‘Muslim Priest’ Deposed

The Rt. Rev. Geralyn Wolf, Bishop of Rhode Island, deposed a Rhode Island priest on April 1 who claimed to be both a Christian and a Muslim.

For more than 20 years Ann Holmes Redding served in other dioceses. Since 2001, she has lived in the Diocese of Olympia, but she remained canonically resident in Rhode Island under Bishop Wolf’s pastoral oversight. In 2007, Ms. Redding revealed in an article in Episcopal Voice, the Diocese of Olympia’s monthly newspaper, that she had made the Muslim profession of faith and that she saw no contradiction in remaining an Episcopal priest.

After conferring with Ms. Redding, Bishop Wolf issued a pastoral direction giving Ms. Redding the opportunity to reflect for one year on the doctrines of the Christian faith, her vocation as a priest, and the conflicts inherent in professing both Christianity and Islam, Bishop Wolf said in a statement issued at the time. The pastoral direction was extended for an additional three months in June.

In October, after the second expiration of the pastoral direction, the Rhode Island standing committee determined that Ms. Redding’s formal admission into another religious body not in communion with The Episcopal Church constituted abandonment as defined by the canons and constitution of the General Convention of The Episcopal Church and Bishop Wolf inhibited Ms. Redding. The inhibition expired on March 31. In order for the inhibition to be lifted, Ms. Redding needed either to renounce her priestly orders or withdraw from the Muslim faith. In an interview with the Seattle Times, Ms. Redding said being a Muslim did not preclude her from being a Christian.

“I am very sad,” she told the Times. “I’m sad at the loss of this cherished honor of having served as a priest.”

A statement issued by the Diocese of Rhode Island, said that Bishop Wolf found Ms. Redding “to be a woman of utmost integrity and their conversations over the past two years have been open and respectful. However, Bishop Wolf believes that a priest of the Church cannot be both a Christian and a Muslim.”

http://www.livingchurch.org/news/news-updates/2009/4/1/muslim-priest-deposed