The Very Rev. Shay Craig has been elected bishop of the Diocese of North Dakota. Dean Craig, who serves as dean of Christ Church Cathedral in Salina, Kansas was chosen on the first ballot from among four candidates by the diocesan convention meeting at Prairie Knights Casino & Resort in Fort Yates on 25 October 2025.

After completing The Episcopal Church’s consent process, the bishop-elect is scheduled to be ordained and consecrated by Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe on March 14, 2026.

The new bishop currently serves on the Episcopal Church’s Executive Council and has served as the Diocese of Western Kansas’s canon for congregational development and vitality and as standing committee chair.

First published at Anglican.Ink

Her candidate’s biography is printed below:

The Bishop of Belize has been elected archbishop and primate of the Church of the Province of the West Indies. Meeting today at the Breezes Resort, Cable Beach in Nassau,The Bahamas, the Rt. Rev. Philip Wright was elected by the 42nd Triennial Provincial Synod. Bishop Wright, the senior bishop in the province, becomes the second primate from Belize following the Rt. Rev.  Edward Arthur Dunn of British Honduras who served as archbishop from 1936 to 1943. The nine-diocese provinces extends from Guyana to The Bahamas to Belize – encompassing the English speaking dioceses of Central and South America and the British Caribbean.

Born in 1967, Philip Silvin Wright trained for the ministry at Codrington College, Barbados and graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Theology from the University of the West Indies and a Diploma in Ministerial Studies.

Ordained a deacon and a priest at the Cathedral Church of St. John the Baptist in Belize City, Bishop Wright worked primarily in the pastoral ministry in various districts in Belize, including as priest in charge of St. John’s Cathedral, before earning a Masters of Arts Degree in Theology (Mission Studies) from the University of Birmingham.

Bishop Wright left parish ministry to head the Anglican Theological Institute (ATI). Bishop Wright has served on several boards and committees, including the National Commission for Good Governance, the Board of Governors of the University of Belize, the National Committee for Families and Children, and the Community Rehabilitation Department.

In October 2005, upon election by the House of Bishops of the Province of the West Indies, under the leadership of Archbishop Drexel Gomez of the Bahamas, Bishop Wright was chosen to serve as the 14th Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Belize. He is now the senior bishop in the Church in the Province of the West Indies.

Bishop Wright was elected the 14th BIshop of Belize in October 2005 and consecrated in November in Belize City. He is concurrently President of the Belize Council of Churches. The provincial synod began on Sunday 9 November 2025 and concludes Thursday the 13th.

The election of Wright, a protege of the late Archbishop Drexel Gomez, will likely move the province back into the orbit of the Global South Fellowship of Anglicans and GAFCON.

First published on Anglican.Ink

Restoration work on the bell tower of St Paul’s Anglican Pro-Cathedral in Valletta, Malta, has been completed, marking the successful end of a major cultural and architectural project that preserves one of the city’s iconic landmarks. The restored tower, spire and bells ere officially inaugurated on 4 October 2025, in a ceremony attended by government officials and community members.

St Paul’s Pro-Cathedral, built in 1844 and recognized for its imposing presence on the Valletta skyline, underwent extensive restoration after inspections in 2017 revealed significant structural problems. Years of exposure to the elements had left sections of the tower and spire unstable, prompting urgent action. The restoration focused not only on structural safety but also on architectural accuracy, reviving original features including the sculpted urns that adorn the tower’s base.

The restoration project required an investment of €4.2 million, primarily sourced from the European Regional Development Fund as part of broader efforts to protect Malta’s environmental and cultural assets. Additional support came from the Malta Council for the Voluntary Sector, the National Development and Social Fund, and private contributions including the HSBC Malta Foundation, theatrical producer Sir Cameron Mackintosh, and King Charles III. Maltese Prime Minister Robert Abela lauded the project as an achievement not only for the Anglican community but for the whole capital, emphasizing its importance to Valletta’s identity and heritage.

St Paul’s Pro-Cathedral is a key Anglican church within the Diocese in Europe, and historically significant as the place of worship for British expatriates and Maltese Anglicans. The cathedral’s bell tower, rising nearly 60 meters, is a focal point for both worshippers and visitors, symbolizing the city’s diverse religious tradition. The restoration effort successfully revitalized the tower’s structure and aesthetic, assuring its continued prominence for future generations, The primate minister underscored that the bell tower’s restoration complements wider regeneration initiatives in Valletta, which have included improvement of historic sites and public spaces.

