Posts tagged Church of England
Ecclesiastical Sundries
Feb 9th
- The Superior General of the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X (FSSPX / SSPX), Bishop Bernard Fellay, says that an agreement with the Vatican is not possible in “human terms.” As usual, it’s difficult to know what this means. Does Bishop Fellay hold out hope that God will finally “put things in order”? Only time will tell, but we should continue to pray for the reconciliation of the SSPX with the Catholic Church. The fostering of traditionalist societies that offer the sacraments according to the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite is part of the Holy Father’s larger plan for the renewal of the Church — a plan that most definitely includes the reconciliation of traditionalist Anglicans!
“And now, it is asked, will a result be achieved in the discussions with Rome, will we soon have an agreement? Frankly, sincerely, speaking in human terms, we do not see such an agreement in view. What does an agreement mean? On what are we in agreement? On the fact that only through the Church we find the means of salvation? …
“This does not mean abandoning truth in order to find a middle way, absolutely not; yes, in human terms, we will not reach an agreement, the way we see things, [the talks] do not serve any purpose, in human terms. Yet, when we speak of the Church, we do not speak in human terms, we speak of a supernatural reality to which Our Lord promised that it would not fail, against which the gates of hell would not prevail. And, therefore, even if we face a difficult and contradictory reality, we know that events are in God’s hands, He who has the means to put things in order. It would be proper to recall that to talk and to debate is necessary, but it is not enough: when one talks about saving souls, when one considers how God rescued the Church from other crises it faced through the centuries, we see that holiness is that with which He renews and heals the Church. Without grace, and remaining solely at the level of men, all is lost from the beginning. All of us, as Catholics, must, therefore, act, advancing in grace, in the love of God, in charity.”
- The Kirk is miffed at the Holy Father’s address to the Scottish Bishops. In his address, the Holy Father referred to “the great rupture with Scotland’s Catholic past that occurred four hundred and fifty years ago” and linked Scotland’s history of sectarianism to the upheaval of the Protestant Reformation. Some Scottish Presbyterians are eager to celebrate the 450th anniversary of the Reformation. Donald Gorrie, the former Liberal MSP and a Kirk elder for forty years, said:
I think this (the Pope’s remarks) contributes to the difficulties. One of the difficulties in persuading either the Church of Scotland or the government to celebrate the Reformation as it deserves is that it will be seen as being sectarian and triumphalist and anti-Catholic. In fact, it is a good opportunity to celebrate the Reformation by ecumenical type services to show how far we’ve come.
Och, it’s unbelievable that anyone would think that the Protestant Reformation was sectarian and anti-Catholic!
- This year will see the replacement of the heads of several key offices in the Roman Curia. John Allen of the National Catholic Reporter feeds the rumor mill. Cardinal Pell continues to top the chart, being oft-mentioned for the Congregation for Bishops.
- The New Liturgical Movement asks whether or not too much is being made by traditionalists of Latin as a sacred language. While Latin most definitely deserves pride of place in both forms of the Roman Rite, the vernacular is here to stay. Roman Catholics would do well to look to our Anglican “use” for ideas on how to employ a language “understanded of the people” — though not really a “vernacular” it is true. And liturgical language is important, but the ars celebrandi is perhaps even more so. We can help out there too!
- On a “private member’s motion,” the General Synod of the Church of England is being asked by a lay representative from the Diocese of Chichester to “express the desire that the Church of England be in communion with the Anglican Church in North America” (ACNA). There are reports that the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, Katharine Jefferts Schori, is in England hoping to influence the Synod. The motion will be debated on Wednesday.
No Alternative Oversight for Faithful Anglicans
Feb 7th
Update: Here is the audio. Evidently, the statement leaked by Ms. Gledhill was delivered on Monday word-for-word.
Ruth Gledhill has leaked the statement the Bishop of Manchester is set to deliver to the Church of England’s General Synod on Monday concerning women in the episcopate. In a nutshell, the Revision Committee’s recommendation will be that no statutory alternative oversight be provided for congregations unable to accept women bishops. At best, it seems that any accommodation would be totally at the discretion of the diocesan bishop.
There are some in FiF UK that insist that, before they go over to Rome, this process must be allowed to play out, that perhaps there is yet a future for faithful Anglo-Catholics in the Established Church. Personally, I fail to see how the decisions of the Church of England General Synod enter into the question at all: either Anglicanorum Coetibus is a movement of the Holy Ghost or it is not. Either we ought to be in communion with the Successor of St. Peter or not. But were one to take a less spiritual, more pragmatic approach to things, honestly, does ANYONE really think this is going to end with Catholic Anglicans being able to remain in the Church of England in good conscience?
10. Where have we got to? It was only at our tenth meeting on 26 November that the Revision Committee completed the first phase of its work, namely considering whether to substitute a significantly different approach for the one reflected in the initial draft of the Measure. What we had done in our earlier meetings was to adopt a ‘traffic light’ system of red and amber.
