There are reports today that Frank Field MP has tabled an Early Day Motion in the House of Commons.
Telegraph Church must make women bishops, say MPs
BBC MPs push case for women bishops
Press Association Government urged over women bishops
The full text of the motion is published here:
71 CommentsEDM 1364
WOMEN BISHOPS 27.01.2011
Field, Frank
That this House welcomes the current moves by the General Synod of the Church of England to pass legislation permitting women to be bishops; notes that the Synod is currently engaged in consulting the Dioceses on the Women in the Episcopate: draft bishops and priests (consecration and ordination of women) Measure; further notes that General Synod expects to debate the final approval stage of the Measure in July 2012; encourages the House of Bishops to commend the Measure as currently drafted; and calls on Her Majesty’s Government to remove any exemptions pertaining to gender under existing equality legislation, in the event that the Measure has overwhelming support in the dioceses but fails through a technicality to receive final approval in General Synod.
The Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church preached this morning at Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin.
ENS reports In Dublin sermon, presiding bishop challenges all to ‘show up’ to heal the world.
“We’re challenged in this very body to ‘show up,’ to present ourselves ready, willing, and able to help heal this broken world,” Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori said on Jan. 30 during her sermon at the 9 a.m. Sung Eucharist service at Christ Church Cathedral in Dublin, Ireland.
Highlighting sobering statistics of child mortality rates in some parts of the world – like Angola, where nearly 20 percent of children die before their first birthday – Jefferts Schori said the healing of the world “needs the participation and leadership of all parts of the body of Christ. It starts with urgent voices, and changed hearts, our own conversion, and our challenge to systems that perpetuate all kinds of sickness and death around the world.”
Jefferts Schori noted the brutal murder of Ugandan gay rights activist David Kato, who was bludgeoned to death in his home community on Jan. 26.
Kato “has been a strong voice for the basic human rights of gay and lesbian people,” Jefferts Schori said. “His voice has been silenced. We can pray that others will continue that work, or be challenged by the brutality of his death into some conversion of heart. Will we challenge the world to respect the dignity of every single human being?”
The full text of the sermon is available here.
Link to video recording of sermon.
11 CommentsChanging Attitude Ireland press release
Anglican priest, Canon Giles Goddard – chair of Inclusive Church England – said in a sermon today (Sunday 30 January) in Trinity College Dublin:
“You may have heard that a Ugandan gay activist, David Kato, was bludgeoned to death in his home in Uganda. His funeral was on Friday. At his funeral, the officiant – who was an Anglican lay reader – ranted against homosexuality. And at the end of the service the villagers refused to bury his coffin. I think it’s important to be clear about this; homophobia kills and any church that preaches intolerance is contributing to the very real and deadly consequences of homophobia.”
He went on to say that:
“Two things need to happen to ensure the continued health of the Anglican Communion. First, that we need to be clear about the implications of the refusal by some conservative provinces to engage with Communion processes; this Primates Meeting and the Anglican Covenant. The implication is that the processes set in place in an attempt to placate them – the moratoria– are to all intents and purposes defunct, and should be quietly forgotten. Which is not surprising, because they were legalistic responses to a legalistic approach to the Gospel.
Secondly, having done that we need to find a way out of the absurd stalemate we are in over human sexuality. We need as a Communion to find a way to recognise that there are a great many Anglican and Episcopalian Christians whose faith and life, and the faith and life of those around them, is deeply enriched by their same-sex relationships. That these relationships are undoubtedly blessed and hallowed in the sight of God. A way which recognises differences of opinion; which does not force those who disagree to abandon their beliefs; but which recognises and celebrates the ways in which the love of Jesus is expressed in the world. Here we are in Ireland, close to a living example of what’s possible in extremely complicated issues with flexibility and care. I do not believe that something similar isn’t possible within the Anglican Communion. It’s time to find that way.”
The full text of this sermon can be found at this page.
7 CommentsHere’s the official bulletin: Primates’ Meeting – Briefing #4.
Today’s meeting moved from the work of reflecting on the exercise of primacy and the purpose and nature of the Primates’ Meeting, to considering the role, purpose and composition of the Standing Committee of the Primates. In addition to attending the Anglican Consultative Council (ACC) and the Standing Committee, other roles suggested for the committee by Primates included “holding” the life, vision and spirit of the meeting between the Primates’ Meetings; helping to shape their future meetings; and acting as a consultative group for the Archbishop of Canterbury. Several groups also suggested that the Primates’ Standing Committee might have an ongoing bridging role between the Primate’s Meeting and the regions from where the Primates come…
There are some pictures posted, which you can reach via here (and then top left).
