But here's the real kicker clause; Pennsylvania Bishop Charles E. Bennison knew what was going on and failed to report it to the police, especially as the girl his brother seduced was under 18. Charles Bennison was pastor at St. Mark's in Clayton County at the time when the scandal first erupted. In 1979, Chuck Bennison allegedly sent a letter to John's first wife, urging her to keep quiet: "a public scandal here...could cost me my job," he wrote. A brother of one of the victim's opined: "It was a huge betrayal of the whole family." You can read the full story and watch a video here. http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=4120

On the eve of a $28,000 audit on the finances of the diocese and how money has been spent by Bennison over the last few years, VOL received an exclusive package of documents showing that a battle has been going on by Bennison since 2002 to conceal significant Management Papers showing how he has manipulated diocesan finances to further his own agenda at great cost to the diocese. You can read that story in today's digest, but if you want to click on the PDF file that catalogues all this go here: http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/content/management_papers.pdf

A WEEK has gone by and Alabama Suffragan Bishop Mark Andrus still has not answered VOL'S questions, nor has he asked that the so called confidentiality restrictions be lifted. He is contemptuous of the right and duty of general convention to examine his qualifications. Will general convention roll over and play dead?

IN KENYA, a Church of England bishop thought he could schmooze his way into the Anglican Province of Kenya masquerading as orthodox when all the time he tried to conceal his pro-gay proclivities. Well, Archbishop Benjamin Nzimbi got wind of Bishop John Gladwin's true colors and cut off his speaking engagement and sent the bishop packing. Gladwin tried to deny that he had any gay sympathies but VOL got hold of a document that proved otherwise. Gladwin, who claims to be an evangelical, seems a long way from that when you consider what he believes and has endorsed over the years.

Wrote one irate vicar, "regarding the rift between the Anglican Church in Kenya and the Bishop of Chelmsford (News, May 25), may I make it clear that the statement by some of us in Chelmsford Diocese about Bishop John Gladwin's decision to become a patron of Changing Attitude was issued not by "evangelicals", but by Chelmsford Anglican Mainstream, which represents many traditions in the Church of England. Concern about this issue has affected Anglicans across the diocese, even bridging the gap between different views on the ordination of women," wrote the Rev. John Richardson, of Bishop's Stortford, in Hertfordshire.

THE ISSUE for the 75th General Convention of the Episcopal Church in June 2006 is whether the 2003 decision to ratify Robinson's consecration can be reversed and the tear in the fabric of the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion be repaired. Failing this reversal, the state of impaired or broken communion among those formerly together in the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion can be expected to become permanent. We, the Network Bishops, are prepared to be part of the efforts to reverse the situation, precisely because we are committed both to the Anglican Communion and the Constitution of the Episcopal Church, and because we long to be instruments of healing and reconciliation in the face of division.

To that end, some 20 Network bishops signed a statement unanimously supporting the recommendations of the Windsor Report as the basis on which divisions can begin to be mended. "We pledge to work with all bishops of this Church and of the Communion who also support the Windsor report, and the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Primates in particular, in working toward greater unity and mutual responsibility under Scripture and within the Anglican heritage."

HOWEVER, this did not satisfy some 10 ECUSA bishops who flew to London and Lambeth Palace and met with Dr. Rowan Williams to give their pitch on GC2006. VOL had given some names in an earlier digest, but now a fuller list includes not only bishops Gary Lillibridge, of West Texas; John B. Lipscomb, of Southwest Florida; Edward Little II, of Northern Indiana; D. Bruce MacPherson, of Western Louisiana; Edward L. Salmon, Jr. of South Carolina; James M. Stanton, Bishop of Dallas, it also included Jeffrey N. Steenson, of the Rio Grande; Don A. Wimberly of Texas and Geralyn Wolf of Rhode Island. Rob O'Neil, Bishop of Colorado did not attend as originally thought.

Now no formal statement has been forthcoming from this meeting except the usual talk about keeping the conversation going. However there was more to it than this.

