Religious Intelligence
Tuesday, 17th November 2009. 12:51pm
By: George Conger.
The Bishop of Blackburn will not be taking the Pope up on his offer of a home for disaffected Anglicans in the Roman Catholic Church.
In an interview given to the Lancashire Telegraph, the Rt Rev Nicholas Reade said “I am Bishop of Blackburn, and I will continue to be until the good Lord releases me from it.”
At a joint press conference in London held by the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Archbishop of Westminster plans for a “personal ordinariate” for Anglicans who sought to enter into full communion with the Roman Catholic Church, while maintaining some aspects of their Anglican identity were announced.
Bishop Reade said the Pope’s offer was “very generous” but “I would have to say I don’t expect many to go” over to Rome.
“The Church of England is a big tent and while there are boundaries to what Anglicans believe, we are a Church that makes room for everyone,” he said. The point of friction in the Church of England for Anglo-Catholics today was the issue of “whether we have women bishops. It’s not quite as simple as saying ‘we have women judges and a woman Prime Minister’. I would hope we could come up with a stance that’s able to appeal to both sides.”
Bishop Reade said he would not be going over to Rome. “I would want to see my time out as Bishop of Blackburn. In other words, I could only cease to be Bishop of Blackburn if ill health, death or retirement intervened.”
Link to original...
Showing posts with label Anglicans. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Anglicans. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Monday, November 9, 2009
A royal chapel for Roman Catholics
Christopher Howse at the Guardian is hoping against hope, perhaps, that the next King and Queen of England will be Anglicans and that the Act of Settlement 1701 will be in place.
The Queen's Chapel is a mysterious place. To be sure, it is open for services, but these take place only on Sundays between Easter and the end of July. It is locked the rest of the time.
A remarkable claim in a new book by David Baldwin is that the monarch can turn it over to the ministrations of the Roman Catholic Church for any members of the Royal family who care to receive them.
One might have thought such provisions would have been quashed by the Act of Settlement of 1701, which forbade heirs to the Crown to marry Catholics. But in Royal Prayer (Continuum, £16.99), Mr Baldwin demonstrates that the Anglo-Portuguese Treaty of 1661 is still in force and kicking.
Read more...
More reading on the Coronation Oath, here.
The Queen's Chapel is a mysterious place. To be sure, it is open for services, but these take place only on Sundays between Easter and the end of July. It is locked the rest of the time.
A remarkable claim in a new book by David Baldwin is that the monarch can turn it over to the ministrations of the Roman Catholic Church for any members of the Royal family who care to receive them.
One might have thought such provisions would have been quashed by the Act of Settlement of 1701, which forbade heirs to the Crown to marry Catholics. But in Royal Prayer (Continuum, £16.99), Mr Baldwin demonstrates that the Anglo-Portuguese Treaty of 1661 is still in force and kicking.
Read more...
More reading on the Coronation Oath, here.
Vatican Holds Line of Celibacy for Anglican Rebels
by Ruth Gledhill
The Vatican today held the line on priestly celibacy as it published the document which opens the door for hundreds of thousands of disaffected Anglicans to become Roman Catholics.
Pope Benedict XVI has made it as easy as possible for traditional and “continuing” Anglicans to convert to Catholicism while retaining key elements of their ecclesiastical heritage, observers commented.
The Apostolic Constitution even allows for married Anglican bishops to be granted the status of retired Catholic bishops, to become members of the local Catholic bishops’ conference and to be granted permission to use the “insignia” of episcopal office, such as the mitre, pectoral cross and staff, by the Holy See in Rome.
But after a hard-fought battle within the Holy See former Catholic priests who left the Church to marry and subsequently became Anglican clergy will not be permitted to return.
Read further...
The Vatican today held the line on priestly celibacy as it published the document which opens the door for hundreds of thousands of disaffected Anglicans to become Roman Catholics.
Pope Benedict XVI has made it as easy as possible for traditional and “continuing” Anglicans to convert to Catholicism while retaining key elements of their ecclesiastical heritage, observers commented.