Titus Presler asks some Questions about Anglican primates’ day on theology/ecumenism/covenant.
And there is more from Ed Beavan here.
10 CommentsJane Williams continues her Comment is free belief series: The Book of Genesis, part 7: The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. “Genesis raises some thorny questions about God’s morality, but to view them entirely through our own lens is disrespectful.”
Giles Fraser’s column in this week’s Church Times is Woods: it’s all about the scale.
Theo Hobson writes in The Guardian that American Anglicans made me change my mind on church. “Disillusioned with the C of E’s ambivalent attitude to liberalism, the US Episcopal church was like a breath of fresh air.”
Christopher Howse asks in The Telegraph: What’s that thing round your neck? He “was surprised by religious medals being called ‘charms’.”
In last week’s opinion article I linked to a lecture about Islamophobia by Baroness Warsi, and some responses to it. This week The Question at Comment is free belief follows this up with Is hatred of Islam now respectable? with replies from Nesrine Malik, Tehmina Kazi and Jenny Taylor.
16 CommentsCHICAGO CONSULTATION HOPES ARCHBISHOP’S STATEMENT SIGNALS NEW COURSE ON LGBT ISSUES
Asks other Anglican primates to condemn violence
CHICAGO, IL, January 28, 2011—The Chicago Consultation issued this statement today from its co-convener, the Rev. Lowell Grisham:
“The Chicago Consultation applauds the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Rev. Rowan Williams for his statements condemning the murder of Ugandan LGBT activist David Kato. We hope the archbishop’s statement signals a willingness to speak out against the persecution of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people more directly and forcefully than he has in the past.
“It is essential that the other primates of the Anglican Communion join Dr. Williams and Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori of the Episcopal Church, in condemning the cultivation of hatred and violence against LGBT people. The primates who boycotted the current meeting in Dublin over theological differences with gay-friendly churches have a particular responsibility to affirm the dignity of every human being, and the right of LGBT people to live without fear of violence, degradation or criminal prosecution. We would welcome similar clarity from the Anglican Church in North America, which maintains close relationships with these primates.
“Heartened as we were by the archbishop’s statement, we believe that he is speaking aspirationally when he claims that the worldwide Anglican Communion has condemned violence against LGBT people. Occasional references to the dignity of gays and lesbians in voluminous communiqués cannot mask the fact that a number of Anglican provinces have been active or complicit in encouraging state-sponsored persecution of gays and lesbians, including the notorious anti-gay legislation still under consideration by the Ugandan parliament.
“Dr. Williams’ advocacy would be more credible were his handling of LGBT issues within the Anglican Communion more evenhanded. He has made it clear that the Episcopal Church may face consequences for consecrating gay and lesbian bishops. Yet primates such as Archbishop Henry Orombi in Kato’s own country of Uganda support laws that would imprison same-sex couples for simple acts of physical affection, but risk no such reprisals. The tortured ecclesiological rationale offered for this double standard makes little sense outside the cocoon of Communion bureaucracy, and it compromises the archbishop’s ability to be the forceful and effective advocate for human rights that this statement indicates he wants to be.”
The Chicago Consultation, a group of Episcopal and Anglican bishops, clergy and lay people, supports the full inclusion of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Christians in the Episcopal Church and the worldwide Anglican Communion. To learn more about the Chicago Consultation, visit www.chicagoconsultation.org.
51 CommentsEd Beavan has filed further reports (and photos) for the Church Times from Dublin: Primates’ Meeting, Dublin: updated reports. (Scroll down for his earlier report.)
The Guardian’s Riazat Butt has reported the Archbishop of Canterbury’s statement: Archbishop urges government to protect gay asylum seekers.
The Presiding Bishop of TEC has issued a statement, see PB statement on David Kato’s murder.
The official briefing from ACNS is Primates’ Meeting – Briefing #3
The BBC reports: David Kato funeral: Uganda priest berates gays. See also Box Turtle Bulletin here and Warren Throckmorton on Anti-gay reaction to David Kato’s death.