VOL has learned that these bishops sought to speak with the archbishop and not the other way round. Why? This group were either conservative (Stanton, MacPherson, Salmon and Steenson) or moderate to liberal (Wolf, Wimberly, Lipscomb et al), none were outright revisionists cut in the mold of Shaw, Walker, Griswold, Bennison, Ihloff et al. The concern of this group is that there "moderate" voice is not being heard in the church, only the extreme ends, and they are deeply troubled that if GC2006 does not endorse a full repentance of its actions as called forth by the Windsor Report that they will be tarred with the same brush and not be invited to Lambeth in 2008. What promises were made, no one knows, but you can be sure that there are dozens of moderate bishops who don't want to be left out in the cold after General Convention.

BUT TWO leading Anglican clerics raised the ante this week when they, separate of each other, said sodomy was a communion-breaking issue. The Archbishop of Sydney Australia, the Most Rev. Peter Jensen took the orthodox position and Bishop Richard Harries of Oxford, England took the contra position. You can read that story in today's digest or click here: http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=4144

Soon after he traveled to New Zealand where he spoke to the Latimer Fellowship, Archbishop Jensen gave two brilliant lectures on the Crisis in the Anglican Communion and the way forward for Evangelicals. You can read both pieces at these links. http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=4133 http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=4134

AS A SIGN of the chickens coming home to roost, the Rt. Rev. Duncan Gray, III, bishop of the DIOCESE OF MISSISSIPPI announced that All Saints Episcopal School was closing in Vicksburg. The institution has had financial difficulties for the past few years and will not accept students for the next school year. Said a VOL reader, "It is not only churches that are closing; it is Episcopal institutions as well that are folding for lack of support. Who would want to trust the Episcopal Church with training children what to believe anyway?" The venerable institution had its origin 1908 when it began as an all-girls college. Today, All Saints' is a co-educational boarding and day school for students in grades 7-12. The Episcopal Dioceses of Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Western Louisiana govern the school.

In the DIOCESE OF FLORIDA a VOL a priest wrote to comment on last week's note about Grace Episcopal Church. "While 90 at the old Grace Church site seems respectable (larger than Episcopal norms), the other side is they are already in the red. A layperson helping out there admitted that after 4 weeks following the departure of the over 520-a-Sunday congregation, the remnant already had $28,000 in bills that they were sitting on because they had no funds to pay them. Grace left behind a huge plant and $600,000 in debt after the bishop pushed them out with the threat of a lawsuit. The right question is, "Who are the ninety?" I suspect that they are mostly migrants from surrounding parishes, which does not increase the diocese overall." The priest also noted that the former cardinal parish of St. Mark's in Jacksonville has shrunk dramatically, well below 250 a week at last report." Bishop Howard is increasingly in a tough position, he said. "Having discouraged some liberals by publicly opposing same-sex blessings and consecrations, he still chooses them for leadership positions, making it harder for the orthodox to support him. Thus both ends of the spectrum are unhappy, although there is also a mildly happy middle, as evidenced in a relatively peaceful convention earlier this month. Bishop Howard, or at least his cathedral dean, had conveniently overlooked the fact that when the Cathedral Deans conference gathered here with Griswold last month, two publicly brought same-sex partners along. This fact was omitted in any news or convention report."

There is a certain irony in all this, as this was the same diocese that would not allow Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold in to consecrate Bishop Howard in 2003!

ON A POSITIVE note a VOL reader wrote to say that Bishop Frank Lyons from the Anglican DIOCESE OF BOLIVIA in the Southern Cone, confirmed 14 persons and ordained the Rev. Jack B. Irvin, Sr. to the sacred order of priests in the Anglican Tradition at St. Anne's Anglican Church in Madison, Ohio recently. "Nearly 150 were in attendance for this wonderful day of celebration, in which Bishop Lyons preached about "costly obedience" and encouraged our congregation to get on with the exciting work of the Great Commission." It is the first visit Bishop Lyons has made to this parish since it disaffiliated from the Episcopal Church and the Diocese of Ohio to come under his oversight in November 2005, along with three other congregations in the Diocese; St. Luke's Akron, Church of the Holy Spirit, Akron and St. Barnabas, Bay Village. (Since then, one other congregation has come under Bishop Lyon's authority, Church of the Transfiguration, Cleveland). "It was a glorious day for our members and we are excited by our future and eager to join with others in "Common Cause" to establish the Kingdom of God in Northeast Ohio and beyond, in the Anglican Tradition!" wrote the Rev. Kelly M. Irish. Bishop Lyons had just visited Holy Cross Anglican (formerly Episcopal) in Raleigh, N.C. to ordain a parish priest. There is clearly a growing Anglican revival going on even as the Episcopal Church slowly withers on the vine. One day the remnant will no longer be the remnant.

