From United Anglicans: An Anglo-Catholic Perspective on ACNA Constitution and Canons
From United-Anglicans.org > H/T T19.
It's a short but very clear statement on the state of things, as is Bishop Wantland's all-too-rare style.
Among other points in the ACNA Constitution and Canons pleasing to catholic-minded Anglicans (like me), he highlights the restoration of the Biblical view on divorce and remarriage:
The Canons restore the Catholic teaching concerning Christian Marriage as a lifelong union of one man and one woman, restoring the impediments to valid marriage historically a part of Catholic practice enshrined in Anglican Canon and repealed by The Episcopal Church in 1973. Remarriage after a civil divorce is permitted only if one of the impediments to a valid marriage is determined to have existed, or if the divorce is for the permitted circumstances in Our Lord's teaching in Matthew's Gospel, chapter 19, or St. Paul's exception in 1 Corinthian 7.
And for those of you out there who are putting money on the dissolution of ACNA over women's ordination (that lovely issue we inherited from Judaism (nope), The Mormons (nope), Islam (nope), The Roman Catholic Church (nope), The Eastern Orthodox Churches (nope), the Evangelical church (nope), The Episcopal Church), here is what one of the most Anglo-Catholic of Anglo-Catholics has to say about the way ACNA will be dealing with this most thorny of issues.
While the question of the ordination of women to priesthood or episcopate is a serious one, the Canons requre that all Bishops be male, assuring a universal recognition of validity in episcopal orders. Further, each diocese determines at present whether to permit ordination of women to the priesthood. Over 3/4 of all dioceses in the Province do not ordain women to the priesthood and the Province cannot impose a change on any such diocese. There will be six jurisdictions in the Province which permit it, but an in-depth study of the matter will be undertaken.
Put that in your "let's-hope-ACNA-fails" pipes and smoke it.
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Comments
The ACNA canons cannot be
The ACNA canons cannot be faulted for their strong position on remarriage and divorce. However, the canons, with the ACNA constitution, are in a number of places in need of serious revision.
On the Heritage Anglican Network is posted a number of proposals for the revision of the ACNA with notes explaining the rationale for each proposal. The URL for these proposals is: http://theheritageanglicannetwork.blogspot.com/2009/06/proposed-amendmen...
The proposed changes address the concerns of orthodox North American Anglicans in and outside the ACNA who support the establishment of a new province in North America.
Also on the Heritage Anglican Network are a number of articles relating to the ACNA constitution and canons. The URL for the Heritage Anglican Network is: http://theheritageanglicannetwork.blogspot.com/
A series of proposals -
A series of proposals - proposed amendments to the ACNA canons is posted on the Heritage Anglican Network. These proposals are companions proposals to the proposed amendments to the ACNA constitution posted on that site. Like the proposed amendments to the ACNA constitution, they address the concerns of orthodox North American Anglicans in and outside the ACNA who support the establishment of a new province in North America, The URL is: http://theheritageanglicannetwork.blogspot.com/2009/06/proposed-amendmen...