Some more interesting comments from Michael Ingham in court yesterday:

Turning to Bishop Ingham’s insistence that no one is being asked to leave any parish except priests who are still in place after having relinquished the bishop’s license, Cowper asked how—not from a legal but “a human point of view”—the bishop could expect members of the dissident parishes to remain in the diocese if they fail to win the lawsuit?

“It’s not likely they will stay, is it?” the lawyer asked.

“I’m not convinced of that,” replied Bishop Ingham. “One should never underestimate the attachment of Anglicans to their buildings.” The reply elicited groans from some in the court supporting the dissident congregations.

The bishop went on to suggest that some people will want to remain where they have been baptized, married, or where relatives are buried. He said it was his understanding that members of dissident congregations had been told by their leaders they could have the Anglican Church of Canada and take their buildings with them. However, he admitted he had not been at any of the meetings of these congregations where these matters were discussed.

Ingham’s belief that ANiC parishioners would return to the ACoC just to keep their buildings can only mean:

Ingham hasn’t read Proverbs 26:11 recently;
He  is judging Christians by his own – rather dim – moral lights;
It hasn’t occurred to Ingham that for some people, principle is more important than a building;
He radically underestimates the level of disagreement he is facing both in Canada and world-wide;
He thinks ANiC leaders have lied to their parishioners;
He has completely lost touch with reality and just doesn’t get it.

Perhaps all of the above.

The Diocese of Niagara’s bishop, Michael Bird seemed to suffer from a similar delusion: he invited ANiC parishioners to return (well, except for me). Not much came of it, though: the diocese is occupying ANiC parish buildings on Sunday mornings, but there are no congregations. Even one of their own priests declared in a flash of uncharacteristic insight that the Diocese of Niagara parishes are not viable.