Den episkopale biskopen Jeffrey N. Steenson, fortalte 25/9, ved avslutnungen av møtet i New Orleans, der de episkopale i USA skulle svare på kravene fra mer konservative anglikanere i andre deler av verden, og bare delvis oppfylte kravene. Les en analyse av hvordan det gikk på dette møtet her. Han fortalte at han ville søke avskjed som biskop og gå inn i Den katolske kirke.
Her er talen han holdt for de andre episkopale biskopene – og mange kommentarer fra lesere. Han avslutta slik: With all my heart, I ask for your forgiveness for any difficulty this may cause and for anything I may have said or done that has failed to live up to the love of Christ. I hope that you will not see this as a repudiation of the Episcopal Church or Anglicanism. Rather, it is the sincere desire of a simple soul to bear witness to the fullness of the Catholic Faith, in communion with what St. Irenaeus called “that greatest and most ancient Church” (Adv. Haer. 3.3.2). I believe that our noble Anglican tradition (“this worthy patrimony”) has deep within it the instinct of a migratory bird calling, “It is time to fly home to a place you have never seen before.” May the Lord bless my steps and yours and bring our paths together in His good time.
I går kom det mer informasjon om biskopen, da han møtte prestene i sitt eget bispedømme, og de reagerte slik: Clergy from the Diocese of the Rio Grande greeted Bishop Jeffrey N. Steenson with a standing ovation last week during a conference at the Holy Cross Retreat Center in Mesilla Park, N.M.
The expression of respect and affection for Steenson came five days after he released a “very difficult letter” announcing his intention to resign as bishop of the 8,000-member diocese in New Mexico and West Texas. Steenson said his “conscience is deeply troubled about where the Episcopal Church is heading.”