Deputies consent to Ecuador Central bishop consecration
Episcopal News Service. July 13, 2009 [071309-07]
Melodie Woerman, Richard Aguilar and Pat McCaughan
The House of Deputies on July 13 gave its consent to the consecration of the Rev. Luis Fernando Ruiz as bishop of the Diocese of Ecuador Central after a morning of passionate debate. The vote was 594-228.
Questions had been raised earlier by deputies from Ecuador Central about the process that led to Ruiz's election in March by the House of Bishops. The diocese was scheduled to elect a new bishop in December 2008, but its provisional bishop, Wilfrido Ramos-Orench, cancelled the election and began the process to refer the matter to the House of Bishops. Delegates attending the February 14 Ecuador Central diocesan convention authorized the House of Bishops to elect a successor to Ramos-Orench, who has served as provisional bishop since 2006 and is retiring.
Ramos-Orench's service follows an even longer period of uncertainty in the church in Ecuador Central. In 2005, then-Bishop Jose Neptali Larrea Moreno was deposed for abandoning the communion of the church.
Lynn Schmissrauter (East Tennessee), chair of the Committee on Consecration of Bishops, reported that the committee undertook extensive examination of this resolution as well as D050, which was proposed by three deputies from Ecuador Central and asked deputies not to consent to the election. She said the committee allowed extended time for remarks by those testifying at the hearings and even arranged for a special meeting between supporters of the competing resolutions. "It was a patient and pastoral process," she said.
The Rev. Gay Jennings (Ohio) served as consultant to Ecuador Central's election process and visited the diocese five times. She said the process that led to Ruiz's election was proper. "The process was in full accordance with the Constitution and Canons of the Episcopal Church and the canons of the diocese," she said.
She acknowledged that some in the diocese are unhappy that a native Ecuadorian wasn't elected and that the diocese itself never had the chance to vote on their bishop. But in the end, she said, Ruiz will be a good bishop for the diocese.
Three deputies from Ecuador Central at General Convention spoke to the matter through a translator.
The Rev. Angel Siguencia asked deputies not to give consent. "I speak against resolution B023," he said. "I ask you to reject this resolution because there was never an election in our diocese. We were never allowed to even try to elect our diocesan. I ask, where is democracy in our loved church?"
The Rev. Lourdes Inapanta agreed. "There was no election in our diocese," she said. "That is why we ask that you reject this resolution, because we were never allowed to even try this election on our own."
The Rev. Gladis Vasquez urged deputies to consent to Ruiz's consecration. "We had transparency and purity in the process," she said. "We need a bishop. We already suffered in the past, and this bishop represents the best of this process. It will not be easy. But we need to start walking right now."
English-speaking deputies also spoke on both sides of the issue. Some expressed concern about the effect on the bishop-elect of beginning ministry in the midst of controversy. Others supported the work of the legislative committee in thoroughly investigating this matter.
After the vote, some members of the deputations from Ecuador Central and Colombia escorted the bishop-elect into the House of Deputies, as is customary. Ruiz currently serves as rector of the Catedral de San Pablo in Bogota, Colombia.
The House of Bishops formally concurred with Ruiz's election. During the afternoon July 13, Ruiz was seated in the House of Bishops, where he will have voice but no vote until his ordination and consecration, which is set for August 1.