For reference, here is the Church of Uganda’s official statement of its position on the Ugandan anti-homosexuality bill of 2009.
ENS also had a report: Episcopalians condemn murder of Ugandan gay rights activist David Kato.
3 CommentsArchbishop condemns murder of Ugandan gay human rights activist
33 CommentsFriday 28 January 2011
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, who is currently in Dublin for the Primates’ meeting, has made the following statement regarding the murder of the gay human rights activist David Kato Kisulle in Uganda:
“The brutal murder of David Kato Kisule, a gay human rights activist, is profoundly shocking. Our prayers and deep sympathy go out for his family and friends – and for all who live in fear for their lives. Whatever the precise circumstances of his death, which have yet to be determined, we know that David Kato Kisule lived under the threat of violence and death. No one should have to live in such fear because of the bigotry of others. Such violence has been consistently condemned by the Anglican Communion worldwide. This event also makes it all the more urgent for the British Government to secure the safety of LGBT asylum seekers in the UK. This is a moment to take very serious stock and to address those attitudes of mind which endanger the lives of men and women belonging to sexual minorities.”
The official bulletin for Thursday: Primates’ Meeting – Briefing #2.
The Church Times has Ed Beavan on the scene, and his first report is Primates depleted as Dublin summit kicks off.
The Church of England Newspaper has a report by George Conger 15 Archbishops skip Dublin primates meeting.
Patsy McGarry reports in the Irish Times: Church of Ireland group urges that Ugandan ‘homophobia’ be confronted.
THE CHURCH of Ireland Changing Attitude group has called on the Taoiseach and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Brian Cowen, and international Anglican primates meeting in Dublin “to confront the problem of homophobia in Uganda”.
It follows the murder there last Wednesday of gay rights campaigner David Kato.
The group said that in recent years “anti-gay feeling in Uganda has been stirred up by religious leaders, a group of USA evangelicals and politicians”.
Senior bishops from Anglican churches worldwide are in Dublin and “needed to assume their responsibilities in tackling homophobia and the churches collusion in it”.
The Anglican primate of the Church of the Province of Uganda, Most Rev Henry Luke Orombi, is among seven primates of the Anglican Communion who have boycotted the Primates Meeting now under way at the Emmaus Centre near Swords, Co Dublin…
Some background to this:
The Kampala-based Daily Monitor carries this editorial comment today: Can we talk honestly about homosexuality? . It concludes:
People like David Kato and others who might be gay are Ugandans and enjoy the same rights and protections of the law as heterosexuals. We cannot send them into exile neither, lock them away, or hang them.
We need to have an honest discussion about how to ensure that their rights are upheld without violating the rights of other Ugandans.
Peaceful and stable societies only emerge when we understand and try to accommodate those who are different from us, or who disagree with us – not by ostracising or killing them.
Box Turtle Bulletin comments on this editorial here, and says:
What makes this editorial remarkable is that it is being printed in Uganda’s largest and most influential independent newspaper, and it expresses the need to ensure the rights of LGBT people are upheld in a nation whose leadership refuses to recognize gay people as humans beings deserving of human rights. That’s remarkable, and a most welcome addition to the debate.
More material is available from that site, and from the blog of Warren Throckmorton.
5 CommentsACNS has the official report of yesterday: Primates’ Meeting – Briefing #1.
Changing Attitude Ireland has issued a call for the primates to consider the issue of Christian-backed persecution of gay persons. See Call to confront Homophobia at Anglican Primates’ Meeting. (See also this BBC news article.)
The Institute for Religion and Democracy has issued its opinion: Global Conservative Anglican Leaders Duck Worldwide Meeting
“This strife within the third largest family of Christian churches worldwide will not conclude in decisive schism. Instead, liberal and conservative Anglicans will continue to realize a de-facto separation over time. The Dublin primate’s [sic] meeting exemplifies this evolving separation.”
As Episcopal Café points out, this amounts to a change of position: IRD revises forecast for the Communion.
If you came late to this party, you can read about what IRD did to bankroll the Anglican schism in Following the Money. Or you can read This Schism Is Brought to You by the IRD and Power, Money, Control . . . It’s the Church!
The Revd Jonathan Clark, Rector of St Mary’s, Stoke Newington and Chair of Affirming Catholicism has responded to what Andrew Goddard wrote, see Actions and Consequences.
