First, how common is it for a diocese -- in this case, the ACA Diocese of the West -- to go, first, without a bishop for nearly three years (Daren Williams retired under pressure in late 2010), but now to have essentially no one acting as any ecclesiastical authority since the death of Anthony Morello, briefly Vicar General? I recognize that The Episcopal Church typically announces that, on the death or retirement of a bishop without a successor, the diocesan standing committee takes charge, although this is normally only until there is a synod to elect a new bishop. I'm not aware that the ACA ever made any equivalent announcement, and in any case, the diocesan synod for 2013 is canceled. And normally, even the ACA has designated an episcopal visitor to provide necessary annual visitations for confirmations, etc. Yet since Morello's death, all episcopal visits remain canceled. How unusual is this?
Second, what is the Ordinariate's responsibility toward the parishioners at St Mary of the Angels? On one hand, Msgr Steenson met with the vestry following the ACA's seizure of the parish in 2012, and there appears to have been recognition on that basis that the parish intended to go into the Ordinariate. On the other hand, my understanding is that the one priest remaining with the parish who would have been eligible to be ordained a Catholic priest was instructed to have nothing more to do with the parish. Thus, the parish, by order, has been deprived of recognized Anglican leadership, with no continuing path toward joining the Ordinariate. One individual has even suggested the parish attempt to resolve this problem via canon law.
Can anyone add clarification on either of these issues?
