From the Church Times in England-
THERE have been calls this week for the House of Bishops of the Episcopal Church in the US to identify members of a group set up to undertake a theological study of same-sex relationships in the life of the Church.
The group is described as “a diverse and balanced panel of theologians”, and has already begun its work, having been appointed by the House of Bishops’ Theology Committee. It has been designed “to be a contribution to the listening process of the Anglican Communion”.
The Chicago Consultation is calling on the Bishops to name the scholars on the new panel. The Consultation’s co-convener, Ruth Meyers, Professor of Liturgics at Seabury Western Theological Seminary, said it was “saddened that the House of Bishops Theology Committee has chosen to begin this important scholarly work without making public the names . . .
“Such important work deserves to be no less than a model of the transparent governance that the Episcopal Church has upheld for centuries. As theologians, priests, bishops, and lay people . . . we call upon the House of Bishops’ Theology Committee to release at once the names.”
Louie Crew, founder of the pro-gay Integrity network, described the decision to keep the group anonymous as “an abomination”.
However, the Rt Revd Henry Parsley, Jr., who chairs the Theological Committee, said on Wednesday that to keep the names secret was the best way of ensuring that the subject was fully discussed.
In his response to the calls for openness, posted on the diocese of Washington’s Episcopal Café blog, he said that the panel “very intentionally represents a robust range of views on the subject and includes gay and lesbian persons.
The rest is here-
http://www.churchtimes.co.uk/content.asp?id=76229
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