Release the Report

A story from Episcopal News Service at the end of last week’s meeting of the Executive Council has caused something of an insurrection among politically active Episcopalians. As I mentioned in my post “Canadian Report Proves Text of Covenant Sucks,” Executive Council has chosen to sit on a report from the Standing Commission on Constitution and Canons (SCCC) until it is published in the Blue Book in October. The report offers the commission’s view on what changes to our constitution and canons might be necessary were The Episcopal Church to adopt the Anglican Covenant. The ostensible reason for not releasing the report is that “some people may assume that decisions have already been made.”

I think it fair to say that the average Episcopalian that cares about the polity of our church is capable of understanding that the SCCC report deals in hypotheticals, which, after all, is necessary for evaluating possible future action by the church. Presumably, the report offers decision makers useful data to use in deciding what the 2012 General Convention should do with the Anglican Covenant. Is waiting four months to get this data going to help deputies make better decisions? I cannot imagine how.

Meanwhile, the failure to release the report is causing a good deal of conversation among deputies and other interested folk, both in The Episcopal Church and elsewhere in the Communion. Jim Naughton, who last week railed against Executive Council’s not making the SCCC report public, wrote another post on The Lead yesterday calling for the report’s immediate release:

The information in that report—which the sub-committee received several months ago—is of great interest and importance to members of the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion. It needs to be released to the wider public. We hope the Executive Council will publish the document immediately. We are happy to help.

To date, neither the report nor an explanation for its being withheld that is more logical and less paternalistic than what we have heard so far has been forthcoming from the Executive Council. I realize that Council members will need to consult with one another before the report can be released. I hope they do so quickly and do the right thing. Meanwhile, the rest of us should be putting pressure on Council members in any way we can to convince them to make the SCCC report public.