The completion of the bell tower’s restoration at St Paul’s Anglican Pro-Cathedral represents a successful collaboration between government, private donors, and the church community, safeguarding a unique Maltese landmark and its story for years to come.

First published on Anglican.Ink

As rector of a fast growing congregation in the Episcopal Diocese of Central Florida I have had to cut back on my output. I’ve said goodbye to GetReligion and the Media Project after a happy five year run and pulled back from freelance work. I am focusing my writing energies on Anglican Ink, The Church of England Newspaper, and Anglican Unscripted. Everything else is devoted to one of the fastest growing, and most spirit filled congregation in the Episcopal Church: Shepherd of the Hills Episcopal Church in Lecanto.

Reports have been printed in the religious press (Jewish and Christian), but save for English-language stories in Israeli press, Arutz Sheva 7 and the Jerusalem Post, this story has not captured the interests of editors. Perhaps the extensive coverage of the Catholic Church and conservative Protestant lobbying against the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) or the Houston sermon scandal has satiated the editors’ appetites for First Amendment church/state stories. But it remains odd nonetheless that no one else is discussing a politics-and-religion story that has arisen this time from the “left”.

What has been written is pretty good, however. The Jerusalem Post story is a well crafted piece that shows how one writes a story when one side will not play ball, the reporter has limited information, and is working within space and deadline constraints.

(As an aside, I wrote for the Jerusalem Post for a number of years as one of their London correspondents, but am not now affiliated with the newspaper and do not know the author of the article in question.)

The kernel of the various stories comes from the same, not very well written, press release.

Where the Jerusalem Post stands out is in the value it added to the press release. It begins its story in a matter-of-fact tone.

Shurat Hadin (the Israel Law Center) has filed a legal complaint against the Presbyterian Church USA (PCUSA), alleging violations of the US tax code for unlawful political lobbying and contact with Hezbollah, a US-designated terrorist organization.

The second sentence fills out the who/what/where and when questions before taking a quote from the press release that explains why.

The Tel Aviv-based organization publicized the submission of its 38-page complaint with the US Internal Revenue Service on Tuesday.

“It is high time the IRS took a long look at the Presbyterian Church and investigated its meeting with the designated- terrorist organization Hezbollah, its lobbying activities, and its anti-Israel divestment policies,” said Shurat Hadin spokesman attorney Robert Tolchin.

“The PCUSA is obsessed with attacking the Jewish state and has moved far from the activities which it presented to the IRS to secure its tax-free status in the United States.”

The article lays out the charges as articulated in the press release that Shurat Hadin had given the US government:

“documentary and video evidence showing PCUSA delegates meeting with the US-designated terrorist group Hezbollah, publishing anti-Semitic materials, enacting a racist policy to divest from American companies doing business with Israel, lobbying the US Congress, and distributing political advocacy materials in violation of its tax-exempt status as a religious organization.”

And then, it offered the PCUSA a chance to respond, which it did by declining to respond to the accusations. (I, too, sent a query to the PCUSA about the story but did not get a response.)

At this point the JPost adds value to the article, offering a perspective from an expert on this issue, Yitzhak Santis of NGO Monitor in Jerusalem. Perhaps the JPost could be faulted for not offering a talking head from the other side – one of the myriad of organizations in favor of boycotting or divesting from Israel.

However, the expert the JPost does cite in its story speaks directly to the issues and concerns raised in the Shurat HaDin lawsuit, providing context and background missing from most Western news outlets covering Israel.

Were this a magazine piece, a contrary voice from an expert opposed to NGO Monitor would be essential, especially in light of the PCUSA’s silence. Yet given the space parameters under which the author had to work, I think this story does the job. The first story on an issue is not always the final word.

As the PCUSA will one day decide it wants to say something about the charge that it is in bed with Hezbollah, there is ample opportunity to offer a different perspective on the issue. I hope to read that article, too.

First printed in The Media Project

One was named the Best Regional Newspaper of the Year in 2012 by the Society of Editors and has print run of approximately 100,000. The other is an online news aggregator and blog that also runs additional news content. One is steeped in the traditions of Anglo-American journalism while the other pursues an advocacy approach to news – with the dividing line between opinion and reporting sometimes blurred.

An observer of the Ulster newspaper scene might hesitate before awarding the prize to the Belfast Telegraph, for it along with the News Letter are “Unionist” newspapers, while the third daily, the Irish News, is a “Nationalist” newspaper. Perhaps a residual anti-Catholic sentiment might creep into the Belfast Telegraph’s reporting?

