Meanwhile, Back at the Parish…

The fight between several conservative Southern California episcopal parishes and the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles escalated as a Superior Court judge ruled in favor of the parishes, which have declared that they are no longer part of the diocese. In protest against the ordination of an openly gay Episcopal bishop in 2004, the conservative parishes declared that they were placing themselves under the jurisdiction of the Anglican Church in Uganda. In recent years, tensions have erupted and relations have been severed between the U.S. Episcopal Church and the more conservative branches of the Anglican Communion in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

On another front, The New York Times’ Alessandra Stanley reports on a comment “by a gay Roman Catholic priest, the Rev. Fred Daley,” on ABC’s “Nightline,” who said, “And so, it’s, I think, a sad day for the many gay priests and bishops and cardinals of the church who are struggling to live good lives.” Stanley notes, with a regret many must share, that host Cynthia McFadden seemed “so wedded to her script and time limit she did not appear to even hear” the claim that there are many gay bishops and cardinals. Do ask, do tell. . . .