The Last Thing Anyone Should be Afraid of Is Action

First off, if you're getting your news from Gledhill, you have nobody to blame but yourself.  She's in the business of selling newspapers--don't forget that very basic fact. 

Second, if you think for a second that anyone in this communion could possibly do anything so outrageous as to warrant any kind of action beyond the formation of an indaba-ubuntu-indaba taskforce for consideration of the possible consequences of taking action disciplinary or otherwise, you're going to be very disappointed with what actually ends up happening to Archbishop Venables.

I'm with C.J. and the StandFirm commenter on this nonsense about "punishing" Archbishop Venables.  What a bunch of hollow posturing.  Words like "punish" and "discipline" don't exist in the Anglican lexicon ("lawsuit" yes).  Believe me, people have been trying like everything to get disciplined by this church for decades but with no success.

CHOOSING SIDES? | Midwest Conservative Journal

Is there anything to this story? Not much says a commenter at Stand Firm.

Take a deep breath, folks. This story is way overblown. No one is going to be able to deprive the Southern Cone of a voice and vote at the next ACC meeting.

1. First, as to membership. The ACC Constitution provides that the PSC is a member, and Art. 3 requires, as we know by now, a two-thirds vote of all the Primates “to alter or add to the schedule” of membership. No matter how much TEC and its allies might wish it, they are not going to be able to kick the PSC off the membership schedule.

2. Next, as to vote. Section 6.1 of the ACC Guidelines states: “Only members of the council shall be entitled to vote on business before the council.” Section 7.2 provides: “The Council may at any time with the consent of the Standing Committee revoke, amend, or supplement these guidelines or any part of them for the better conduct of the business of the council.” I doubt whether the power to “revoke, amend or supplement” would include the power to deprive a duly constituted member of its right to vote—remember that at Nottingham in 2005, the Primates had made only a request of TEC and ACoC that they “voluntarily withdraw” their representatives from the Council.

So the most that will happen is that a majority of the Primates might make such a request, and ++Venables can politely decline to do as they request.

I think what happened is that TEC and ACoC were just asking ++Rowan to let ++Venables have a little of the medicine they were handed in 2005, and the request was leaked by someone who wanted it leaked to hit the news cycle before the meeting in Wheaton next week.

That sounds about right. I find it hard to believe that Dr. Williams would support something that would probably bring on the very split he says he wants to avoid. That split may be inevitable anyway but I can’t see my gracious lord of Canterbury deliberately bringing it on.