Certainly not your traditional “priest”
And so the heretical Ann Holmes Redding saga has come to an end. Yet lest you accuse the Episcopal church of turning its back on its trademark “liberalism” and “tolerance,” consider the fate of this woman — of course in this analogy, she would have to be a man — if she were a Muslim cleric living in the Islamic world and then announced that, alongside Islam, she was a practicing Christian? Considering that Muhammad said, “Whoever changes his religion, kill him, “defrocking” would be the last of her worries.
“Episcopal Priest Ann Holmes Redding has been defrocked,” by Janet I. Tu for the Seattle Times, April 1:
The Episcopal Church has defrocked Ann Holmes Redding, the Seattle Episcopal priest who announced in 2007 that she is both Christian and Muslim.
Two whole years. In the Muslim analogy, she would have been “dealt” with much sooner than that.
Bishop Geralyn Wolf of Rhode Island, who has disciplinary authority over Redding, informed the priest of her decision in a letter today.
Wolf found Redding to be “a woman of utmost integrity and their conversations over the past two years have been open, honest and respectful,” according to a press release from the Diocese of Rhode Island.
In the Muslim analogy, the letter would consist primarily of words such as kafir, munafiq, and murtad — infidel, hypocrite, and apostate, respectively — three appellations liable to get one either subjugated or killed in Dar al-Islam.
“However, Bishop Wolf believes that a priest of the Church cannot be both a Christian and a Muslim.”
“I am very sad,” Redding had said Tuesday. “I’m sad at the loss of this cherished honor of having served as a priest.”
But you got your life, and now you can go and be a true Muslim(a). Read it all for more details and background.