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Show DIVORCE PLEA STIRS BISHOPS Few Openly Favor idfting Episcopalian Ban on Remarriages PORTLAND. Ore . Sept -Consideration of reportu of committee on1 various details of the revision of the-.back the-.back of common prayer officially OO-1 cupled the bishops of the Episcopal Church in their Informal session here .today, but the question of dlvotoe brought up by a statement made in (New York by tho Rev Dr. Percy I Stlckney Grant, rector of the Church of The Ascension of that city, was vigorously vig-orously dlscuased by many of the churchmen. None of the bishops who spoke for publication showed sympathy with th. 'vlewe advanced by Grant. whose ' statement was in effect a plea for relaxation re-laxation of the church canon forbidding forbid-ding remarriage of any persons dl- 1 vorced ou grounds other than Infidel- j : Ity of tho divorced mat- i n tho con- , rary, tightening of th restriction of I divorce was advocated by some of the oisnops. I NGAGKD T 1 1 1 1 IR( l I NEW YORK, Sept. 2. Churchmen ( I were silent today regarding the altacK made Friday by the Rev. Dr. Percey Stlckney Grant, rector of the Church of the Ascension, on the canon of the Episcopalian church, which prohibits remarriage of either party to a divorce di-vorce except the Innocent party in a I case where Infidelity is charged. Any comment would have to come from high officials now gathered In Portland. Ore , for the triennial convention con-vention of the church. It was eald by the secretary to Bishop William T. Mlnning. who left New York recently recent-ly for the Pacific coast. In attacking the canon Dr. Grant who Is engaged to Mrs Rita Lydlg, divorcee, prominent In New York so-Iclety so-Iclety anticipated consideration to be given the general question Of divorce at the convention. Mr. Lydlg divorced di-vorced her first two husband, the llrst for Infidelity, the second for Incompatibility In-compatibility in his attack, I r Grant asserted that the church was Invading civil authority BAN REAFFIRM! i The religious ban on remarriage. of divorcees a moot question among the leaders of the Protestant Episcopal uhurch in the L'nlted States, was vigorously vig-orously reaffirmed by the synod of the Angcllcan I hurch of the West Indies, close relatlvi of the Episcopal body In a pastoral letter of the 'seven West Indies bishops, mad-- public hero today. to-day. The law of the Anglican church In the West Indies prohibiting remarriage remar-riage to all divorcees, was reaffirmed In the following pronouncement. "We affirm the Indissolubility of marriage and refuse to admit any relation re-lation to the prln. i;.al ontalued in the I label of kindred and affinity for church people, even where civil law nanctlons such relaxation." |