Tobias Haller has responded to what Mouneer Anis said, see Mouneer Gets It Wrong.
The ACI has written The Dublin ‘Meeting’ and Mark Harris has responded with The ACI Numbers Game.
14 CommentsTitusOneNine has published a complete transcript of the recent address made by the Presiding Bishop of Jerusalem and the Middle East, Mouneer Anis. See Recovering the Word of God for the Anglican Communion. Bishop Anis is not attending the meeting in Dublin.
Fulcrum, which argued previously that the Presiding Bishop of TEC should not be invited to attend the Dublin meeting of the Anglican Primates has published an article by Andrew Goddard titled Actions and consequences: Reflections on the state of the Anglican Communion.
34 CommentsSummary: Reflecting on Fulcrum’s call not to invite the Presiding Bishop to the Primates’ Meeting in Ireland, the consequences of inviting her are highlighted: the widespread principled absence of many Global South primates. As it is still unclear why the Presiding Bishop was invited after the breach of the moratorium and the Pentecost Letter, three possible scenarios are outlined in the hope that the rationale for this decision may be made clear. Then, drawing on past Primates’ statements and statements from TEC, three justifications for non-invitation and grounds for non-attendance are outlined: developments in TEC are now indisputably a breach of the moratoria, TEC has displayed a lack of integrity in its dealings with the Communion and its own stance reveals a lack of coherence in teaching and practice while increasingly signalling a determination to re-define the Christian doctrine of marriage. After exploring some of the challenges of holding a meeting to address key issues in the Communion but with the leaders of most of the world’s Anglicans not present, possible future paths for the Communion are outlined in relation to both the need for serious theological discussion about sexuality and the need to reform the Instruments, all of which have seen their authority eroded through this crisis. The conclusion notes that various actions and inactions in recent years have had serious damaging consequences and highlights the need to pray that, while nothing said or done this week can be painless, the actions of this gathering of Primates may have positive consequences for the Communion’s future unity…
The Anglican Communion News Service has issued a press release listing exactly who is not coming, and why not.
24 are currently expected. Only 22 of them are real live Primates of their Provinces. The other two are the Archbishop of York (representing the CofE), and the Dean of the Province of Central Africa (primatial office is vacant).
Absentees include 7 who cite the presence of The Episcopal Church as the reason, and a total of 8 who cite other reasons. Total absentees 15.
See Anglican Communion Primates arrive in Dublin, Ireland for meeting.
The attendance list from the press release is copied below the fold.
19 CommentsHere are media reports this morning:
RTE Anglican split over gay bishops deepens
At least seven archbishops who oppose the ordination of gay and lesbian bishops will boycott a meeting of the world’s Anglican leadership, which begins in Dublin today…
BBC Anglican archbishops to boycott primate meeting
A meeting of Anglican leaders in Dublin is expected to be boycotted by up to a third of those invited.
ENI Several leaders will boycott Anglican summit
At least seven of the leaders representing 38 Anglican provinces worldwide will not attend a key meeting in Dublin from 25-30 January. Their absence comes at a time when the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, is under mounting pressure from two wings of the 77 million-member Anglican Communion on the subject of human sexuality.
ENS Primates set to meet in Dublin, with a few absentees
…But according to the Rev. Canon Kenneth Kearon, secretary general of the Anglican Communion, at least seven primates have indicated they will not be attending the meeting at the Emmaus Retreat & Conference Centre because of Jefferts Schori’s presence and recent developments concerning human sexuality issues in the Episcopal Church.
Christian Today Anglican Primates meeting in Dublin despite absences
…The Primates of the Indian Ocean, Jerusalem and the Middle East, Rwanda, Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda, West Africa, the Southern Cone of Latin America, and South East Asia are all boycotting the meeting in protest against the attendance of Katharine Jefferts-Schori, Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church in the US.
Christian Post Anglican Primates Meeting to Take Place Despite Boycott
…As many as ten of the leaders of the Communion’s 38 provinces will not attend the meeting because of Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts-Schori, who represents the Episcopal Church and a supporter of gay bishops and same-sex marriage.
Episcopal Café has a statement from Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori.