11. Having heard representations in favour of creating additional dioceses the Committee decided before the summer to give the idea the red light. But proposals for a recognised society, some sort of transfer or vesting, or for adopting the simplest possible legislative approach all got initial amber lights, that is to say, we agreed to consider them further.
12. We then did some serious work on these models, particularly to tease out the pros and cons of the society model and to understand exactly what it might mean in terms of who exercised what jurisdiction and on whose authority. After much discussion we came to the point of decision on 8 October. The Revision Committee voted by a clear majority to reject the society option but, by a similarly clear majority to go for the transfer or vesting route. This meant that, in relation to petitioning parishes, certain functions – though the Committee had not agreed which – would be exercised by bishops by virtue of the Measure rather than by way of delegation from the diocesan bishop.
13. We were then confronted with a dilemma over what if anything to say about such a significant decision. We had confirmed at the outset of this exercise that we would not offer a running commentary on progress. Nevertheless, we have no sanctions to enforce confidentiality. With 19 members we are a big Group and in addition there are usually several other Synod members present at our discussions. We were also conscious that people would be attending subsequent meetings and would need to know the changed context in which they were presenting their proposals.
14. So, it was clear that news of what we had decided would get out, not necessarily accurately. After discussion there was agreement across the Revision Committee that the least bad option was to put out a short factual press release.
15. Even with the benefit of hindsight I’m not sure that we could have done differently. But it did, in the event, create difficulty for us and necessitate a further statement when, on 13 November, further work resulted in all the specific proposals for the vesting of particular functions being defeated. The Revision Committee was simply unable to identify a basis for specifying particular functions for vesting which could command sufficient support both from those in favour of the ordination of women as bishops and those unable to support that development.
16. This meant that after more than six months work we had rejected all the options which would have involved conferring some measure of jurisdiction on someone other than the diocesan bishop. The legislation that the Revision Committee sends back to the Synod will, therefore, be on the basis that any arrangements that are made for parishes with conscientious difficulties about women’s ordination will be by way of delegation from the diocesan bishops. That much is already clear.
Read the entire statement below.
CofE to Lose a Tenth of its Clergy in Five Years
Nov 28th
From The Times:
According to figures on the Church of England website, there will be an 8.3 per cent decrease in paid clergy in the next four years, from 8,400 this year to 7,700 in to 2013. This represents a 22.5 per cent decrease since 2000. If this trend continues in just over 50 years there will be no full-time paid clergy left in Britain’s 13,000 parishes serving 16,000 churches.
Fr. David Houlding, the chairman of clergy for the Diocese of London, apparently chalks this up to the current economic crisis.
The bottom line is that the money which pays for the Church comes from people in the pew. The income of the Church of England is seriously threatened at the moment because people do not have the money because of the credit crunch.
The woes of the Church of England have little to do with the stock market and everything to do with the Established Church’s abdication of her role in society and unconditional surrender to the Zeitgeist.
Letter of Parish Priest of St. John the Baptist, Sevenoaks
Nov 25th
Fr. Ivan D. Aquilina, SSC, parish priest of the Anglo-Catholic church of St. John the Baptist, Sevenoaks, has written to his congregation regarding recent events.
A letter to all members of the Congregation of St John the Baptist in Sevenoaks.
18th November 2009
My dear brothers and sisters,
So many different things have been thrown about on the media in these last few weeks regarding Anglo-Catholics. This media speculation was mostly inaccurate and also caused deep confusion. It has created a wind that will make the dust take longer to settle. I write to put in context and in order the events that have happened so that you can have, hopefully, a clearer picture of what is going on.
The background
For many years, it was our rightful delight to claim that the Church of England (CofE) is a broad Church that could hold together people of different Christian traditions and disciplines. We had different ways of doing good things but at the end of the day we all came together as members in full communion with the same Church. That broadness was being undermined since the late seventies. The trigger to this was the admission of women to Holy Orders. Many in the Church of England rightly questioned the ability of the CofE to do this without making reference to what other Christians in the world were saying. This is a point that the Archbishop of Canterbury emphasised in a letter he wrote to the Anglican Communion in July 2009. (http://www.archbishopofcanterbury.org/2502).
Some members of the CofE decided to bring about some fundamental changes. For those who have not studied theology these seem trivial, but indeed are not. These matters go to the heart of what it means to be the Church faithful to Christ. The ordination of women to the priesthood and now to the episcopacy are part of a wider tendency to be led by public opinion rather then by the Gospel. For us Christians, Christ is the heart of our being, our minds are conformed to his and his Gospel is our law. Just look at the way the Gospel book and its proclamation is done at St John’s and you will see how central this is.
More >
+Ebbsfleet on Revision Committee Decision
Nov 17th
It’s time to go with Plan A++.
I think we have to stand back from the conflict a little and remain in the desert of prayer. Anglicanorum coetibus (the Pope’s offer) is either a gracious gift from God, whereby Catholic unity is possible for those Anglo-catholics who have longed and prayed for unity with the Holy See or it is a distraction from the task of bringing the whole of the Church of England and the Anglican Communion safely into the ambit of Catholic Faith and Order.
