, we have a common ministry" as bishops. "We have not broken communion in any way."
Both the traditionalists and liberals came away unanimously affirming the statement, issued as a "mind of house," that upholds women's ministries while at the same time acknowledging that opposition to the ordination of women is a "recognized theological position."
"We have moved from being tolerated to being recognized," said the Rt. Rev. William Stevens, bishop of Fond du Lac, after the meeting. "The liberals and the conservatives are reaching out to each other. This puts everything in a different light." Stevens was one for the founding bishops of the ESA, established last June in Fort Worth as a "church within the church." The major issue of the ESA essentially has been opposition to ordination of women as bishops, perceived as a liberal trend of the church.
The ESA bishops had characterized the consecration of Barbara Harris as suffragan bishop of Massachusetts as "the final crisis of the church." However said in an interview that she had experienced "an overwhelmingly affirmative welcome, even on the part of some who disagree with the ordination of women."
At the Forth Worth meeting, the traditionalists said that they would stay within the church only if their conservative position were heard and accepted as valid by the church.
However, the potential for confrontation was changed during the meeting in Philadelphia.
The ESA bishops had been afraid in Fort Worth that they would be forced to accept women as bishops. Therefore, they had insisted that they must be allowed to exercise their theological conscience if forced to choose between following the laws of the church and providing pastoral care to a congregation opposing the ordination of women.
"We're saying that it is the decision of the bishops of the Episcopal Church to deal pastorally with each other, rather than juridically through resolutions," said the Rt. Rev. William Wantland, bishop of Eau Claire. "This allows this church to move forward without being paralyzed."
In an interview, Wantland clarified the position of the ESA bishops, stating that they have not changed their position on the ordination of women -- they all remain opposed to ordination of women as priests and bishops -- and that they will cross diocesan lines to minister to a parish if forced "to choose between conscience or the law."
The difference now, Wantland said, is that he believes none of the ESA bishops will ever be forced into a position in which theywould feel the need to exercise episcopal authority outside of his diocesan boundaries without the permission of the bishop. "The House of Bishops will be open and will work in charity and trust to avoid adversity and confrontation," he added.
Wantland also said he saw a "major shift" in the attitudes of bishops toward the traditionalists since the last House of Bishops meeting in Chicago in 1987, when he and others expressed frustration over what they considered deliberate attempts to alienate them.
Now, Wantland stated, he sees a "conscious effort to be sensitive, and a conscious effort to deal in a pastoral rather than a juridical way" with those persons and parishes that remain in disagreement.
Bishop David Ball of Albany agreed. "God had allowed us to listen to each other as we were not doing before. I delight in that." Ball credited Wantland's address to the House with helping to set the tone of the meeting.
"Bishop Wantland's talk was significant because he was reaching out to the House, and to hear where others are coming from. He didn't say take it or leave it."
Bishop Edward MacBurney of the Diocese of Quincy added, "Those of us who went to Fort Worth went to remain in the church. The actions of this House and the small meetings have made this a possibility."
Presiding Bishop Browning said during the final press conference, "I want to believe that we've been through a major shift. My fondest hopes have been realized. We have moved beyond a kind of legalism we've been living in."
Wantland summed that up for the bishops when he said, "In a very good way, what we say is not nearly as important as what we do from this time forward."
An immediate step, one of the ESA bishops said, would be to begin meeting with the Episcopal Women's Caucus to discuss the variety of issues surrounding women's ministries.
The question of how the ESA will deal with this new collegiality will linger at least through the synod's first convention in Atlanta this November.
At that time, the synod's members will meet for the first time since Forth Worth to set their course. This bishops' statement will undoubtedly be a priority item on the agenda.