The Apostolic Constitution even allows for married Anglican bishops to be granted the status of retired Catholic bishops, to become members of the local Catholic bishops’ conference and to be granted permission to use the “insignia” of episcopal office, such as the mitre, pectoral cross and staff, by the Holy See in Rome.
But after a hard-fought battle within the Holy See former Catholic priests who left the Church to marry and subsequently became Anglican clergy will not be permitted to return.
Read further...
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Randall Balmer, Episcopalian, says Vatican "Opportunistic" (Poll)
| Randall Balmer, Episcopal priest, washingtonpost.com.
NO: The Vatican’s sudden overture to disaffected Anglicans strikes me as both cynical and opportunistic.
Cynical in that the concession to effectively allow congregations to continue using Anglican hymns and liturgies seems to undermine decades of ecumenical discussions. [Wow, sounds just like a Jesuit.]
The move is opportunistic in that Rome is making the overture at what might be viewed as a moment of crisis or weakness in the Anglican Communion. The Vatican apparently is seeking to harvest those disaffected by the ordination of women and gays and by support for same-sex unions. [No, they're doing their job.]
A cynical action calls for a cynical interpretation: [Sounds like projection to me. There's nothing about this that's cynical, unless you read into it things which aren't there and attribute wicked motives] Perhaps the Vatican is hoping to lure Anglican parishes — and their property — to compensate for its financial losses in the priestly pedophilia scandals. [Anglicans are actually worse on that score]
I have no doubt that some disaffected Anglicans will see this as an attractive offer. At the same time, I wasn’t aware that Christians opposed to homosexuality or to women’s ordination were underserved in the religious marketplace. [If it were a marketplace. I'm afraid you're the cynical one, sir.]
Read entire article...
NO: The Vatican’s sudden overture to disaffected Anglicans strikes me as both cynical and opportunistic.
Cynical in that the concession to effectively allow congregations to continue using Anglican hymns and liturgies seems to undermine decades of ecumenical discussions. [Wow, sounds just like a Jesuit.]
The move is opportunistic in that Rome is making the overture at what might be viewed as a moment of crisis or weakness in the Anglican Communion. The Vatican apparently is seeking to harvest those disaffected by the ordination of women and gays and by support for same-sex unions. [No, they're doing their job.]
A cynical action calls for a cynical interpretation: [Sounds like projection to me. There's nothing about this that's cynical, unless you read into it things which aren't there and attribute wicked motives] Perhaps the Vatican is hoping to lure Anglican parishes — and their property — to compensate for its financial losses in the priestly pedophilia scandals. [Anglicans are actually worse on that score]
I have no doubt that some disaffected Anglicans will see this as an attractive offer. At the same time, I wasn’t aware that Christians opposed to homosexuality or to women’s ordination were underserved in the religious marketplace. [If it were a marketplace. I'm afraid you're the cynical one, sir.]
Read entire article...
Friday, November 6, 2009
Episcopalian Bishop Smith of Arizona talks about Pope's offer.
This response by Episcopalian Bishop Smith with commentary from Virtue On Line indicates that Bishop Smith has no leg to stand on when it comes to orthodoxy and is really banking on getting converts to his church based on the moral and doctrinal equivalency he shares with prevailing and declining mores of modern society. The salt has truly lost its savour.
Of all the commentary appearing on blogs and in Anglican cyberspace regarding the Pope's recent offer of a safe harbor to traditionalist Anglicans, none has appeared more inane, muddled and downright inaccurate than that of the Rt. Rev. Kirk S. Smith, the Episcopal Bishop of Arizona.
Here is what he said:
SMITH: I've been waiting a few days to make any comment on the recent invitation from Pope Benedict XVI to disgruntled Anglicans to become Roman Catholics.
VOL: First of all, these Anglicans are hardly "disgruntled". What they are wanting is to be faithful to Scripture, tradition and reason at a time when the Episcopal Church is unfaithful to Scripture, has virtually wiped out all tradition, and is being totally unreasonable over property issues.
