Saturday, January 24, 2009

Never Mind -- Wantland is just like the rest of them

You know, even when you TRY to give them the benefit of the doubt, the schismatics just are so over-the-top that you just have to laugh.

So much for Wantland leaving with dignity. He's as rude as the rest of them, and as confused. He somehow thinks he can leave the Episcopal Church and still be part of it. No wonder Spellcheck always offers Wasteland, Wetland and Wonderland as correct spellings for his name . . .

You can read it all here.

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From the Assisting Bishop

On Friday, Jan. 23, 2009, the Rt. Rev. William C. Wantland, Assisting Bishop of this diocese, received the following letter, dated Jan. 15, from the Most. Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori, Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church:

In a letter to me of November 15, 2008, the Rt. Rev. William Wantland stated that as a result of the Diocese of Fort Worth's recent attempt to realign with the Province of the Southern Cone, "I am . . . now canonically affiliated with the Southern Cone and its Primate, The Most Rev. Gregory Venables." Bishop Wantland then declared that "I am no longer a member of the Episcopal Church." These statements make clear that Bishop Wantland has chosen to leave the Episcopal Church and that he no longer wishes to carry out the responsibilities of ordained ministry in this Church. Accordingly, I have, with the consent of my Council of Advice, chosen this day to accept Bishop Wantland's voluntary renunciation of his Orders in the Episcopal Church and have removed and released him from our ordained ministry.

Bishop Wantland has issued the following reply:

Dr. Schori:
This will acknowledge electronic receipt on this date of a letter apparently not mailed to me, but dated January 15, 2009, purporting to "accept" my letter to you dated November 15, 2008 as a Renunciation of my Orders.

As you must know, my letter specifically declared that "I am not resigning my Orders". Nowhere do I renounce or resign my Orders. My letter to you in no way comports with the provisions of Canon III. 12. 7. Further, I specifically requested status in the House of Bishops of The Episcopal Church in conformity with Rule XXIV of the House of Bishops. This request has been totally ignored by you.

I can only conclude that either you (1) do not understand the plain and fairly simple language of either the Canons or my letter to you, or (2) have deliberately violated the Canons for your own purposes and contrary to your obligation as a Christian not to bear false witness. Further, as you acknowledge in your cover letter that I have transferred to another Province of the Anglican Communion, you therefore have absolutely no jurisdiction over me or my ministry, and your purported action of January 15, 2009, is simply null and void.

I would request a response, indicating whether you lack a basic understanding of the English language, or choose to engage in illegal activites. There is no other possible rational interpretation of your actions.

Faithfully,The Rt. Rev. William C. Wantland
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6 comments:

Leonard said...

Horse____...who spawns and raises/educates these folks anyway? Where do they go to get such strong infusions of arrogance and nasty manners? A whole different breed of recklessness...one wonders how many will survive into the next generation of decency and enlightenment without Rush Limbaugh and Jack Leo Iker?

James said...

Katie, did you truly think that Watland would do anything in an honourable manner? The man is devoid of anything that could be construed to be honnour.

His letter to the PB is just a classic example of his hubris and mental incapacity.

The Religious PĂ­caro said...

I wonder why these bishops want seats in TEC's HoB anyway? Didn't they tend to boycott meetings while they were actually members?

James said...

Billy, it's because of the property issues. As long as they can claim a seat in TEC HOB, they can argue their orders are valid and they have all rights to the property.

Anonymous said...

My, my, MY, my, my. The man has a short memory. But the intertubes don't, and they found this:

http://andromeda.rutgers.edu/~lcrew/crisis.html

I'd say he left TEC 13 years ago and the action is long overdue. Talk about conduct unbecoming a member of the Seminole Nation!

Caminante said...

The content of the letter, namely, you have no authority over me, is boilerplate from whatever playbook they have. The last paragraph, however, is incredibly rude, patronising and demeaning and not worth a reply.