Updated again Saturday evening
The Church of England issued the press release below this morning.
The essential parts are the third and fourth paragraphs.
Revision Committee on Women in the Episcopate
14 November 2009The Revision Committee met for its third scheduled meeting yesterday (13 November) since 8 October (see earlier statement). It concluded a substantial exploration of ways in which the draft legislation could be amended to enable certain functions to be vested by statute in bishops who would provide oversight for those unable to receive the episcopal and/or priestly ministry of women.
After much discussion, the members of the Committee were unable to identify a basis for specifying particular functions for vesting which commanded sufficient support both from those in favour of the ordination of women as bishops and those unable to support that development. As a result all of the proposals for vesting particular functions by statute were defeated.
The effect of the Committee’s decision is therefore that such arrangements as are made for those unable to receive the episcopal ministry of women will need to be by way of delegation from the diocesan bishop rather than vesting.
There remain important issues for the Committee to determine at its forthcoming meetings over the shape of the proposed legislation in the light of this decision, in particular whether to retain a statutory code of practice or adopt the simplest possible legislation.
The work of a Revision Committee in scrutinising draft legislation, and in considering submissions to amend it, is only part of a longer legislative process. The Revision Committee on this draft legislation will report to the full General Synod at the conclusion of its work and the Synod will debate its proposals and have its own opportunity to support, amend or invite further reconsideration of the legislation by the Revision Committee. Further stages in the legislative process would require consideration of any legislation by the Diocesan Synods of the Church of England, final approval by the General Synod, Parliamentary approval and the Royal Assent.
Updates
Bishop David Thomson has published some very interesting additional material, see here. A copy of it is also here, below the fold.
WATCH has already published a press release.
WATCH PRESS STATEMENT
Saturday, 14th November 2009 – for immediate releaseWOMEN BISHOPS LEGISLATION NOW ON RIGHT TRACK
WATCH is delighted to hear that the Revision Committee on Women in the Episcopate has decided that legislation for women bishops will no longer include proposals for the mandatory transfer of authority – the vesting of particular functions by law – in bishops who would provide oversight for those unable to receive the Episcopal and/or priestly ministry of women.
WATCH commends the recent work of the Revision Committee, which met yesterday to explore how the previous proposed arrangements could be made to work. WATCH is aware of the huge outcry from members of General Synod and from other Church members to the earlier announcement of the Revision Committee to make changes in law that would have resulted in a two-tier episcopate.
WATCH Chair, Christina Rees said: “This is a real breakthrough. I am delighted that now we can look forward to having women as bishops on the same terms that men are bishops. Women will bring valuable different perspectives and ways of doing things and will also bring a sorely needed wholeness to the Episcopal leadership of our Church. The House of Bishops will cease to be the ‘men only’ club it has been and will be more representative of the people whom the Church exists to serve. Now the Church will be able to draw on the experience and wisdom of many gifted women. We know from 15 years of having women as priests that they are often able to reach people and approach situations in ways that are creative and empowering for many others.”
WATCH is pleased with the outcome on two counts: first, and most importantly, the new proposals express the theological understanding of the Church about the status of baptised Christians and about the relationship between men and women and God. Secondly, the Revision Committee has shown that it has heeded the will of General Synod to draft legislation that would not have arrangements in law that would differentiate between male and female bishops.
WATCH continues to urge to Revision Committee to bring proposals to General Synod in February 2010 which adopt the simplest possible legislation, so that the Church of England can proceed to opening the Episcopate to women in such a way that the nature of the Episcopate is retained and the Church can best communicate its belief that women and men are equal in the eyes of God.
Ed Tomlinson has blogged about this, see Church of England’s response is forming….
Bishop Alan Wilson has written, Revision Committee: Tough Salami.
Jonathan Wynne-Jones writes for the Sunday Telegraph about a Snub to traditionalists over women bishops.
101 CommentsThe Church Times has Vatican publishes text of Anglicanorum Coetibus
and a Leader, Checkpoint Charlie for Anglicans.
The Tablet has Vatican issues constitution for Anglicans by Robert Mickens
and What were they thinking of? by Nicholas Lash (2 more articles are subscriber-only for another week)
and an Editorial, The other path to Rome.
In response to a request from a regular commenter, here also are two items from the Catholic Herald:
Rome opens arms to world’s Anglicans by Anna Arco
and an Editorial, Pope Benedict has called the Anglicans’ bluff.
35 CommentsUpdated
We previously reported the appointment of a new Bishop of Peterborough.
This got noticed in the Diary column of the Guardian.