14 CommentsGS MISC 979 is now available as a PDF from the Church of England website. The cover page says:
THE ROMAN CATHOLIC ORDINARIATE OF OUR LADY OF WALSINGHAM
SOME QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ON THE LEGAL IMPLICATIONS FOR THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND
I attach for the information of Synod members some Questions and Answers on legal issues relating to the implications for the Church of England of the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham which has been established within the Roman Catholic Church by the Pope.
They have been prepared by the Legal Office and Provincial Registrars and circulated to diocesan bishops, chancellors and registrars.
WILLIAM FITTALL
Secretary General
MEDIA INFORMATION
THE SOCIETY OF ST HILDA & ST WILFRID (sic)
FOR IMMEDIATE USE
Monday 24 January 2011
Provision to Remain
Anglican Bishops issue Pastoral Letter
Twelve Church of England bishops who seek to both maintain and promote its Catholic heritage have written a Pastoral Letter to clergy and laity suggesting that despite recent decisions by the General Synod concerning provision for those opposed to the ordination of women bishops and priests “even at this late hour we are seeking a way forward that would enable us with integrity to retain membership of the Church of England”.
Referring to those who have already left the Church of England the bishops write: “We genuinely wish them Godspeed as, heeding the call of conscience, they embark on a new episode in their Christian discipleship. We, too, in similar obedience to conscience, seek, if at all possible, to remain faithful members of the Church of England and undertake to support all who seek to do likewise.”
The bishops state: “We are passionate in our commitment to the mission of the Church of England and urgently seek a settlement through which we would be free to play our part to the fullest measure.”
One of the ways of achieving this, they believe, is through the setting up of a new Society under the patronage of Saint Wilfrid and St Hilda.
The bishops write: “We believe this could be done by the formation of a society within the Church of England, overseen by bishops committed to our viewpoint. Such bishops would need, of course, the necessary ordinary jurisdiction that would enable them to be the true pastors of their people and to be guarantors of the sacramental assurance on which we all depend for our authentic sharing within the Body of Christ. Given that our parishes are also constituent parts of local dioceses we also understand that some way would have to be identified for sharing jurisdiction with the diocesan bishop.
They add: “We understand it to be something of this nature that our archbishops were trying to achieve in their ill-fated amendment at the July meeting of the General Synod. That amendment, though narrowly defeated in the House of Clergy, was widely supported elsewhere in the Synod and, indeed, a majority of members supported it. It might well be that a revisiting of the archbishops’ proposals, with some further development of them, could still help our Church to find a way forward that enabled us all to remain faithful members of it.”
The bishops are continuing to meet regularly and to listen to the views of many different people as they add substance to a draft constitution for The Society.
Many have already enrolled as prospective members of The Society and the bishops have encouraged others to do so.
In an appeal to the wider church to listen to their concerns the bishops write:
“We do not want to build up false hopes. Every attempt we have made so far to persuade the Church of England to make the kind of provision that would enable us in good conscience to remain within its fellowship has been thwarted. We feel, nevertheless, duty bound, once again to seek a way out of the impasse that otherwise would make it impossible for many of us to remain faithful members of our Church. We recognise the huge change of heart that would need to happen for us to succeed.”
+ Nicholas Blackburn
+ John Cicestr
+ Geoffrey Gibraltar
+Martyn Beverley
+John Burnley
+Peter Edmonton
+Mark Horsham
+John Plymouth
+Anthony Pontefract
+Martin Whitby
+Lindsay Urwin
+Robert Ladds
The full text of the Pastoral Letter appears below the fold.
44 CommentsUpdated again Tuesday morning
The previous roundup of news on this topic was here. Since then there was also this announcement.
This week’s Church Times reports that There could be sandwiches to spare in Dublin.
At the end of last year, it was announced that ten Primates from the Global South intended to boycott the meeting, in protest at the inclusion of the US Primate after rows over gay bishops and same-sex blessings (News, 26 November).
The Church Times understands that this number might have risen to 14 out of the possible 37 Primates eligible to attend. (There is one vacancy.) The general secretary of the Anglican Communion Office (ACO), Canon Kenneth Kearon, believes, however, that those who stay away, “in protest after developments in the Episcopal Church” in the United States, will number “less than ten”. There might be other absentees because of health or visa issues, he said.
He admitted, however, that numbers would be unknown until the meeting began on Tuesday. “Given that most Primates make their own travel arrangements, and that plans can change at the last minute, it is impossible for anyone to say for certain how many Primates will travel to Dublin for the meeting.”