The two outlets treatment of the same story may surprise some, for in its coverage of a recent book on clerical celibacy in the Irish Catholic Church, the Huffington Post is less shrill, more nuanced, and finely balanced.

Authors are not responsible for the titles placed on their stories, but the titles of these two pieces fairly summarize the tone of the two pieces. “Hell’s bells: Nine priests spotted in Irish gay bar” in the Belfast Telegraph conveys the over-the-top tone to its report.  The Huffington Post’s story has the more measured title: “New Book on Irish Priests Reveals Struggles with Celibacy, Trips to Gay Clubs.”

The lede of the Belfast Telegraph’s story opens with:

Ground-breaking new research into the sexual lives of Irish Catholic priests has revealed many of them are or have been sexually active, that the bishops are aware of the situation, and that there is a gay scene within the church.

Thirty-Three Good Men: Celibacy, Obedience and Identity publishes new analysis of priests’ views from a series of interviews conducted by Dr John Weafer, a former seminarian who is now married with children.

The article summarizes some of the books findings focusing on one of the 33 priests –Fr. L. who is in a long term gay relationship.

Fr. L. is quoted as saying there is a “strong clerical gay scene in Ireland”.

He believes that there are “quite a lot of gay guys in the priesthood” and on one occasion when he went into a gay bar in Dublin, he recognised at least nine priests in the bar.

The article then offers this comment from the author of the book followed by its own editorial viewpoint.

Dr Weafer said he did not think that the Irish hierarchy would be shocked by the revelations in the book as the interviews showed that the “hierarchy are aware” of what is going on. “As long as priests don’t go public and don’t flaunt those actions that don’t correspond with being a celibate priest” they turn a blind eye, he claimed. This will shock many as the official church’s attitude on homosexuality deems it as intrinsically disordered. According to Dr Weafer: “If a priest was to say in the morning ‘I am gay’, he would be fired. Priests have learned to keep their heads down”.

The Belfast Telegraph offers no voice from the Catholic hierarchy who might care to dispute the suggestion that the Church is packed with closeted gay clergy and led by hypocrites who practice an Irish form of “don’t ask don’t tell”. The tone of this article is one of outrage tinged with disgust. Though it does not descend to the level of overt sectarian nastiness, there is nonetheless a disquieting undercurrent to the report.

Compared to the Huffington Post, it also falls short as journalism. The Huffington Post story opens with:

When sociologist and former seminarian Dr. John Weafer started looking for studies on the personal lives of Catholic priests there were only a few. Those that did exist only began to approach what the researcher imagined was a much richer and more complex story beneath the surface. Weafer took matters into his own hands by embarking on an in-depth study on Irish priests, using contacts he had from his seminary days nearly 30 years ago. The resulting book, Thirty-Three Good Men: Celibacy, Obedience and Identity, explores the personal lives of a range of priests, often going into what Weafer called “graphic detail” about romantic relationships, abuse allegations and daily struggles with clerical life.

It, too, focuses its attention on Fr. L., but it does not stop once his story is told. It asks questions of the author, Dr. Weafer, and includes quotes from the archbishop of Dublin who concedes that struggles with celibacy are among the challenges facing Catholic clergy.

Dublin Archbishop Diarmuid Martin addressed the subject in a recent interview with Irish Independent. When asked if he had read Weafer’s book, Martin said he had not but acknowledged that celibacy is a challenge for many. “I know what is going on with my priests. I know good priests and I know priests who struggle – I support all of them. I don’t think if people fail that you abolish celibacy.”

By asking Dr. Weafer questions, the Huffington Post puts this story into context. Not all Catholic clergy are closeted homosexuals, nor is sex the first topic of conversation among priests.

Of the 33 interviews Weafer conducted, all of which he said lasted for more than an hour, not all of them touched on issues of sexuality. Some of the priests discussed their experience in gay or straight relationships, but others discussed challenges beyond celibacy, delving into disputes with bishops, false allegations of abuse and the struggle of working long past retirement age. “They wanted to get across a message ‘this is what my life is like as a priest,'” Weafer said. “They’ve been called by God, and they live out their lives in ways they see fit. They’re very much human beings.”

In reporting on the release of a controversial book, the Huffington Post has done a better job. It offers the same facts as the Belfast Telegraph, but offers context and avoids shrillness and cant. Well done, Huffington Post.

First printed by The Media Project.