PB Michael Curry’s legacy will be one of humiliation, failure and loss

As the feisty blog Anglican Watch noted, “Why? Because his own words show it’s empty claptrap. One of Curry’s favorite phrases is, “If it’s not about love, it’s not about God.” That’s true. The problem is that the Episcopal Church very often isn’t about love.”

The watchdog website accused Curry of protecting the status quo. “It’s about hanging onto dilapidated old church buildings. It’s about holding onto decrepit old church office buildings that are environmental disasters and reflect a time when the denomination was the quasi-state church.”

So, apart from Curry’s love-bombing, what is real love? According to Anglican Watch it’s indifference. “Indifference is not love. Indeed, it’s often been said that hate isn’t the opposite of love. It’s indifference.”

“As we approach the end of 2022, Anglican Watch awards its first annual You Give Love a Bad Name award to Michael Curry. The unofficial refrain of the church is, “I don’t want to get involved.”

Curry has recently had to face accusations that bishops were being given a pass on abuse of power and sexuality charges.

He got his comeuppance when Julia Ayala Harris, president of the House of Deputies and the second-ranking officer of the church, wrote a letter stating concerns about the church’s response to her allegations that a retired bishop subjected her to “non-consensual physical contact” as well as “inappropriate verbal statements” on July 9, 2022, the day she was elected president.

The bishop in question turned out to be retired Oklahoma Bishop Ed Konieczny.

Recently, as he underwent surgery, Curry bemoaned the church’s situation.

Curry wailed, “It’s not an easy time to be a bishop,” Curry continued, in the cadences of a sermon. “It’s not an easy time to be the church. It’s not an easy time to be a leader in any endeavor. And frankly, it’s not an easy time just to be human,” ENS reported.

The church’s Title IV disciplinary process will be a major focus of discussion as the meeting continues through the end of the week.

In the midst of all this, Prince Singh resigned September 8 as bishop provisional of the dioceses of Eastern and Western Michigan. His adult sons publicly accused him of years of physical and emotional abuse in June, and as the weeks passed, they raised the stakes by launching a website and denouncing Curry for what they saw as an inadequate response after Curry learned of the allegations in December 2022.

Curry recused himself from the Title IV investigations of both Singh and Konieczny, illustrating the difficulties inherent in disciplinary cases against bishops.

Anglican Watch editor Eric Bonetti called out Curry on his statement about church discipline and accountability. “We are calling BS on him.”

“For starters, his effort to address this issue is pure politics. By pushing the matter to the Standing Committee on Constitution and Canons, Curry is trying to keep the matter at arm’s length.”

“Second, Curry has ignored multiple complaints that have landed on his desk, including:

Pleas for help from Richard Losch’s victim.
Complaints about Bishop George Sumner, who has personally retaliated against clergy opposing the sexual harassment of women.
Complaints about bishops who simply ignore the provisions of Title IV.”
You can read more here: https://anglicanwatch2.wpenginepowered.com/calling-bs-on-michael-curry/

All in all, Bishop Curry will go out with a whimper not a bang. Despite his ebullient presence, he opted for the new-fangled doctrines of inclusion and diversity, using money to try and influence Global South provinces to play nice over homosexuality.

Egyptian Archbishop Emeritus Mouneer Anis recently wrote that “during one of the Primates meetings, a global south Primate whispered to me saying: “I fully agree with you, but I can’t speak up because we are financially dependent on The Episcopal Church of America (TEC).” This happened during a discussion about the consequences of TEC’s progressive and unilateral decisions regarding same-sex unions, as well as consecrating practicing gay and lesbian bishops. It is nothing less than a form of neo-colonialism when rich Provinces give donations with strings attached.”

“It is nothing less than a form of neo-colonialism when rich Provinces give donations with strings attached. These grants readily create a sense of dependence and thus deprive global south churches of their right to express freely their views,” he said. And Curry was at the forefront of this neo-colonialism, which is ironic because he himself is African American.

Curry is the spiritual successor of Katharine Jefferts Schori, herself a heretic; the sexually conflicted Frank Griswold and the lame Edmond Lee Browning; all of whom began the long march away from orthodoxy to heterodoxy. Curry himself is not “southern revival.” He was born near Chicago, raised near Buffalo, not exactly the chitlin circuit.

Whoever follows Bishop Curry, will not reverse the church’s slide. The cries and screams of outrage would be heard across the airwaves and social media if any attempt to return to a biblical position on human sexuality was even vaguely tried. The die is cast, there is no going back.

Curry will be viewed as a trapped bishop in the ecclesiastical end game now being played out as dioceses merge, parishes close and aging Episcopalians head into columbariums; their eternal futures now decided by God.