The ten Primates in the original boycott are understood to be those of Jerusalem & the Middle East, the Indian Ocean, South-East Asia, the Southern Cone, Rwanda, West Africa, Tanzania, Nigeria, Uganda, and Kenya. A Global South spokesman suggested that another four were likely to stay away. One of these, the Primate of Sudan, has other matters demanding his attention in the wake of his country’s referendum…
The Anglican Communion News Service reports that Primates not attending Dublin meeting “have reiterated their commitment to the Communion”.
…The Primates who have turned down the invitation to this week’s Primates’ Meeting because of developments in The Episcopal Church are still committed to the Anglican Communion.
In an interview today with BBC Radio Ulster’s Sunday Sequence programme, Anglican Communion Secretary General Canon Kenneth Kearon told presenter William Crawley that at Communion meetings there are always a number of participants who cannot come for a variety of reasons including health or diary commitments.
Canon Kearon gave as an example of those who would likely leave their decision to attend until the last minute the Primates of Sudan and Australia whose countries are dealing with major issues including a referendum and flooding respectively.
He added that on this occasion some Primates had written to say they would not be attending the Dublin meeting because of the presence of the Primate of The Episcopal Church and recent developments in The Episcopal Church.
“About seven or possibly eight have written to me directly to say that’s the reason why they cannot come,” he said. “About two can’t come because of health reasons and there are a few we are not yet sure whether they are coming or not.
“Those Primates who said they’re not coming as part of an objection to the Episcopal Church and other developments have reiterated their commitment to the Communion and the Archbishop of Canterbury in their writing to me…”
There was a Mere Anglicanism conference this weekend in South Carolina, at which the Primate of Jerusalem and the Middle East has been speaking. He made some comments about the forthcoming meeting reported as follows:
…With the regard of the upcoming Primate’s meeting, (Dublin, Ireland Jan 25-30, 2011) we are not boycotting. Many have said that we are boycotting this meeting. We however are not attending.
Why? Because we did ask the Archbishop of Canterbury to follow up on the recommendations of the previous meeting (Dar es Salaam, 2006; no meeting was held in 2008 because of the Lambeth Conference). At that meeting we discussed, decided and recommended actions. This was never done. It is time for decisions after comprehensive discussion.
For this meeting, we received an invitation to sit in 2 separate rooms: the revisionists in one and the Global South in another. This is a joke. We were not given a chance to affect the process and have some ownership of the meeting. When we are given that opportunity, we will attend.
Update there is a full transcript of these remarks now available here.
The text of the article in Evangelicals Now by Chris Sugden is now available over here.
19 Comments…The clear implication of Bishop Fearon’s case ( which is also Archbishop Rowan Williams’ case) is that even though Anglicans have been persecuted and driven from their homes, buildings and jobs in the USA and Canada, other Anglican leaders should meet yet again with those responsible for these outrages and thus legitimate the presence of those who completely contradict the teaching and practice of the Christian churches. Once decisions were made at the Early Church Councils Bishop Fearon has referred to, Arius and others were declared to be and treated as heretics. Similar clear decisions taken by the succession of meetings since 1998 have not been followed through…
The Sunday Telegraph carries a story by Jonathan Wynne-Jones headlined Pope’s offer was an ‘insensitive takeover bid’, say senior Anglicans. Reference is made to remarks by the Bishop of Guildford, the Bishop of Lincoln, and Canon Giles Fraser.
Here is the full text of the sermon that Canon Giles Fraser preached at Westminster Cathedral on 18 January 2011.
43 CommentsThe task of preaching for this year’s Week of Prayer for Christian Unity presents a very particular sort of challenge – especially for an Anglican priest and especially in this building where, last Saturday, a number of former Anglican Bishops were ordained into what is now to be called the Personal Ordinariate of our Lady of Walsingham.
For some, this venture describes a unique form of unity, a way of folding aspects of the Anglican tradition into the broader Roman Catholic family. For those who have always dreamed of coming together with Rome, the Ordinariate is a generous answer by the Holy Father to generations of prayer and longing from Catholic Anglicans desperate to be recognised as a part of the one holy catholic and apostolic church as Roman Catholicism has traditionally understood it. During his sermon on Saturday, Archbishop Vincent Nichols referred to the Ordinariate as a contribution “to the wider goal of visible unity between our two churches.”