SMITH: This current invitation is a bit different in that those going to Rome have been promised that they can maintain their Anglican ways (Prayer book, etc) and even have oversight by former Anglican bishops. Still those priests and bishops will be ruled by the Vatican.
VOL: That's precisely why the Pope set it up this way rather than giving them a Personal Prelature as he did Opus Dei. Anglicans would retain their Anglican identity rather than simply being absorbed like the Borg. It is exactly why they wanted their own bishops and at least one group - the Traditional Anglican Communion - has accepted the offer.
SMITH: The reason dissenting Episcopalians left our church is because they don't like control.
VOL: Nonsense. It has nothing to do with control. Episcopalians left to to go to Rome, the AC-NA and countless other Anglican jurisdictions because they no longer believe TEC upholds the faith once for all delivered to the saints. It has nothing to do with control. And speaking of control, there is no bigger control freak than Katharine Jefferts Schori who has assumed papal like powers in deposing bishops and controlling what bishops do over orthodox parishes that want to leave with their properties. She has said she would sooner sell them to saloon keepers than to faithful Anglicans. Who's controlling who here?
SMITH: I doubt many of them would be anxious to trade in their current relative independence for orders from the Chair of St Peter.
VOL: You have just contradicted yourself, Bishop. You just said that conservatives left because they didn't like control? Now you're saying that they will be trading in their "relative independence" to take "orders from the Chair of St. Peter." Which is it Bishop Smith? You can't have it both ways.
Read further...
Thursday, November 5, 2009
This offer was 400 years in the making
A brief overview of English History and the Relations of the English Church with Rome with surprising and accurate conclusions by Cardinal Kasper. The prayer for Christian Unity Week was actually begun in 1908.
Fr Michael Rear says that new provisions for the reception of Anglicans should not surprise those who are familiar with English history
Cardinal Kasper addressed the Anglican bishops at Lambeth, pointing out the difficulty this presents. " In several contexts, bishops are not in communion with other bishops; in some instances, Anglican provinces are no longer in full communion with each other." How can the Catholic Church maintain a dialogue for organic unity with an Anglican Communion so divided in itself? The ARCIC conversations were inevitably downgraded to cooperation and friendship, but are still most important for all that, and more so now when relations are under strain.
For there are very large numbers of Anglicans, like the allegedly 400,000 Anglicans of the Traditional Anglican Communion, and others no longer in communion with their diocesan bishops, who have separate "episcopal visitors". Many of these have earnestly requested Rome to complete the ARCIC process with them. This put Rome on the spot. Cardinal Kasper referred to the dilemma at the Lambeth Conference in 2008.
Read entire article...
Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor has strongly defended Pope Benedict XVI's decision to extend a hand to Anglicans wishing to enter communion with Rome but maintain their identity.
Read more...
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Anglicans Snub Lesbian Bishop’s Ordination :: EDGE Boston
Anglicans Snub Lesbian Bishop’s Ordination :: EDGE Boston
English and Irish Anglican bishops are refusing to attend the ordination of one of a Lutheran fellow cleric in Stockholm--because she is a lesbian.
Eva Brunne is slated to be ordained as the Church of Sweden’s new Stockholm bishop, reported English language Swedish news site The Local on Nov. 4
Relations between the Church of Sweden and the Anglican church have been strained since the Church of Sweden approved new church policy that officially grants gay and lesbian couples the right to enjoy church blessings.
The new policy originated in June with a petition from the governing board of the Church of Sweden, and was approved by the Lutheran Synod on Oct. 22, with a majority 176 votes out of the 249 voting members. The vote took place just three days after the thirtieth anniversary of the removal of homosexuality from the list of pathologies in Sweden.
The decision also follows in the wake of marriage equality being granted to gay and lesbian Swedish families by the Swedish government. The new law took effect last May.
