Ripping the recent American General Convention, he brought roars of laughter to the delegates when he said that what he heard at General Convention in ten days that was actually theological, could fill a single page.

He said Americans were responsible for exporting McDonalds, "then we exported McSacraments, then the McBible, then McPreists and now we are debating in some quarters, McBishops." This, he said, often times bring indigestion.

Bishop Ackerman said that what was being asked for in the Windsor Report was one word. "The American province was asked to say 'sorry'. The American province responded with one word 'Schori.'"

"The last two primates in ECUSA promised to take us to a deeper place. By electing a professionally trained oceanographer she may actually do so," he said to roars of laughter.

Outlining the difficulties Anglo-Catholics face in North America, Ackerman said there were 53 separate denominations of continuing churches, with some wanting to be in communion with Canterbury, but not all. "It is difficult for us to know the path we are to take."

The Anglo-Catholic bishop said that half of his class from Nashotah House is now with the Roman Catholic, Antiochian and numerous continuing churches. "There is not a place for the Anglo-Catholic."

I was consecrated in 1994; Ackerman said he was the last traditional bishop to be elected. "I am the last traditional bishop to be consecrated. I almost didn't get consent. The future is not very bright in that regard."

The bishop blasted the Episcopal Church's homogenital organization, Integrity. "We can't use the word integrity because it is used by the American church's homosexual caucus."

"Why are we involved in conversation with so many different people? We don't have an adequate way to visit out constituency. We [Anglo-Catholics] have to cross borders legally and illegally. We have to use retired bishops. We have isolated Anglo-Catholic parishes with no guaranteed sense of reliability for episcopal visitations. I am the closest thing to a flying bishop. I once had 21 parishes. That number has decreased largely through lawsuits or they were forced out of the TEC. Numerous priests are being deposed for leaving the communion as they would indicate, but that is not accurate at all. They have continued in their faith. We must work with others; we don't have a critical mass."

Ackerman praised the Anglican Communion Network and said Anglo-Catholics were not playing loose and free with the Network. "FIFNA has not compromised its agreement over women's ordination. FIFNA, he said, was also part of Common Cause. It has FIFNA, ACN and AMIA has now come in. The bishop praised the Anglican Mission in America (AMIA), saying it had revisited the whole matter of women's ordination and determined it is not theologically or biblically possible for women to be ordained to the priesthood or the episcopacy. Ackerman said FIFNA had witnessed to them and they could take credit for that by "our bold witness to them."

Ackerman said that there was in fact, disintegration. "We have traded in a foot washing ceremony for the hand wringing ceremony and foot shooting ceremony. We have seen the alteration of basic theological points. We have failed to get to specific points. The reality is the alteration of basic theological points; the nature of the Holy Trinity, the unique nature of Christ himself being the way truth and life. We are seeing the recasting of God, changing absolutes and a total changing of root metaphors. If people have difficulty referring to our heavenly father as Father then they can be healed. That's called healing. We don't shift metaphors for truth to become palatable. We proclaim the truth because we are more concerned about the salvation of souls than we are about public opinion."

"Affirming Catholicism has hit our shores, epitomized by all dressed up and nowhere to go. It neither affirms the faith nor is it catholic, it is an end in and of itself and defines itself by Synodical counsels rather than by the Catholic Faith."

Ackerman said he was tired of being on the defensive, of being called misogynist or homophobe or something. "I am going to give you a word 'parlaraphobia' - sickness of the church - an irrational fear of tradition. That is precisely what it is."

We are deeply involved in the fight. "You want the creation of a third province. This is extraordinarily important. I don't want a 10th another province in the US as part of The Episcopal Church. I want a 39th province of the Anglican Communion and that is what we are working diligently for in the American Church. We need to work together. We share this faith together and we must never fail."

The bishop said he had 22 catholic men in seminary under the age of 35. "I am not worried about the future. I am not that important. We should be faithful. We must not be impatient. We cannot expect answers in the same way e-mail messages come back, if so we will be sorely disappointed. It is in God's time. We must not be impatient. He must trust you very much. We have an opportunity to be martyred for the Catholic Faith. We are not the saviors; we have been called to walk the way of the cross with the savior. Our strong suit has never been strategy and politics that is why we are so poor at it, but the conversion of lives, proclaiming the catholic faith, worshipping Jesus Christ and in truth and purity to all generations. This will draw more and more converts to the love of Jesus."

END