The Church Times has a news report today, but that is subscriber-only for another week. However, the appointment is also discussed by Giles Fraser in his column, Liberals on the front line.
…All of this is why I had my head in my hands when I read the words of the new Bishop of Peterborough, the Ven. Donald Allister, currently Archdeacon of Chester. “Liberalism is one of Satan’s greatest weapons against the Church,” he wrote a few years back.
To be fair, at the press conference to announce his episcopate he did what all new bishops do and said that he found labels “unhelpful”. But that cannot have been his view when he wrote: “I am very happy to work with Anglo-Catholics in fighting battles against liberalism, but the day must come when we need to fight against the ritualism and sacramentalism which they have introduced into the Church of England.”
Why do people so consistently fail to understand the idea of liberalism? Liberalism is not a wishy-washy style of biblical interpretation, or an indifference to biblical truth — although the Bishop’s advice here is pretty amazing: “If in doubt what a passage means or how it applies we will believe it literally and obey it absolutely.” What about Psalm 137 verse 9?
No, liberalism is a commitment to human freedom and a hatred of authoritarianism. That is why many of us celebrate the Reformation as an emancipation from the abuses of Roman authority. To describe liberalism as satanic is to align oneself with flag-burning ayatollahs who chant against the United States as the “great Satan” and against Israel as the “little Satan”…
Source for the quotes is this PDF file at Church Society.
More writing by the new bishop can be found in this series on the Thirty-nine Articles.
And there is also a paper on Lay presidency at the Lord’s Table on the Reform website.
Update
Earlier there were two posts about this by John Richardson see
The new Bishop of Peterborough said what?
and also
The Bishop of Peterborough said what else?
(h/t Toby)
For the background to this, see previous posts:
Waddington amendment upheld in Lords July 2009
bishops oppose repeal of Waddington amendment May 2009
Anglican and Roman church bodies comment jointly November 2007
incitement extension proposed October 2007
Today, the UK government finally accepted, with reluctance, the amendment supported repeatedly, by the House of Lords and rejected, also repeatedly, by the House of Commons.
See today’s news reports:
The Bishop of Winchester spoke in one of the debates, and you can read what he said here.
6 CommentsUpdated again Friday evening
GayUganda reports Dialogue?
The Makerere University Human Rights and Peace Center
present a public dialogue on The Anti-Homosexuality Bill, 2009
Date: WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2009
Time: 1pm-5 pm
Venue: Faculty of Law Auditorium
SPEAKERS:
Update
Warren Throckmorton has Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Bill discussed on Premier Christian Radio.
Friday evening update
Ekklesia reports Archbishop of York intends to say silent on Ugandan anti-gay bill.
11 CommentsThe Archbishop of York, who grew up in rural Uganda, has said that he intends to stay silent about proposed legislation in the country which would introduce the death penalty for certain consensual homosexual acts.
The Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement (LGCM) attempted to contact both Archbishop John Sentamu and the Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, hoping they would speak out unequivocally against the proposed laws.
The Archbishop of York’s office told LGCM that Archbishop Sentamu “will not be making a statement on this issue”. The Archbishop of Canterbury has not responded…
The Hansard record of the adjournment debate on “The Application of the Sex Discrimination Legislation to Religious Organisations” is now available, starting here.
TheyWorkForYou version is now also available here.
Video of the debate is available at BBC Democracy Live, over here.
Update
Riazat Butt has written a report, now on the Guardian website, The church of England: above the law?
2 CommentsThere are now a number of English language reports available:
The Local Sweden’s first lesbian bishop consecrated in Uppsala
Episcopal News Service SWEDEN: Lesbian priest ordained as Lutheran bishop of Stockholm
Canadian Press Sweden’s Lutheran church ordains first openly lesbian bishop
Bishop David Hamid’s blog, Eurobishop New Bishop of Stockholm Consecrated (Church of Sweden)
30 CommentsUpdated again Wednesday morning
IPS has RIGHTS-UGANDA: “You Cannot Tell Me You Will Kill Me Because I’m Gay”. This includes quotes from Canon Aaron Mwesigye Kafundizeki, the Church of Uganda provincial secretary:
“It is an important law, but the provision related to the death penalty may prevent this law from being passed, because death should not be accepted as a punishment. Therefore propose another form of punishment instead of death.”
Kafundizeki said pushing for extra territorial jurisdiction would be counter-productive.
“The Church of Uganda is saying we need to limit ourselves to the Ugandan territory, instead of extra territorial jurisdiction, because the Ugandan constitution is very clear on protocols and ratifications. Going beyond the borders will be counter-productive,” he says.
Compare this with the CofU official statement here.