Swedish GLBT leader Åsa Regnér, who heads the Swedish Association for Sexuality Education, said of the vote, "The Synod’s decision takes a stance in favor of an inclusive view of people. Regardless of whether one is religious or not, this affects the entire social climate and the view of people’s equal value."
Pastors opposed to performing marriages for same-sex couples may opt out of performing the blessing.
The Lutheran church had come under pressure by the Church of England not to approve the measure, with a letter from two Church of England bishops warning that granting equal marriage status to faithful gay and lesbian families might lead to "an impairment of the relationships between the churches."
The Local quoted Bishop Alan Harper of Armagh, Northern Ireland, as saying, "The Anglican Church has a moratorium right now concerning the ordination of bishops who live together with someone of the same sex."
The article noted that the ordination was announced less than a month after marriage equality became legal in Sweden last May. Brunne’s lfie partner is also a cleric; Gunilla Lindén is a pastor in the Church of Sweden.
The article noted that other churches had declined to send clerics to the ordination, set to take place Nov. 8, including the churches of Estonia, Iceland, Latvia, and Lithuania, but that the event would be attended by clerics from the churches of Denmark, Finland, Germany, Norway, South Africa, and the Phillippines.
Kilian Melloy reviews media, conducts interviews, and writes commentary for EDGEBoston, where he also serves as Assistant Arts Editor.
English and Irish Anglican bishops are refusing to attend the ordination of one of a Lutheran fellow cleric in Stockholm--because she is a lesbian.
Eva Brunne is slated to be ordained as the Church of Sweden’s new Stockholm bishop, reported English language Swedish news site The Local on Nov. 4
Relations between the Church of Sweden and the Anglican church have been strained since the Church of Sweden approved new church policy that officially grants gay and lesbian couples the right to enjoy church blessings.
The new policy originated in June with a petition from the governing board of the Church of Sweden, and was approved by the Lutheran Synod on Oct. 22, with a majority 176 votes out of the 249 voting members. The vote took place just three days after the thirtieth anniversary of the removal of homosexuality from the list of pathologies in Sweden.
The decision also follows in the wake of marriage equality being granted to gay and lesbian Swedish families by the Swedish government. The new law took effect last May.
Swedish GLBT leader Åsa Regnér, who heads the Swedish Association for Sexuality Education, said of the vote, "The Synod’s decision takes a stance in favor of an inclusive view of people. Regardless of whether one is religious or not, this affects the entire social climate and the view of people’s equal value."
Pastors opposed to performing marriages for same-sex couples may opt out of performing the blessing.
The Lutheran church had come under pressure by the Church of England not to approve the measure, with a letter from two Church of England bishops warning that granting equal marriage status to faithful gay and lesbian families might lead to "an impairment of the relationships between the churches."
The Local quoted Bishop Alan Harper of Armagh, Northern Ireland, as saying, "The Anglican Church has a moratorium right now concerning the ordination of bishops who live together with someone of the same sex."
The article noted that the ordination was announced less than a month after marriage equality became legal in Sweden last May. Brunne’s lfie partner is also a cleric; Gunilla Lindén is a pastor in the Church of Sweden.
The article noted that other churches had declined to send clerics to the ordination, set to take place Nov. 8, including the churches of Estonia, Iceland, Latvia, and Lithuania, but that the event would be attended by clerics from the churches of Denmark, Finland, Germany, Norway, South Africa, and the Phillippines.
Kilian Melloy reviews media, conducts interviews, and writes commentary for EDGEBoston, where he also serves as Assistant Arts Editor.
Friday, October 30, 2009
Pope Benedict to Meet with Archbishop Rowan Williams in November
VATICAN CITY — Pope Benedict XVI will meet with the Archbishop of Canterbury next month in the leaders' first encounter since the Catholic church moved to make it easier for disenchanted Anglicans to convert to Catholicism, a Vatican spokesman said Friday.
