Tuesday, May 13, 2008

The Beatitudes Turned Upside Down

It does boggle the mind, with bishops in our church and others,
absconding with funds given by ECUSA to their dioceses,
tolerating priests sexually abusing parishioners,
invading other dioceses,
demonizing their own clergy,
subjecting their own people to prison and death on the basis of their sexual orientation,
inflicting their own mental illness on their dioceses,
calling fellow bishops "apostate" and "imposters,"
showing complete disrespect for our Presiding Bishop,
involved in sexual misconduct, themselves,
refusing to get help for serious addictions,
involved in financial mismanagement of their dioceses
and on and on . . .
 Bishop Gene Robinson,
who has served this church faithfully and without incident at home and abroad,
a saving spiritual icon to thousands of Episcopalians and others in this country,
elected by his own diocese who has known him for many years, etc., etc.
is not invited to the ABC's gathering of bishops.

I do not understand how the moral weighting is done in Canterbury,
but it sure ain't by Biblical standards or by any of the recorded statements of Jesus.
This is sort of "The Beatitudes Turned Upside Down."
A DISCLAIMER:  Don't get me wrong -- I believe our bishops, as a whole, are the best.
They serve faithfully and courageously. So many are truly gifts from God to this church.