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. . . all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. . . Colossians 1:16-18
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Message from Bishop David Anderson
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The AAC's server (main computer) crashed this week and had to be replaced. Because of the technical difficulty, Bishop Anderson was unable to file a weekly message. Bishop Anderson should have a message in next week's update. By the way, we will gladly accept any donation to help us pay for this unexpected expense. - AAC Editor, Robert Lundy |
Chaplain's Corner
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By The Rev. Canon Phil Ashey
Chief Operating and Development Officer,
American Anglican Council
The Archbishop of Canterbury recently announced that he would resign at the end of 2012. Many are asking who his successor will be and when they might be selected. However, Canon Ashey suggests that orthodox Anglicans have a greater issue to deal with.  | | Canterbury to Resign: Week of March 16, 2012 |
Watch this week's Anglican Perspective here. |
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Archbishop of Canterbury to Resign
| Source: Archbishop of Canterbury Website
May 16, 2012
Archbishop of Canterbury to be Master of Magdalene College, Cambridge
Archbishop Rowan Williams has today announced his acceptance of the position of Master of Magdalene College, Cambridge with effect from January 2013. He will therefore be stepping down from the office of Archbishop of Canterbury at the end of December 2012.
Dr Williams' intentions have been conveyed to The Queen, who is Supreme Governor of the Church of England and who formally appoints the Archbishop of Canterbury.
Dr Williams was appointed the one hundred and fourth Archbishop of Canterbury in 2002. He said today:
It has been an immense privilege to serve as Archbishop of Canterbury over the past decade, and moving on has not been an easy decision. During the time remaining there is much to do, and I ask your prayers and support in this period and beyond. I am abidingly grateful to all those friends and colleagues who have so generously supported Jane and myself in these years, and all the many diverse parishes and communities in the Church of England and the wider Anglican Communion that have brought vision, hope and excitement to my own ministry. I look forward, with that same support and inspiration, to continuing to serve the Church's mission and witness as best I can in the years ahead.
Dr Williams will continue to carry out all the duties and responsibilities of the Archbishop of Canterbury, both for the Church of England and the Anglican Communion, until the end of the year.
The Crown Nominations Commission will consider in due course the selection of a successor.
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(AAC Editor's note: The following are links to various stories and commentaries on the Archbishop's resignation announcement.)
Archbishop of Canterbury's interview with Press Association
Statement from the Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop
Prime Minister David Cameron's Statement
Telegraph: Dr John Sentamu becomes favourite to succeed Rowan Williams as Archbishop of Canterbury
BBC: Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams to Stand Down
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Georgia: Timberridge Files Petition for Certiorari
| Source: Anglican Curmudgeon
March 16, 2012
On March 6, 2012, Timberridge Presbyterian Church of Atlanta filed a petition for certiorari (review). (H/T: Layman online.) The petition asks the Court to review a decision by the Supreme Court of Georgia, about which I wrote in this earlier post.
The Layman article succinctly explains what is so significant about this particular filing:
Joining Timberidge attorney Michael Kendall in this case is Carter G. Phillips, managing partner of the Washington, D.C. office of Sidley Austin LLP. Phillips has argued 74 cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, more than any other attorney currently in private practice. Before his association with Sidley Austin, he served as a law clerk for U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice Warren Burger and as assistant to the United States Solicitor General, arguing nine cases before the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of the federal government.
And with Mr. Phillips' expert assistance, notice how clearly the petitioners have phrased the question which they would like the Court to decide:
Whether the 'neutral principles' doctrine embodied in the Religion Clauses of the First Amendment permits imposition of a trust on church property when the creation of that trust violates the state's property and trust laws.
This is the same question which the Dennis Canon presented (or presents) in South Carolina, Texas, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Nebraska, North Carolina, New Jersey, Connecticut, Tennessee, and in all the other jurisdictions it has come up in the last dozen or so years - with the exception only of California and New York. In their collective foolishness, the legislatures of each of those two states decided to enact statutes which grant the Episcopal Church a special privilege to bypass their own Statutes of Frauds. (And for that very reason, those privilege statutes would probably themselves be open to challenge, under the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.) . . .
Read the entire article here.
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Poll: Most back exemption to HHS mandate
| Source: Baptist Press
March 13, 2012
A majority of Americans say religiously affiliated organizations - such as hospitals and universities - should be exempt from the Obama administration's abortion/contraceptive mandate, according to a CBS News/New York Times poll.
The survey found that by a 57-36 percent margin, U.S. adults believe religious organizations should be allowed to "opt out" of covering birth control for their female employees. The poll did not use the word "abortion," although Christian leaders say the mandate would require them to cover contraceptives that can cause chemical abortions.
The poll also found that 51 percent of adults believe that any employer - and not just the ones with religious ties - should be able to opt out if they find such coverage objectionable based on religious or moral beliefs. Forty percent disagree.
Under the mandate announced by the Department of Health and Human Services, employers must offer employees health insurance covering all FDA-approved contraceptives for free - including ones such as Plan B and "ella" that can act after
fertilization, causing a chemical abortion. President Obama announced a compromise that he said protects religious organizations, although it was widely criticized. Under his compromise, the insurance plans of religious organizations still would cover all contraceptives, although the insurance companies - and not the religious organization, he said - would be responsible for offering the employees the free contraceptives. Many Christian leaders called it an accounting gimmick, since the contraceptives would remain covered under the plan, with the religious organizations likely picking up the tab via higher premiums. . .
Read the entire article here.
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Couple awarded $3M in 'wrongful birth' suit
| Source: Baptist Press
March 14, 2012
A "wrongful birth" lawsuit is a horribly flawed response to the unexpected birth of a baby with a disability, pro-life bioethics specialists said in the wake of an Oregon jury's award of nearly $3 million to the parents of a child with Down syndrome.
The 12-member jury unanimously awarded $2.9 million to Ariel and Deborah Levy, a Portland-area couple, in their suit against a hospital system that failed to detect the chromosomal disorder in their unborn daughter, Kalanit, who is now 4. The Levys said they would have aborted her had they known she had Down syndrome, but Legacy Health System's Center for Maternal-Fetal Medicine assured them after a test their daughter did not have the condition.
"In a civil society, there must be better remedies for cases like these," said C. Ben Mitchell, professor of moral philosophy at Union University in Jackson, Tenn. "Rather than 'wrongful birth' suits, a robust social services infrastructure could relieve the burden families feel when they choose to bring disabled children into the world. There are many communities who would be willing to rally around these families if they knew the need.
"At the same time, we must repudiate abortion for disability," said Mitchell, also a biomedical and life issues consultant for the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission. "The diagnosis of a disability, including Down syndrome, should not be a death sentence for the unborn baby." . . .
Read the entire article here.
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