Archbishop Rowan Williams, the Anglican leader, was already due to visit Rome in November for ceremonies at a pontifical university to honor a late cardinal who worked for Christian unity, said the spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi. Taking advantage of the archbishop's presence in Rome, Benedict will receive Williams on Nov. 21 at the Vatican, Lombardi said in a telephone interview.
Read Further...
Archbishop Rowan Williams, the Anglican leader, was already due to visit Rome in November for ceremonies at a pontifical university to honor a late cardinal who worked for Christian unity, said the spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi. Taking advantage of the archbishop's presence in Rome, Benedict will receive Williams on Nov. 21 at the Vatican, Lombardi said in a telephone interview.
Read Further...
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Anglican churches in Waltham Forest could move en masse to the Catholic Church after a decree issued by Pope Benedict XVI [The Guardian]
St Margaret's, in Woodhouse Road, Leytonstone, St Michael's, in Palmerston Road, Walthamstow, and St Saviour's, in Markhouse Road, Walthamstow, all look set to take the Pope up on his offer.
But some Anglicans believe the Catholic Church’s opposition to the ordination of women and gay rights will be a stumbling block.
Read More...
The Pope's Anglican Proposal will draw at least 20-30 Bishops
The current initiative to invite Anglicans into the Catholic Church en masse was prompted by numerous requests. It is now clear that not just a few will be joining the Catholic Church throughout the world in response to these conservative Anglicans' increasing alienation in the Anglican Communion due to women's ordination and homosexuality; but quite a bit more outside of the Traditional Anglican Communion, numbering from 20-30 Bishops wishing direct communion to include individual groups constituting large numbers of prospective Catholics. What father would give his child a stone when he asked for bread?
Read entire article...
However, there are conditions attached. Anglicans entering the fold must recognise the pope as the head of the church. The parishes would be led by former Anglican clergy who would be ordained as Catholic priests. “The ordinary,” who heads an ordinariate, can be either a celibate priest or an unmarried bishop, and “will usually be appointed from among former Anglican clergy,” the cardinal stated. While married Anglican priests may be ordained as Catholic priests, this does not apply to married Anglican bishops. As Africa's Newswatch Magazine reports:
Cardinal William Levada, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, CDF, announced this decision at a special international press briefing in the Vatican, October 20. Cardinal Levada said the Pope decided to establish this special structure in response to “the many requests” that were submitted to the Holy See over the past three years or more “from groups of Anglican clergy and faithful in different parts of the world who wish to enter into visible communion.” He announced that about “20 to 30 bishops” had submitted requests, while “hundreds of requests” had been received from large groups of people,” and not from just the Traditional Anglican Community which has 500,000 members worldwide. He said it was expected that the Pope would issue an apostolic constitution, a document to enact or promulgate laws, on this issue in a few weeks.
Read entire article...
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
A Boost for Catholic-Anglican Dialogue
A response to So Long and Thanks for All the Priests in Monday's Guardian.
Cardinal Heenan, Archbishop of Westminster until 1975, used to get annoyed when Anglicans were offered communion in French Catholic churches and given a hearty Gallic welcome. French Catholics, understandably, couldn't see a lot of difference between Catholic Anglicans and English Roman Catholics. But Heenan was horrified. Once the two started being welcome in each others' churches, he warned, it was obvious what would happen: the Romans would all start to drift to the smart Anglican churches, with their robed choirs and Oxbridge clergy and their glimpse of a pre-Reformation English world.
And that's the reason why the pope's firecracker announcement last week of a legal space within the Catholic church for a corporate Anglican existence will have the effect of advancing Catholic-Anglican relations, not undermining them.
Read further...
Cardinal Heenan, Archbishop of Westminster until 1975, used to get annoyed when Anglicans were offered communion in French Catholic churches and given a hearty Gallic welcome. French Catholics, understandably, couldn't see a lot of difference between Catholic Anglicans and English Roman Catholics. But Heenan was horrified. Once the two started being welcome in each others' churches, he warned, it was obvious what would happen: the Romans would all start to drift to the smart Anglican churches, with their robed choirs and Oxbridge clergy and their glimpse of a pre-Reformation English world.
