++Canterbury Wimps Out on +San Joaquin

In a letter to the Diocese of San Joaquin, ++Greg Venables lets us know that ++Rowan Williams has wimped out on the real Bishop of San Joaquin.

Dr. Williams:
I understand that Bishop John-David Schofield has been accepted as a full member of the episcopal fellowship of the Province of the Southern Cone within the Anglican Communion and as such cannot be regarded as having withdrawn from the Anglican Communion. However, . . .

Uh, oh. Here’s comes the hedging.

. . . it is acknowledged that his exact status (especially given the complications surrounding the congregations associated with him) remains unclear on the basis of the general norms of Anglican Canon Law, and this constitutes one of the issues on which we hope for assistance from the Windsor Continuation Group. Bishop Schofield has elected to decline the invitation to the Lambeth Conference issued to him last year although that decision does not signal any withdrawal from the Communion. I hope there may be further careful reflection to clarify the terms on which he will exercise his ministry.

There’s more to the letter. Read it all.