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And there's the question: If the purpose of journalism is to inform your readers (or viewers), then what term best describes what the bill—which is called The Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003 no matter how you slice it—forbids? If it's the medical term, can we expect to see reports that "John Smith is recovering after what sufferers call a 'heart attack' but doctors call an acute myocardial infarction"?

Those scheming conservatives
And then there's the times when the language used in church and the language used in media create the perfect linguistic storm. You almost have to laugh at how recent developments in the Anglican Communion are being reported right now. For example, the Associated Press ran a story over the weekend basically saying the liberals are winning their case in the Episcopal Church USA. "A year after the election of the first openly gay Episcopal bishop, the church remains intact — splintered but not split," Rachel Zoll's story begins. "Most Episcopalians have stuck with their church and a dissident network of conservatives is growing more slowly than its founders hoped."

What's utterly missing from the story is the context. When Gene Robinson became bishop, the leaders of the Anglican Communion worldwide issued a statement urging conservative Episcopalians "not to act precipitately" (basically, not to take action) before a major commission reports back this October. Since the orthodox Anglicans' case is largely based on authority—that liberals in the church are acting precipitately without heed to the authority of Scripture, tradition, or church leadership—they've overwhelmingly heeded this request by the global leadership. That's not to say they're happy about it. Some conservative Episcopalians are poised ready at the gate to bolt the moment the Eames Commission issues its report, and a few have blitzed ahead with a "false start." But to ignore this request is to miss a huge part of the story.

Likewise, coverage of the Canadian Anglican meeting last week is unbelievably biased. The Canadian church "acted precipitately" by "affirming" the "integrity and sanctity" of same-sex relationships. (Sorry about all the quotation marks, but we are talking about language issues here.) Can anyone really deny that this vote signals a break with tradition and doctrine? The sexual left is hailing the vote as a major success. But when the conservatives pointed out the significance of the vote, they got headlines like "Evangelicals shatter 'unity' in gay debate." Apparently, in they eyes of The Guardian, the vote was actually "an attempt to maintain the fragile unity of the worldwide communion."

Right. In the same way that the American South attempted to maintain the fragile unity of the United States in 1861.

More on Anglicanism:

• Parish protests over gay cleric | A parish in Bedfordshire is withholding thousands of pounds from diocese funds in protest at the appointment of a gay cleric as Dean of St Albans (BBC)
• For gay Episcopal couple, path to a more perfect union | In an afternoon ceremony Saturday at St. George's Episcopal Church in Prince George's County, the Episcopal bishop of Washington, the Right Rev. John Bryson Chane, will publicly bless their relationship, establishing a new level of formal acceptance in the diocese for long-term gay relationships (The Washington Post)
• Breakaway clerics seek recognition | Conservative Episcopalians want primates to view network as a separate church in response to gay-union controversy (Los Angeles Times)

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June (Web-only) 2004, Vol. 48