And that's the reason why the pope's firecracker announcement last week of a legal space within the Catholic church for a corporate Anglican existence will have the effect of advancing Catholic-Anglican relations, not undermining them.
Read further...
Liberal Obfuscation at the Pope's Offer?
We're already aware that this offer of Benedict may be met with a lukewarm reception even among the disaffected Anglicans who don't see how they can possibly reconcile the new positions elucidated in the Covenant and biblical and doctrinal Christianity.
Father Z has warned of a Liberal meltdown in the wake of this announcement. There are already some reports that two disaffected Anglican Bishops are not necessarily coming over.
The following report in the Telegraph takes Bishop of Chichester to task for his unequal statements that he wanted to have in the agreement that his orders were always in effect. Well, in a sense they were, at least as regards Baptism. I'm sure that the Bishop baptised many new Christians, but that's not strictly speaking, always the role of the priest. This should be interesting to watch.
Disaffected Anglican bishops don't know if they're coming or going
In fact, it seems that he is not becoming a Catholic because, despite his continual condemnation of homosexuality, he is at heart, an Anglican.
It's hard to understand what he's holding out for, because if Arcic has been shot to pieces, so has any semblance of continuity, save the most superficial, between historical Christianity and the Anglican Communion.
Father Z has warned of a Liberal meltdown in the wake of this announcement. There are already some reports that two disaffected Anglican Bishops are not necessarily coming over.
The following report in the Telegraph takes Bishop of Chichester to task for his unequal statements that he wanted to have in the agreement that his orders were always in effect. Well, in a sense they were, at least as regards Baptism. I'm sure that the Bishop baptised many new Christians, but that's not strictly speaking, always the role of the priest. This should be interesting to watch.
Disaffected Anglican bishops don't know if they're coming or going
Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali was at least clear on Saturday. He said: “I have to admit that Arcic and its work has been shot to pieces.” He went on to say that his hopes for unity with Rome had been destroyed.
In fact, it seems that he is not becoming a Catholic because, despite his continual condemnation of homosexuality, he is at heart, an Anglican.
It's hard to understand what he's holding out for, because if Arcic has been shot to pieces, so has any semblance of continuity, save the most superficial, between historical Christianity and the Anglican Communion.
The Coronation Oath and The Crisis of the Church of England
The enclosed article by Tom Johnstone traces the history of the Coronation Oath taken by English Monarchs since the time of Archbishop Egbert of York to the modern time. What we see is a gradual transformation of the Oath to reflect the changing political and religious factors that were brought to England especially during the Penal times which saw the Oath linked with the established protestant Church, aligned eventually with the Test Act, which meant to exclude the possibility of Catholics from taking an active part in the Parliament.
What is certain from this excellent article by Mr. Johnstone is that the English State Church, linked as it is to the Crown and these oaths have been altered in response to growing concerns for religious toleration, and another historical concern for disestablishment.
Since many members of the Royal Family have renounced claims to the throne since marrying Catholics, the future looks bright for an alteration in the Coronation Oath to reflect the failure of the Church of England to respond effectively to liberalizing elements essentially making the English Church indistinguishable from the surrounding modern society and undercutting continuity with the perennial moral teachings common to all Christians before the modern age.
Queen Elizabeth has been quoted by "informants" recently in The Telegraph that she is appalled at the established church: yet it is clear, given her own points of concern in the past with the course of things in society, her sympathy to the Catholic Church and fondness for the Pope who is to stay at Buckingham Palace when he visits England next year, the precedent for changes in the Coronation Oath and the abrogation of the aforementioned Test Act, it is possible that her successor, if not herself, could become the first Catholic monarch of England since James II.
