[Magdalen] Kaeton's commentary

[Roger Stokes]

Ginga has more experience than most of us would wish to have of the 
interaction of civil law, ecclesiastical law and Gospel injunctions.  
Compassion, empathy and sympathy are sometimes used interchangeably 
whereas they are not exact synonyms.  A dictionary reveals subtle but 
important distinctions between them and I believe Ginga has selected the 
right one here.  Compassion expresses concern for the suffering of 
another without actually sharing that suffering in the same way as 
empathy and sympathy imply.  That is why pastoral compassion seems to be 
appropriate for all caught up in this situation.

Alongside that we need to consider the facts and what should happen 
going forward.  I believe the diocesan has made the right decision in 
placing Bishop Cook on administrative leave.  She could not function 
effectively until this situation has been resolved.  It is also right 
that the civil authorities should be free to pursue their inquiries and 
any legal actions without any ecclesiastical intervention.

Once those procedures have reached their conclusion, whatever that may 
be, is the time for the ecclesiastical procedures to move forward, 
taking the finding of any civil court as a relevant fact already proved.

Roger

On 03/01/2015 23:20, Ginga Wilder wrote:
> Mark Harris has written of how irrationally human beings can act in this
> sort of horrific experience.
>
> This is a note about Heather Cook the human being, who comes from a long
> line of human beings related in turn to a whole host of living beings who
> when confronted with extraordinary threat reacts in ways not always up to
> frontal lobe human ethical standards.
>
> http://anglicanfuture.blogspot.com/2015/01/when-terrible-terrifying-and-awful.html?spref=fb
>
> I feel enormous compassion for Heather Cook...I just can't help myself.  I
> know she is in need of pastoral compassion.  I pray she is receiving that.
> I hesitate to say this, because I do not want to offend those who think
> otherwise.  But, no matter what she has done, and much we don't know, she
> is still our sister in Christ.
>
> And, of course, the family and friends of Tom Palermo and those who witness
> this god-awful accident, even we who inhabit the Pub, each and all have
> need of the very same pastoral compassion.