Editorial Note

Editorial Note on Our Point of View

On March 30, 2008, Pittsburgh Update set forth its editorial policy, pledging objectivity, but acknowledging the inherent subjectivity in that notion. (That initial Pittsburgh Update post can be read here.) Circumstances now require a clarification of that editorial policy.

On Saturday, October 4, 2008, at it annual convention, the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh voted to “realign,” to leave The Episcopal Church and join the Anglican Church of the Southern Cone. This dramatic action complicates reporting on events in Pittsburgh in a number of ways. We are now presented with two mutually exclusive views of what has happened and what may happen.

For a start, the leaders of “realignment” claim to represent “The Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh,” but those who opposed “realignment” also claim to represent “The Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh.” Reporting was simpler when a similar split occurred in San Joaquin; we now have an Episcopal Diocese of San Joaquin and an Anglican Diocese of San Joaquin.

In fact, Pittsburgh is likely to have two “dioceses” making quite different claims about legal and canonical “facts,” and it is not at all clear how best to report them. Pittsburgh Update has always been opposed to schism and therefore identifies with The Episcopal Church. It was a product of Across the Aisle before Across the Aisle had a name. In this sense, nothing has changed.

We will continue to attempt to be objective, but we will maintain a stronger commitment to truth, as best as we can identify it. In any case, we want to clarify that our perspective reflects the continuing presence of The Episcopal Church in Southwestern Pennsylvania.