My, my, my ... that's really all I can think of to say at this point ... my, my, my!

Susan Russell

Hmmmmm!

So it seems that both the money and, now, the words themelves come from the good old US of A!

Wasn't there an old saw somewhere about tails wagging dogs?

In case there are inquiries, I want to attest that I did not assist Susan Russell in crafting her earlier comment.

The Akinola to Minns to Akinola play might have some possibilities for a one act play. Maybe something like "Transparency to the Trashpile."

Susan does say it best, "My, my, my."

See also,
http://www.churchtimes.co.uk/content.asp?id=43076

quote/
Rumours persist that Bishop Akinola intends to create a bishop to serve disaffected congregations in the Church of England. A front-page report in The Church of England Newspaper last week quoted a Nigerian cleric as saying that such a bishop “could be consecrated before next year’s Lambeth Conference if plans succeed”.

Such an appointment would mirror Bishop Akinola’s consecration of the Revd Martyn Minns to serve congregations in the United States belonging to the Convocation of Anglicans in North America (CANA). One report on the internet went so far as to suggest that Canon Chris Sugden of Anglican Mainstream was the choice of the bishops of the Global South. In response, Canon Sugden, a canon of Jos Cathedral in Nigeria, told the Church Times on 17 July: “As far as I am concerned, I have no knowledge of any of this.”
/unquote

Let's just agree to call the authors A, M and S. Fundamentally, they may be one and the same. But let's not criticize them if that's the way they read the Bible.
irony off

What is so tragic here is not that the power games are being played so (as it turns out) transparently, but that there are so many persons whose very lives are hanging in the balance.

The statement written by Akinola, whether in its first or final edited form, shows no compassion toward those it seeks to exclude and the demonization of the final version is especially frightening to this reader.

May God keep all of our brothers and sisters safe through this time of trial.

Apparently none of the previous commentors has worked for an top executive or a person of importance. It is quite normal for subordinates to prepare speeches and articles in draft for people whose time is valuable and scarce. I always regarded it a high honor if my draft was accepted unchanged. It happened rarely, but when it did I knew I had captured my boss's thoughts and beliefs. I never deluded myself into thinking I was capable of putting my words into my boss's mouth against his will or better judgment. I am sure the same is true for the relationship Bishop Minns enjoys with Archbishop Akinola.

Eric, I agree that many people have ghostwriters. That is why, in the original post, I wrote: "The significance of this development lies less in the fact that Akinola has a ghostwriter--the leaders of many organizations, ecclesial and secular have staff members who handle writing assignments for them.--than that what has long been portrayed as the authentic voice of African Anglicanism is, manifestly, not African, and perhaps never has been."

In addition, the word "subordinate" does not begin to capture the nature of the realtinship that Minns has with Akinola.

Appreciating both Eric's and Jim's comments, I find I really don't care who wrote what parts of the letter. If both Akinola and his American colleagues are in agreement on this course, who wrote what isn't all that important. Archbishop Akinola and Minns (and Bena and others, both officially within and outside the Nigerian orbit) have determined that the enemy of their enemy is their friend. It is, of course, a short-sighted reason for common action; but clearly common action will be the result.

Marshall Scott