Minns is from England. Maybe he doesn't understand that in this former colony it is also a crime to steal money and not pay one's taxes.

This will not help in the sentencing phase.

And was anyone surprised by ACNA's response? No.

James

A couple of days ago in a related post I suggested that ACNA might have a strong sense of due process, and that Bishop Minns might want to evaluate before speaking. Clearly, he has done the evaluation he intends, even before the visit. He seems to discount that the important charges were not ecclesial but civil and criminal. He witnesses to lack of circumspection and integrity. Rather, since the victim was the Episcopal Church, these sins aren't all that important.

One Evangelist reports that Jesus said, "He who is not for us is against us," while another reports it as "He who is not against us is for us." It seems clear which Bishop Minns remembers.

Marshall Scott

Yet another grandstanding example of fear/hate= greed=spiritualspite. Grisly it may be but it´s so important to view closely as deceptive treachery keeps unfolding before us and reveals itself for all to see...the defensive/sloppiness of the churchlike not-so-holy operation is staggering and underscores what many knew already...anti-lgbt followers, and those of the same ilk with other ¨issues¨, will go to any length to twist truth as they snatch and grab for crumbs of credibility...they do it with a snear on their face and a blatant disregard for justice and basic sensibilities of the public at large...these many examples of out-of-control demands and belligerent self-righteousness are vertical and seem to permeate the whole nasty ¨excluder/theft¨ operation from top down...very sad and probably grossly unwise and self-destructive in the end.

Who is paying for this ongoing and ugly game pastoral abuse?

"therefore at this juncture it is not appropriate for me to comment on specific legal issues." says Bishop Minns.

Then, a paragraph later he states he doesn't believe that a criminal investigation should have been initiated and that he believes Armstrong is innocent.

Does anyone else think that's a "comment on a specific legal issue"?

One would be correct in assuming that Randolph Bragg had the circumspection to commit the "immorality" of which his diocese convicted him with a member of the opposite sex?

I find the whole letter breathtaking. Not only is there the discrepancy between what +Minns says in one paragraph and another (which Margret points to), but the idea that a bishop would attempt to second-guess a DA and a trial judge is astonishing. Either +Minns doesn't understand the difference between ecclesiastical, civil and criminal trials (as Marshall points out), or he's deliberately trying to cloud the issue.

I'm really very disappointed. I had hoped that CANA/ACNA actually had some sense of integrity. Instead, what they seem to have going for them is the sort of spurious honor that exists between thieves.

It occurs to me that the reference to settling out of court *might* be a rebuke of Armstrong. In the Gospel passage referenced Christ warns, "Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still with him on the way, or he may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. I tell you the truth, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny." The responsibility for settling is clearly the accused here. Perhaps +Minns is taking Armstrong+ to task for letting things go as far as they did. Of course, the part of the letter in which +Minns maintains that his respect for Armstrong+ has only increased would seem to contradict that.

The letter itself is fraught with contradictions.

In a criminal matter, one cannot settle out of court. One can plead no contest and submit to the court's discipline. That is what has happened in this case. We await the sentencing phase, prior to which, both Armstrong and Minns should be silent and engaged in prayer. As I note above, these statement will not likely sit well with the judge.