Riazat Butt in The Observer Archbishop hits back at the evangelical rebels
The Archbishop of York condemned leaders of a breakaway global church yesterday for their ‘ungenerous and unwarranted’ scapegoating of the Archbishop of Canterbury.
Jonathan Wynne-Jones at the Telegraph Anglican bishops in secret Vatican summit
Senior Church of England bishops have held secret talks with Vatican officials to discuss the crisis in the Anglican communion over gays and women bishops.
Mail on Sunday Church of England must go ahead with plans to create women bishops, says senior clergyman
A senior bishop urged the Church of England yesterday to ignore warnings that allowing women to become bishops would ‘shatter the unity of the Church’ – and to plough ahead with the historic reform.
Emily Dugan in The Independent on Sunday Church schism widens over women bishops
Divisions appeared to widen yesterday between senior Church of England clergy on opposite sides of the debate over the consecration of women bishops, as the issue dominated the agenda at the General Synod.
Regarding the “Anglican bishops in secret Vatican summit”, what have they to discuss? So far as the RC Church is concerned, they are laymen. At this, of all times, with the waters muddied – from their point of view – by the question of the ordination of women priests and bishops, there is no way that the power structure of Roman Church can or will risk recognizing Anglican orders, however conditional or circumscribed that recognition might be.
There always seem to be so many Ifs in these hard controversies. IF – only the several proponents of contrasting views did not feel so easily and terribly contaminated by believers who think differently? IF – only historic Anglican space and oxygen were not institutionally vexed and beset by sharp problems of power – mainly by those powers of excluding the wrong sort, policing the shaky maybe sort, and of course punishing any who fall astray according to this or that weaponized doctrine? IF only trust – or more likely, a lack of trust and behind that, a lack of… Read more »
This is a fascinating story, reminiscent in style and content of an old friend of mine, indeed there are even elements here that we discussed several months ago. The top of the story as told by Wynne-Jones is “a group” of “senior” CofE bishops have had “secret” meetings with officials of the CDF, a branch of the Roman Catholic Curia. The reporter tells us purpose of these “sensitive and potentially explosive” “highly confidential discussions” (!!!) was to “discuss the crisis in the Anglican communion over gays and women bishops” and to “attempt to build closer ties with the Roman Catholic… Read more »
But the statement from the RC bishop of Arundel and Brighton goes further he says interestingly “Some are hoping for accommodation with the Catholic Church, but yet maintaining their Anglican identity.” And here we come to the running story/gossip/rumour that has been denied by both sides for several months/years – and yet is still being touted by some within the Vatican (particularly in the CDF!) as a “definite possibility” on Saturday a “certainty” after lunch on Tuesdays. This says the Pope is about to legitimise a small America group that began as an Anglican breakaway and after discreet re-ordinations will… Read more »
Just last week Ms Butt wrote, “Akinola accused him of leading the Anglican communion into a “state of turmoil and brokenness” and also appeared to accuse him of apostasy, something he later denied.” Now, she drops the qualifiers and states simply, “The Archbishop of Nigeria, Peter Akinola, accused Williams of apostasy.” The actual words of ABp Akinola when asked whether the term apostate which he had used with the leaders of the American provinces (from the day 1 press conference): [Unidentified reporter]: Is Rowan Williams guilty of apostasy? Akinola: I would not say that. He is a brother but we… Read more »
“All those who have given up the faith and doing what we as a church cannot do, who are doing what we as a family of churches cannot do. They are the ones.” And we, robroy, long ago gave up holding our breaths that Akinola would retract this untruth. The fact is that there are people in TEC, and indeed in the rest of the Anglican communion, who do not believe as he does on the authority of Scripture, or many other things. They are not Apostate simply becuase they do not agree with him. Of course there is a… Read more »