"I ... do solemnly and sincerely, in the presence of God, profess, testify and declare that I do believe that in the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper there is not any transubstantiation of the elements of bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ at or after the consecration thereof by any person whatsoever: and that the invocation or adoration of the Virgin Mary or any other Saint and the sacrifice of the Mass, as they are now used in the Church of Rome, are superstitious and idolatrous."
What is certain from this excellent article by Mr. Johnstone is that the English State Church, linked as it is to the Crown and these oaths have been altered in response to growing concerns for religious toleration, and another historical concern for disestablishment.
Since many members of the Royal Family have renounced claims to the throne since marrying Catholics, the future looks bright for an alteration in the Coronation Oath to reflect the failure of the Church of England to respond effectively to liberalizing elements essentially making the English Church indistinguishable from the surrounding modern society and undercutting continuity with the perennial moral teachings common to all Christians before the modern age.
Queen Elizabeth has been quoted by "informants" recently in The Telegraph that she is appalled at the established church: yet it is clear, given her own points of concern in the past with the course of things in society, her sympathy to the Catholic Church and fondness for the Pope who is to stay at Buckingham Palace when he visits England next year, the precedent for changes in the Coronation Oath and the abrogation of the aforementioned Test Act, it is possible that her successor, if not herself, could become the first Catholic monarch of England since James II.
Monday, October 26, 2009
"Ratzinger Blitzkriegs Protestants." Are you Sure?
It's so great that others are fully perceiving the greatness and decisiveness of this bold master stroke as Der Panzerpapst has effectively drawn attention to the teetering structure of Anglican Catholicism while opening a door to disaffected Traditional Anglicans who can no longer find a home in the toxic atmosphere of the CoE. This article by an writer at the Trumpet, however, is willing to view Cardinal Kasper's sidelining as an accidental oversight. It takes away the contrast between two respective and irreconcilable approaches to Ecumenism, one faltering and indecisive and the other reminiscent of the Great Commission.
Everything else is idle speculation and definitely an indication that there was far more hope of re-union with the Traditional Anglicans than there is with the Orthodox who, while being positive to these overtures and willing to discuss, are far less sanguine to the ecumenicism of engagement and more hesitant to reunite.
The Trumpet, for those of you who might not know is a publication produced in Philadelphia by The Church of God.
Article Here...
Did Benedict’s seeming undue haste [He can't be bold and in undue haste at the same time] to make this announcement perhaps have bearing on the reason why the German Cardinal Kasper was in Cyprus? Was it timed to send a signal to the Eastern Orthodox hierarchy that the pope is ready to make similar concessions to the Orthodox community if they capitulate to Rome? After all, Kasper was Johnny on the spot to assess their reaction to this dramatic announcement to then be in a position to report that reaction firsthand to Benedict upon his return to Rome from Nicosia.
Everything else is idle speculation and definitely an indication that there was far more hope of re-union with the Traditional Anglicans than there is with the Orthodox who, while being positive to these overtures and willing to discuss, are far less sanguine to the ecumenicism of engagement and more hesitant to reunite.
The Trumpet, for those of you who might not know is a publication produced in Philadelphia by The Church of God.
Article Here...
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Third World Anglicans Demur from Pope's Offer
PARIS (Reuters) - Conservative bishops who say they represent almost half the world's Anglicans urged fellow believers on Sunday to reform the Anglican Communion rather than take up Pope Benedict's invitation to join the Roman Catholic Church.
The "Global South" group, which last year seemed close to quitting the Communion, said those opposed to gay clergy and other liberal reforms should "stand firm with us in cherishing the Anglican heritage (and) pursuing a common vocation."
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The "Global South" group, which last year seemed close to quitting the Communion, said those opposed to gay clergy and other liberal reforms should "stand firm with us in cherishing the Anglican heritage (and) pursuing a common vocation."
Read More
Benedict's Ecumenical Blitzkrieg
People might be willing to make comparisons to the Blitzkrieg, and others, especially partisans of the Holy Father might be offended, but how can you not compare this to a successful military operation involving complete secrecy beforehand, leaving the stunned defenders completely oblivious as they are surrounded and cut off in a daring pincer movement.