If this second possibility is ruled out by the Church of England’s own actions – and that seems to be an ever stronger interpretation – then we need to accept the Holy Father’s offer, not as Plan B but as Plan A++. But, if we accept the offer, we need to be careful not to damage our brothers and sisters in Christ in the Church of England and the mission of Reformed Christians in this country – a mission which God also enables and inspires. And we must make the journey in humble faith and trust. + Andrew
More Reaction to the Revision Committee’s Decision
Nov 17th
Fr. Edward Tomlinson, SSC reacts to the “shameful kick in the teeth” from the General Synod’s Revision Committee on women in the episcopate, noting the irony of those in the Church of England who now decry the horrors of papal infallibility.
And in the midst of all this confusion, doubt and fear I am also having to endure a tirade of people warning me about the horrors of Rome! (The only people seeking to offer me sanctuary and the fullness of Catholic truth.) I would not mind if these warnings were given in a reasonable manner to incite healthy debate. But they have come from many sources and are as illogical as they are poisonous! It seems anti-Catholic rhetoric runs deep in the English psyche and the successor of Peter is considered fair target for bigoted vitriol.
The chief moan, rather predictably, centres on papal infallibility. The belief that the Pope, when speaking to the whole church solemnly concerning a matter of faith or morals and under guidance of the Holy Spirit, is preserved from the possibility of error. In truth infallible teaching is almost never proclaimed, the last time was over 50 years ago when the Pope gave credence to the doctrine of the Assumption. It also only happens with teaching that fits the divine revelation and has the backing of Christian tradition. His infallibility is certainly never used to usher in innovation and trendy new ideas.
And that is where I find the irony! Those bashing the pope for his ability to speak infallibly are happy to accept that same gift of infallibility vested in General Synod- a confused and unqualified bunch of volunteers given free reign to decide what the Church of England believes! For make no mistake, by refusing traditionalists space in which to thrive, the revision committee has made infallible the innovation of women priests and bishops. No longer is the Catholic theology of priesthood allowed in our national church. And if you don’t like it- the message is simple- get out or live as soiled goods in the margins.
The Established Church’s Doctrinal Authority?
Nov 17th
According to George Pitcher of the Telegraph, the Archbishop of Canterbury needs to “square up to a newly rampant Rome” and the Pope’s “acquisitive ambitions.”
But the game must now be for the Church of England to square up to a newly rampant Rome. As it happens, I don’t think many Anglo-Catholics will go across, but that’s not the point. What we’re facing is a vigorous challenge to our established Church’s doctrinal authority in our own country. I’ll say this to the former Patriarch of the West, even if Dr Williams won’t: Come and have a go if you think you’re hard enough. We have, after all, been here before.
“A vigorous challenge to our established Church’s doctrinal authority?” Seriously, you have to be kidding.
Anglican liberals (and ignorant religion correspondents) simply can’t get it through their heads. The Pope is not “fishing in the Anglican pond” — nor at this stage can I imagine that he is much concerned with going out of his way to snub the ABC. Moved by the Holy Spirit, the Holy Father is responding in charity, with magnanimity and profound generosity, to the repeated pleas of faithful Anglo-Catholics in the Church of England and the Anglican Diaspora around the world. The Established Church abdicated whatever doctrinal authority she may have had long ago. After decades of ecumenical progress culminating in the promise of ARCIC, it is the Church of England which has snubbed the Holy Father and his recent predecessors. And now she begrudges faithful Christians the lifeline which the Pope has offered.
Full article is here.
“A Great Piece of Wickedness”
Nov 16th
The Telegraph (UK) reports that the Revision Committee of the Church of England’s General Synod has failed to achieve a compromise which would have safeguarded faithful Anglican parishes from future women bishops.
Anglo catholics and evangelicals had hoped the church would appoint dedicated male bishops to oversee them. But yesterday the Church’s committee tasked with looking at the proposal failed to back the idea.
The move is likely to spark an exodus of clergy who have warned previously that they would leave the Church if they were not given safeguards to protect their beliefs.
Fr. David Houlding, a member of the Archbishops’ council and a leading traditionalist, notes that crossing the Tiber may be the only alternative.
This forces people out of the Church who otherwise would have stayed. We didn’t want to go to Rome, but now have been left with no choice.
But this is not just about people leaving, but about the destruction of the character and identity of the Church.
Of course, the character and identity of the Church of England was effectively destroyed seventeen years ago when the General Synod voted to permit the ordination of women priests! The decision to promote women to the episcopate is merely the logical outcome — and arguably the only equitable result — of this fateful departure from Apostolic order.
And while it is promising that many “traditionalists” now look to Rome for the preservation of their Anglican identity and catholic order, they should not simply default to this position because of (yet another) abominable deformation in the Church of England. Much soul-searching is yet required. Is the office of the Successor of St. Peter part of the divine constitution of the Church and intended by God as the focus of Christian unity? Or is the Holy Father’s offer in Anglicanorum Coetibus merely a the lesser of two evils?
The Church of England’s official press release is also online.