Now I don’t suppose it will be a surprise to anyone to hear that there are some – and indeed in both churches – who do not see it like this at all. For from the Anglican perspective, this new invitation to swim the Tiber can sometimes have a slightly predatory feel; in corporate terms, a little like a take over bid in some broader power play of church politics. And if Anglicans do feel a little like this, I wonder if things really are all that rosy in the ecumenical garden.
But sometimes it’s when things look at their most bleak that the real opportunity presents itself. Why, for instance, does so much of the Christian tradition seem to be nurtured by trips into the desert? Why the continual reference – here in both our readings tonight – to forty days in the wilderness? Because, I suggest, it is in the desert that one can begin to get one’s priorities sorted out. In the desert, we discover what is most important. And that may be just as true of the ecumenical desert that some people now fear is upon us.
I happened to be chatting to the editor of The Tablet yesterday. And she told me something I found terribly interesting. When in the desert, she said, one needs to watch where the birds are flying to, for eventually they will fly towards water, that is, towards the very source of life itself. This got me thinking. For perhaps it is only in the desert that we, as Christians, can rediscover what really holds us together: our common commitment to the source of life itself and our need to share this life with others. And indeed, it is not so much the birds that we need to follow, but that divine dove, the Holy Spirit, that is God’s call to each one of us to seek out the waters of life – both for ourselves and for our world.
During the Pope’s visit last September he spoke at Lambeth Palace of our country’s “deep and widespread hunger for spiritual nourishment.” This, he rightly emphasized, is where we find common cause. Here is our deeper source of unity. For those of us who can’t really understand the Ordinariate or are anxious about its purpose, this is something very much worth holding on to.
It would, of course, be wrong for us simply to ignore many of the big issues that divide us. Like the majority of people in the Church of England, I believe strongly that the ordination of women as bishops, priests and deacons is a part of God’s will for his whole church. And yes, although we cannot set this and other differences aside, what we still need to remember is that, as a church, we are called to respond to the needs of the world – a world that, as the Pope properly reminded us, continually cries out for spiritual nourishment. This is where we stand together, as one. What binds us is that common life that is brought to fruition in the waters of baptism and presided over by the Holy Spirit. And if we can remind ourselves of this, then the desert can become a place of hope and indeed a place of transformation. Amen.
The Diocese of Qu’Appelle in Saskatchewan will enter into a Covenant with the RC Archdiocese of Regina.
Here is the press release: Anglican & Roman Catholic Bishops to Sign Historic Covenant.
Roman Catholics and Anglicans in southern Saskatchewan will mark the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity by establishing and celebrating a closer relationship between their two dioceses. Roman Catholic Archbishop Daniel Bohan and Anglican Bishop Gregory Kerr-Wilson will sign A Covenant between the Archdiocese of Regina and the Diocese of Qu’Appelle at a joint service of worship at St. Paul’s Anglican Cathedral this Sunday, January 23.
The formal agreement commits the two dioceses to specific initiatives, including annual shared services with the two bishops, each church keeping and upholding the other church and its leaders in prayer, working together on various issues and jointly working with First Nations elders to promote reconciliation and healing. Each bishop commits to maintaining communication when new developments in one church present challenges for the other. Anglican and Roman Catholic parishes are encouraged to undertake joint activities in worship, mission, education and social justice.
For more than forty years, the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion have engaged in serious theological dialogue at an international level, resulting in agreed statements on key issues such as authority in the Church, ministry and ordination. In Canada, the two Churches enjoy substantial areas of practical cooperation. Here in Saskatchewan, friendship and understanding have steadily grown between the two dioceses over the past four decades…
And here is the full text of the Covenant agreement.
42 CommentsJane Williams continues her Comment is free belief series: The Book of Genesis, part 6: Patriarchs and others. “What is to be made, theologically, of the unabashedly male-dominated, hierarchical world of Genesis?”
Derek Olsen writes a three-part article for Episcopal Café about Communion without Baptism.
Part I Part II Part III
Giles Fraser writes in the Church Times about Seeking out unity in the wilderness
Baroness Warsi delivered a lecture about Islamophobia on Thursday this week: University of Leicester Sir Sigmund Sternberg lecture. The Guardian has published these three responses to the lecture.
