Q. Why doesn't the Anglican Communion exercise church discipline with the American Church?A. The provinces of the Anglican Communion are autonomous entities and there is no Communion wide system for discipline. Clergy of the Episcopal Church who are thought to have stepped outside the bounds are disciplined by diocesan structures and Bishop's by a national structure which involves the House of Bishops. There is no question that the American church's record on discipline is spotty at best but there are examples of the system working. In Philadelphia, Bishop Bennison was recently tried for behavior he engaged in several decades ago and found guilty. And last year Ann Holmes Reading, a priest from Rhode Island, serving in Washington State, claimed to be a Muslim. Her Bishop "pulled her collar".
The Bennison story is here
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/homepage/21930664.html
and more recently here
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/local/26902229.html
and the Ann Holmes Reading story is here
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2003777863_webpriest06.html
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