The Shot Heard Round the World...

This is where things take a turn.

Today, nine Bishops (including my own) signed a letter to the Bishop of Connecticut in which they pledge to:

1. Issue a presentment against +Smith


2. Issue and raise funding for the legal defense of the Connecticut parishes.


3. Provide episcopal care (assumedly unauthorized by +Smith) to those parishes.


4. License Fr. Mark Hansen in their dioceses.

I had heard that this was in the works, but I point it out as a major step in the present conflict as a whole. This is the first time that diocesan bishops of any stripe have simply pledged to override episcopal authority outside the geographical boundaries of their own dioceses. In this sense, it is a major statement, and falls very much in line with a paper I wrote a while back on the subject of episcopal jurisdiction. It is clear at this point that, at least among the named bishops, they no longer see any collegiality with at least Bishop Smith, although this number is likely to increase. So the battle is heating up - and I would expect that by the end of this calendar year, we will see one of the men on this list presented himself. But, nevertheless, in the end this is very good news indeed.

Read the whole text here.