The worst offender this time is a blog associated with the Diocese of Washington called Anal Anglican Relief AKA Episcopal Café. Here is what their chief blogger wrote:

"In the debate over this resolution, (CO56) the Rev. Dan Martins, who was elected on Saturday as Bishop of Springfield, said that if the convention passed C056, members would be 'covering ourselves in shame.' He did not say he had a principled disagreement with the resolution, which would have been unobjectionable. He did not say the theological reasoning was weak, which is an opinion to which he is entitled. He did not say he could not accept the morality to committed gay and lesbian relationships, which, again, would not have troubled most Episcopalians who are accustomed to a diversity of views on this issue within their church.

"Instead, he used the word 'shame', the word that LGBT people have had thrown in their faces for most of their lives, the word that has rung in the ears of LGBT teens who have ended their own lives prematurely. It is a word meant to intimidate and to wound, a word meant to set one's self above and apart from those one is describing."

THIS IS A LIE. Martins said no such thing. The "shame" of which Martins speaks is all about denominational political process, not about sexuality. The "shame" was TEC's violation of the Windsor Report and multiple communiqués casually ignored by TEC in the face of overwhelming Communion opprobrium for TEC's behavior.

The real "shame" is the insinuation poured out by this blog, which is engaging in duplicity to poison consent for Martins' consecration. The truth is the blog covered itself in "shame" by falsely accusing Fr. Martins and twisting what he said to make it look as though he meant and said something he did not.

Episcopal Café went on to bemoan Martins saying that he "stigmatized LGBT people to score debating points." Rubbish. Martins stigmatized nobody. He made the point that it has been the constant theme of TEC to defy the vast majority of the international Anglican Communion over sodomy by repeatedly raising the middle finger against Lambeth resolution 1:10.

"It seems fair for the bishops and standing committees that need to consent to his election to ask whether he is capable of speaking about these people with respect and whether he is capable of ministering them," said the Episcopal Café blogger.

Really. Martins is perfectly capable of speaking to LGBTQ people, reminding them that Resolution 1:10 (which has never been rescinded) affirmed marriage between a man and a woman and that listening to homosexuals does not mean affirming their lifestyle or behavior, regardless of C056. Martins stigmatized no one.

That Martins will not roll over is to his credit, and he is in good company with bishops like John W. Howe, James Stanton, Mark Lawrence and Bill Love, to name but a few.

If Martins should be denied consents, it would demonstrate fear, hatred and loathing to a heterophobic degree unparalleled in the Episcopal Church.

Yes, there is still room in the church for bishops who do not believe that it is right to bless same-sex relationships and Martins should be free to stand up and say so. For how much longer such freedoms exist is hard to say.

You can see the video of what Martins says at GC2009 here: http://northernplainsanglicans.blogspot.com/2010/09/episcopal-church-communications-office.html

Nowhere will you see or hear Martins deliberately aiming the word "shame" as a psychological assault on LGBT people. It is a lie.

This blog and the Diocese of Washington owe Fr. Martins an apology. These false accusations against him should be publicly rebutted. No one wants a repeat of what happened to Mark Lawrence.

It is ironic that blogs like Episcopal Café would like to see Martins ditched are the same liberal Episcopal blogs along with the HOB/D Listserv who have failed to publicly call for the expulsion of revisionist PA Bishop Charles Bennison for his outrageous behavior in covering up his brother's sexual abuse of a minor.

Silence on Bennison, vilification for Martins, who is orthodox in faith and morals, by declaring he is homophobic before he has even had a chance to prove himself.

On learning he had won the election, Martins wrote in his blog, "Some hours after the event, someone told me the bells of St Paul's Cathedral in Springfield were rung, announcing my election. It was at that moment that I nearly broke down and wept. I am quite certain I have never felt so humbled in my life." Let's hope he is given a chance to prove himself. It'll be interesting to find out just how inclusive V. Gene Robinson and Mary Glasspool are when they vote on Martins. Perhaps they will have the courage to tell us.

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