Gerard Warner at the Scotsman, borrowing unatributively from Ruth Gledhill at The Times described Williams waking up with tanks on his lawn. It's a nice image.
He also makes mention of the fact that, as in a perfect offensive maneuver, even enemy spies were oblivious of the move as Cardinal Kasper was nowhere to be seen. [He was in Cyprus] This promises to proceed apace as a smooth and well-timed and executed military-like operation after years and years of ineffectual discussions while the Anglican Church drifted further and further away from sanity and orthodoxy on the seas of modernity.
The entire thing promises to work like a Catholic reconquista with Catholics finally regaining possession of church campuses and monasteries stolen from them by Henry VIII and now occasionally in the possession of rock stars and Anglicans.
Gerard Warner at the Scotsman, borrowing unatributively from Ruth Gledhill at The Times described Williams waking up with tanks on his lawn. It's a nice image.
For face-saving reasons, Williams tried desperately to pretend that this Vatican initiative was the outcome of mutual consultation, when the reality was that he had wakened up that morning to find Ratzinger's tanks on his lawn.
He also makes mention of the fact that, as in a perfect offensive maneuver, even enemy spies were oblivious of the move as Cardinal Kasper was nowhere to be seen. [He was in Cyprus] This promises to proceed apace as a smooth and well-timed and executed military-like operation after years and years of ineffectual discussions while the Anglican Church drifted further and further away from sanity and orthodoxy on the seas of modernity.
The entire thing promises to work like a Catholic reconquista with Catholics finally regaining possession of church campuses and monasteries stolen from them by Henry VIII and now occasionally in the possession of rock stars and Anglicans.
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Former Archbishop of Canterbury Angry with Lack of Forewarning
The former Archbishop of Canterbury, Lord Carey, finds the current proposal from Rome "inexcusable" in that more warning wasn't given, but still welcomes the proposal. He insists that he isn't usurping the Archbishop William's role.
Here
According to BBC about 600 Priests are planning to meet to discuss whether they should become part of the Catholic Church owing to Benedict's much requested lifeline in the wake of the Anglican Communion's decision to ordain women and active homosexuals. Some of the priests have already planned to become Catholic regardless.
Here
In this article, Peter Stafford, curiously and erroneously suggests that the current move will appeal to those Anglicans who do not regard women as equals.
Here
In an effort rally the troops in defense of dying protestantism, Bishop Harvey of Anglican Network in Canada (ANiC), insists on his protestant interpretation of the word Catholic, citing various problems he forsees in the proposed union.
Here
Some word on the Anglican Church of North America which has grown by nearly 40 Congregations recently.
Here
Also threatening to leave the sinking ship of liberal Anglicanism, SC Episcopalians have announced just 4 days following Benedict's announcement that they are distancing themselves away from the Anglican Communion while insisting that they do not want complete seperation. It is unclear at this time whether they will regard the Vatican proposal favorably.
Here
Here
According to BBC about 600 Priests are planning to meet to discuss whether they should become part of the Catholic Church owing to Benedict's much requested lifeline in the wake of the Anglican Communion's decision to ordain women and active homosexuals. Some of the priests have already planned to become Catholic regardless.
Here
In this article, Peter Stafford, curiously and erroneously suggests that the current move will appeal to those Anglicans who do not regard women as equals.
Here
In an effort rally the troops in defense of dying protestantism, Bishop Harvey of Anglican Network in Canada (ANiC), insists on his protestant interpretation of the word Catholic, citing various problems he forsees in the proposed union.
Here
Some word on the Anglican Church of North America which has grown by nearly 40 Congregations recently.
Here
Also threatening to leave the sinking ship of liberal Anglicanism, SC Episcopalians have announced just 4 days following Benedict's announcement that they are distancing themselves away from the Anglican Communion while insisting that they do not want complete seperation. It is unclear at this time whether they will regard the Vatican proposal favorably.
Here
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