Bishop Carl Cooper Has Resigned

It was reported on Tuesday (29.04.08) that Bishop Carl Cooper has resigned after days of speculation. His resignation comes after allegations of inpropriety with his Chaplin, Mrs. Mandy Williams-Potter.

The news was reported to the Clergy early Tuesday Morning, and broken on the early morning news. A statement from the Church in Wales says:

The Bishop of St Davids, the Rt Reverend Carl Cooper, has resigned. He has apologised for any of his actions that have caused offence and made it impossible for him to continue his ministry as Bishop of St Davids.

The Archbishop and the Bench of Bishops of the Church in Wales have accepted the resignation as being in the best interests of the diocese and the Church in Wales at this time.

There will be no further comment.

A very brief statement, but true nonetheless. It was also not mentioned in this post, as I suppose was prudent, that Mrs. Mandy Williams-Potter has also tendered her resignation. That has also been accepted.

The news is sad, but it at least ends the weeks of silence. The worst part about the whole thing was not knowing what was going on, what the plans were, and generally hearing rumors being fed to the media. This action at least now allows the Diocise to get back on it’s feet. One of the first steps towards this is that Rev. Bishop Barry Morgan, Arch Bishop of Wales has said that he will personally oversee the Diocese and try to get it back moving in a unified direction. The diocese has been divided over the issue, and feels in disarray. Hopefully under his leadership it can be pulled back together.

The damage caused by the length of time that this has taken, and the general feeling of inaction is widespread. Talk of Church looking for other Episcapalian Leadership grew, as well as halting a large number of the standard Church Processess.

The one closest to my heart, the process of application for the training for ordination. Mrs. Mandy Williams-Potter had many strings to her bow, one of which was the Diocesan Director of Ordinands. She was not replaced, nor was her worked passed on to anyone who did anything about it. That meant that a number of Perspective Ordiands have found themselfs floating. It is said that the process is to try Perspective Ordinands, but the whole thing just makes a mockery of the process.

The next Board meeting is sceduled for the 12th of May, and a new DDO was only apointed on the 1st of May. Obviously, there is no way that Ordinands are going to be able to prepare enough for this board. We have also been told that failure at this board will mean another two year wait.

Yes, that’s right, Failure to impress means a wait of 2 years, not simply a case of trying again the next year. The Church wonders why it is that it doesn’t have enough people putting forward for Oridnation. The process must naturally be long, and it needs to ensure that the candidate is up to the job, however, you need to prove that you can do the job before you go for the training. It is very easy to find yourself getting angry and disheartened by the whole thing.

Those of us stuck in this process must hope that there is light at the end of the tunnel, and that it is not a train. We must grit our teeth and accept that we are unlikely to be put forward this year, and that we are looking at another year biting on the coat-tails of this long and arduous process. Those of us that make it through this are either insane or called. There would be no other reason why we continued. I shall add it to my list of things that need to be modified once I finally get in.

The fact that there is such a knock-on effect from this business is very sad. There were no procedures that were encated to show at least some semblance of normalcy. There did not appear to be a concern for those of us left in limbo by this process. It is said that the reason that these do not exist is that this kind of event does not happen very often, and as such are no necessary. I suppose it’s the working in IT that says that you plan for a disaster, no matter how bizzare, in order to keep things working as best you can. I guess it’s another example of where the Church’s old procedures to not match the expectations of today.

That said, I hope that there is never another time when this is ever a problem. The Church does still have a duty to show a face of propriety. We are looked up to in the communities, even if they don’t show up in the pews. Those of us looking to join must remember the legacy that we will be inheriting, and as much as we will make things change, we must remember that there are things that are inherent in the job that must stay the same.

Black Xanthus