AND in the DIOCESE OF DALLAS, the Rev. Canon David Roseberry of Christ Church Plano reports that the clergy petition he sent out at www.bcp526.org now has 1,000 signatures! Together, those priests represent over 22,000 years of orthodox ministry. Well this got the ire up of Jim Naughton of the DIOCESE OF WASHINGTON who challenged Roseberry on the significance of the numbers. You can read that story in today's digest or click here: http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=4136

AND if you were wondering how far V. Gene Robinson is prepared to push the gay agenda onto the Episcopal Church a satirical piece in Recoil magazine has the homosexual bishop exercising his new power by adding Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" to the list of songs to be printed in the New Hampshire Episcopal Church's new hymnals, which will be distributed to churches within Robinson's diocese in June. "My hope is that the congregation can look past the non-traditional lyrical content and see that Freddy Mercury's melodies are just as uplifting as conventional Church hymns," Robinson said, adding that he's "always had a special place in [his] heart for Queen." (Source: Recoil Magazine).

AND FROM The Blue Book comes this prayer. It is For Godly Expression of One's Sexuality: "O God, you have made us in your image and called us to the joys of human love. That love, the sign and seal of your own love for each of us, is shown through companionship and caring, and, powerfully and mysteriously, through the mystery of godly sexual expression shared with each other. This young person, N., is opening his heart to learn the wideness of love. As he strives to discover who he is, whose he is, and the person he is given to love, may he be guided, protected, and encouraged by you, O Love Incarnate. Give him wisdom in choosing, courage in loving, and patience in waiting for the marvelous truth of his life to unfold in your grace, most holy and undivided Trinity, alive through all the ages. Amen."

Though not overtly offensive--it fudges all the key questions--and raises all sorts of troubling questions. Do we really need a prayer to celebrate the exploration of youthful sexuality? One VOL reader said it could be tacitly read as a sort of "coming out" prayer. "I suspect it will slip in under the wire."

THE Rev. Susan Russell, the recently hitched lesbian leader of ECUSA's gay Integrity organization has been invited to Washington, DC at the invitation of the HRC (Human Rights Campaign) Washington office. "We are writing with the hope that you might be able to come to Washington DC on June 4th to be taped in the media center and be available to the media in opposition to the Federal Marriage Amendment (FMA). This is the same day that the religious right is planning a huge religious day in support of the FMA and we need to fight back hard." Wrote Russell, "... and so now I'm off to DC ... hoping to get a few sound bites in support of marriage equality into the media fray. I'm hard pressed to imagine how the timing could actually be WORSE what with all the Columbus Clambake preparations in process, but am going to gird my loins, push away from the bread of anxiety and do it anyway."

And from the DIOCESE OF OKLAHOMA comes the profile for a new bishop as Robert Moody gets set to retire in 2007. The Oklahoma edition of "Episcopal Life" has an abbreviated report from the Profile and Search Committee charged with seeking a new bishop to succeed Moody. "Two qualities caught my eye," said a VOL reader. The new bishop "regards the New Testament gospels as interpretive portrayals of Jesus' mission and ministry" and the new bishop must "permit the blessings of same-sex unions." The complete profile is on www.anewbishopforoklahoma.org. Don't look for any change of direction in this diocese, but do look for more orthodox parishes to flee after General Convention.

AND from Toronto, Canada a documentary on the gradual dissolution of St. Stephen's-in-the-Field, in the DIOCESE OF TORONTO was aired on Vision TV. It shows the utter contempt of the Primate's Office for the average parishioner in the parishes. The Documentary is called "The Battle for St. Stephen's". It encapsulates the Churches policy on parish closure. It proves a national policy of total disaster, said a VOL reader.

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