Bishop Wilkinson Excommunicates Former Rector

As reported earlier, the U.S. province of the Traditional Anglican Communion has made provision for those parishes who are still unsure of whether to accept the provisions made in Anglicanorum Coetibus. This will, hopefully, allow not only an orderly but also a friendly and charitable way for any divisions to take place, and which will be respectful of the conscience of all.
A story is now developing about the Canadian province of the TAC, the Anglican Catholic Church in Canada, which has been reported on by David Virtue and which is also being discussed on The Anglo-Catholic blog.

Bishop Wilkinson Excommunicates Former Rector
Posted on June 26, 2010 by Deborah Gyapong

There's a story on David Virtue's site that sounds much like it has been written from the perspective of the dissidents. I don't know the details, but if Bishop Peter Wilkinson found he had to act so decisively, I applaud him for it. Here's an excerpt of a long story from the perspective of folks that seem to think we should be congregationalists.

The former Rector of St. John the Evangelist, Canon Stanley Sinclair, has been expelled from the cathedral and excommunicated from his parish and the Anglican Church in Canada based in Victoria, BC because he refuses to accept the Pope's offer of unity being promoted by the Traditional Anglican Communion.

Canon Sinclair was summarily dismissed from his post by The Rt. Rev. Peter D. Wilkinson, Metropolitan and Bishop Ordinary, who accused Canon Sinclair of "sowing discord", and "going behind my back to spread false information, fear and disunity.

Read the rest of Deborah's post at The Anglo-Catholic blog.

I will add one more part to this post. I have just finished reading the Pro/Con document that Fr. Sinclair distributed, which is now posted on Virtue Online. Without knowing more about what exactly transpired in this situation in British Columbia, this document would be sure to set any Catholic's teeth on edge, because it is full of false statements. They are perhaps sincerely believed, but they are false nonetheless. Such a document could have provided real help to clergy and laypeople considering the provisions in Anglicanorum Coetibus. But presenting caricatured doctrine and simplifications (to the point that they are distortions) was not the way to do it. A good example of a document that would have benefited from wider collaboration and editing. SEC