This piece on Episcopal Bishop William Love of Albany contains a big, big, big hole [AnglicanInk]

This piece on Episcopal Bishop William Love of Albany contains a big, big, big hole


20 Aug 2015
Author:Terry Mattingly

Want to see some completely unbalanced reporting in what was, I assume, supposed to be a hard-news story in a mainstream newspaper? Friends and neighbors, this Times Union story – "Episcopal bishop's opposition to same-sex marriage creates rift" – about Bishop William Love of the Diocese of Albany may take the cake.

Right up front, let me note that (a) this was an important story that should have been covered and (b) liberal Episcopalians in this diocese had every right to be outraged by their bishop's rejection of his denomination's somewhat limited embrace of same-sex marriage rites. Their voices deserved to be heard.

Wait, "somewhat limited" embrace?

Ah, there is the rub. This story completely misses a key element of what the Episcopal General Convention did and did not do on this hot-button issue, a fact that made the final action taken quite unpopular with some – repeat SOME – liberal Episcopalians.

The bottom line: There is no way to understand the story in Albany without crucial facts that were omitted from this Times Union report.

So what's the story? Here is the overture:

Episcopal Bishop William Love's opposition to same-sex marriage in defiance of the recent 78th general convention of the Episcopal Church that affirmed marriage equality has roiled the Albany diocese and caused parishioners to quit the Cathedral of All Saints in protest.

In a July 18 pastoral letter in response to last month's convention and June's historic Supreme Court ruling guaranteeing nationwide rights for same-sex marriage, Love cited a Book of Common Prayer definition of marriage as a "solemn and public covenant between a man and a woman."

Love was among just seven out of more than 100 bishops across the United States who flouted the convention's stance and publicly opposed same-sex marriage.

At a July 26 meeting that drew 60 parishioners after Sunday services at All Saints to discuss Love's pastoral letter – the bishop did not attend because he was on sabbatical in Scotland – emotions ran high and the contentious issue spurred angry words.​

How fired up were some people about the bishop's rejection of the General Convention's action? Here is a strong, but excellent, quote.

Some parishioners did not mince words and quit the parish.

Some parishioners did not mince words and quit the parish. "This was a difficult personal decision, but I can't teach the U.S. Constitution to my students and go to a church that discriminates against a group of people," said Alice Malavasic, an assistant professor of history at Hudson Valley Community College who attended All Saints for more than 20 years and taught Sunday school. She was the first to send Collum a letter informing him that she left the parish. Her letter referred to Love's position on marriage equality as "hostile and bigoted."

"Bishop Love literally segregated the cathedral from the Episcopal church and out of principle I won't attend a segregated cathedral," Malavasic said.​

OK, so what is the problem?

Nowhere in this alleged news report does it mention that the General Convention action gave the denomination's few doctrinally conservative bishops – it is called the "Episcopal" church for a reason – the right to reject same-sex marriage rites in the parishes of their dioceses.

In other words, Bishop Love was taking a very unpopular act, but his his actions were consistent with rights that he was given in the legislation passed by the General Convention. He rejected same-sex rites, but he did not, to be precise, flout or refuse to obey the law of his denomination. He elected to use a power that the General Convention gave to him.

How are the readers of this newspaper supposed to understand his action without being told the facts about the General Convention's action?

At the time of this historic move by Episcopal leaders, former GetReligionista Father George Conger – in a newsy essay for The Washington Post – was the rare reporter who caught the fact that many liberals in this denomination were not happy with this element of the final version of the law.


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http://anglicanink.com/article/piece-episcopal-bishop-william-love-albany-contains-big-big-big-hole