Giles Fraser: Islamophobia is the moral blind spot of modern Britain
Andrew Brown: Lady Warsi and the concept of extremism
Ghaffar Hussain: Lady Warsi is right to confront anti-Muslim prejudice
At the beginning of her lecture Lady Warsi refers to an earlier speech to the College of Bishops; we linked to that here.
Ralph McMichael writes for The Living Church about God’s Mission is the Eucharist.
15 CommentsUpdated Monday morning
Here are two articles from religious sources that express criticism of the judgment previously reported here.
The Tablet has an editorial headlined Not equal before the law.
…Compelling people to act against their conscience, or forcing them out of business unless they are prepared to do so, can never be regarded as an unqualified victory for human rights. When rights clash, the appropriate way to resolve the issue is before an objective tribunal, which will weigh up the pros and cons on either side. That means there ought to be occasions where the right to religious freedom prevails, and the right not to be discriminated against on grounds of sexual orientation has to give way. But the latest case confirms, and as County Court Judge Andrew Rutherford said in his judgment, the balancing of one right against another is not what the law requires. In effect, gay rights trump religious convictions every time. There is something wrong with such a law. Judges should have discretion to probe further. Did the gay couple in this case, for instance, have a convenient alternative? Were the religious convictions merely a mask for homophobic prejudice? Above all, the court should be obliged to give due weight to the undesirability of overriding deeply held religious convictions, which is at least as wrong as offending the feelings of gay people. Religious believers have human rights too.
The Guardian has published a column by Jonathan Chaplin director of the Kirby Laing Institute for Christian Ethics titled Law can be influenced by religion.
…But quite apart from the merits of the case, judges should be warned off any future reliance on the ill-considered opinions about law and religion ventured last year by Lord Justice Laws. Laws rightly asserted that no law can justify itself purely on the basis of the authority of any religion or belief system: “The precepts of any one religion – any belief system – cannot, by force of their religious origins, sound any louder in the general law than the precepts of any other.”
A sound basis for this view is Locke’s terse principle, in his Letter on Toleration, that “neither the right nor the art of ruling does necessarily carry with it the certain knowledge of other things; and least of all the true religion”.
But Laws seemed to ground the principle instead on two problematic and potentially discriminatory claims…
This is a continuation of Chaplin’s earlier argument against what Lord Justice Laws said in the McFarlane case.
Update Monday morning
Here are two further articles, from a legal perspective, about the case:
In yesterday’s Observer Afua Hirsch the Legal Affairs Correspondent of the Guardian wrote Gay couple’s hotel battle is latest case of religion clashing with human rights
She mentions the trend of “Religitigation” and she concludes with this:
the Bulls’ case confirms that, in the meantime, Christians will have to accept that civil partnerships are intended to be its equivalent as far as the law is concerned. But the interesting issue in this case lurks in the judge’s commentary. “It is no longer the case that our laws must, or should, automatically reflect the Judaeo-Christian position,” said Rutherford, that is in regarding marriage as the only form of legally recognised binding relationship.
It is this issue that concerns religious groups – the ability of the law to move on from its religious roots to a more equitable formula of guaranteeing fundamental rights, including the right against discrimination. Of course where those rights come into conflict, a more nuanced exercise of balancing takes place – one that the judiciary has so far approached with the utmost seriousness. Rutherford confessed he found the Bulls’ case “very difficult”, and Lord Phillips – president of the supreme court and the UK’s most senior judge – said earlier this year that the Jewish school decision had been the hardest of his judicial life.
That has been of little consolation to religitigants, however. What they seem to want is a trump card that puts them above the subtle considerations of fairness. And that, the courts have repeatedly said, is not going to happen.
At the UK Human Rights Blog Catriona Murdoch wrote A Cornish hotel and the conflict between discrimination law and religious freedom.
The judgment itself is now available as a web page here.
And, as Catriona reminds us, the Northern Ireland version of these regulations was the subject of a high court challenge, see An Application for Judicial Review by the Christian Institute and others [2007] NIQB 66). We reported the outcome at the time: Northern Ireland: judicial review of SoRs. Among other things the judge said at that time:
33 Comments“The applicants contend that the regulations treat evangelical Christians less favourably than other persons to the extent that they are subject to civil liability for manifesting the orthodox religious belief in relation to homosexuality. I am satisfied that the Regulations do not treat evangelical Christians less favourably than others.”