Now I'm officially confused

Apparently, Jeffrey John (the dean of St. Alban's in England, who is in a registered civil partnership with the Rev'd Grant Holmes since 2006) has been nominated to become the Bishop of Southwark (a large part of municipal London, UK), which nomination, in fact, I think is rather daring, and a good thing.

Formerly nominated (and then forced to withdraw) as Bishop of Reading several years ago (because of his sexual orientation), the fact that ++Rowan (Archbishop of Canterbury) is allowing his name to go forward just confuses the hell out of me, because I think this is a good thing (and until today, I have tended to think that ++Rowan and I have vastly different ideas about what is a good thing).

Now let me be the first to admit that I am easily confused. My family would validate this observation, as would the parish, and the community organizations that I support.

Nevertheless, after the slight against ++Katharine Jefferts Schori at Southwark Cathedral (in the so-called Mitre-gate matter -- http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/jun/15/hugh-muir-diary) because The Episcopal Church had the tenacity to consecrate a gay bishop (Gene Robinson, 2004) and a lesbian bishop (Mary Glasspool, 2010), I am stunned (that would be gob-smacked in English parlance) that ++Rowan is not blocking this nomination.

What is truly amazing is that Jeffrey John is not only nominated, but the preferred candidate. In the British system, nominees are vetted by an ecclesial committee (that includes the Archbishops of Canterbury and York) and then submitted to the Prime Minister (David Cameron, a known critic of Anglican conservatives) who then submits the name of the preferred candidate to the crown, who actually makes the appointment.

If this nomination proceeds, I wonder why the Anglican Church of Canada needs to pay any attention whatsoever to the Anglican Covenant, the General Secretary (Kenneth Kearon, who I've mentioned in other posts), or, for that matter, any authority except the diocese.

That's the part that really confuses me. We have a bishop that seems not ready to act until the national church does, a Primate that at least publicly will not cross the line drawn in the sand by Canterbury, and gay and lesbians within my ken that will look at the actions of the Church of England and say (literally) wtf.

As do I.

Today's weigh-in: 232 Waistline is also confused.