Warren Throckmorton has written at Crosswalk Adding D to ABC: How a Proposed Ban on Homosexuality in Uganda Will Undo AIDS Progress.
Box Turtle Bulletin has further reports:
Uganda’s “Kill Gays” bill is “Providing Leadership to the World”
More American Evangelical Ties To Uganda’s Anti-Gay Politicians
The “Biblical” Worldwide Anglican Communion
Changing Attitude has further reports from “Gug”, a gay Ugandan, here, and here, and also here.
LGCM has issued a press release, Lesbian and Gay Christians speak out against Uganda’s proposed “Anti-Homosexuality” Bill.
Cif belief has published Unite to condemn homophobic laws by Davis Mac-Iyalla.
An open letter to the Archbishop of Canterbury and primates of the Anglican Communion on Uganda’s anti-homosexuality bill
To the Archbishop of Canterbury and primates of the Anglican Communion,
I am writing to you to call on the Church of England and the wider Anglican community to condemn Uganda’s proposed anti-homosexuality bill, which will make gay relations between disabled people and those under 18 a capital offence. “Carnal knowledge against the order of nature” – as homosexuality is termed in Ugandan law – is already punishable with life imprisonment. However, if passed, the new bill will widen the scope, including promoting homosexuality, aiding and abetting homosexuality and keeping a house “for purposes of homosexuality”. This means that the relatives and friends of gay couples could face execution if they allow them to stay in their homes…
Warren Throckmorton has a further posting, The future is now, part two – Ugandan want ad.
15 CommentsUpdated Wednesday
John Allen of the National Catholic Reporter has published Vatican releases rules for ex-Anglicans, insists ‘no change’ on celibacy.
Graham Kings has published at Cif belief The pope’s Anglican division. Also published in a longer version as the November Fulcrum newsletter.
Another article actually written before the publication of the texts today, but definitely worth reading, is Ordinary Anglicans? by Bosco Peters.
Andrew Brown has written at Cif belief about The Vatican’s small print for Anglicans.
Episcopal Life Online has Vatican’s Apostolic Constitution explained by Bill Franklin.
Ruth Gledhill has written at The Times Vatican holds line on celibacy for Anglican rebels. Headline later changed to Vatican opens its doors to married Anglican clergy.
Telegraph Nick Pisa Pope ‘is not trying to lure Anglicans into the Catholic Church’
BBC Robert Pigott Anglicans welcome offer from Rome
Daily Mail Steve Doughty Pope allows married Anglicans to become Catholic priests in bid to tempt them to defect
Living Church Responses Varied as Vatican Offers Plan Details
Ruth Gledhill has a video interview with Archbishop Vincent Nichols here. And an earlier blog entry here.
13 CommentsThe initial official CofE response was already linked in the previous item.
After that, the first group reaction to reach TA was from Church Society. See Response from the Council of Church Society to the plans by the Church of Rome to receive disaffected Anglicans.
Note: strictly speaking this is not a response to the now published text, as it says: “The statement was agreed by the Council at its meeting on 4 November 2009.”
We will add responses from other groups as they arrive. Press responses will be in a separate article.
Forward in Faith has issued A first reaction to today’s publication of Anglicanorum Coetibus.
The Bishop of St Albans has issued this statement.
The Primate of Nigeria Archbishop Peter Akinola has issued a Statement from GAFCON/FCA Primates Council.
41 CommentsUpdated Monday lunchtime
The Apostolic Constitution providing for Personal Ordinariates for Anglicans Entering into Full Communion with the Catholic Church has been published by the Vatican today.
Apostolic Constitution Anglicanorum Coetibus
Complementary Norms for the Apostolic Constitution Anglicanorum coetibus
The Vatican has also issued this press release which includes both the above texts and an article The Significance of the Apostolic Constitution Anglicanorum Coetibus by Fr Gianfranco Ghirlanda, SJ, Rector of the Pontifical Gregorian University.
Damian Thompson has published the texts in the Telegraph.
Apostolic Constitution: Vatican publishes the details
Apostolic Constitution: the full text
There is a Church of England response: Apostolic Constitution – Bishop of Guildford responds
43 CommentsBack on 16 September, the Archbishops of Canterbury and York issued an update statement to the whole College of Bishops.
In this they said they would review the policy again at the end of October. They have now issued a further statement, which once again is tucked away on the CofE website (left hand column of this page). The text of the latest statement is reproduced in full below the fold.
It again makes no change to the original policy issued in July and says the policy will be reviewed again in one month’s time.
8 CommentsGiles Fraser writes in this week’s Church Times about Onward faithful eco-warriors.
Last week, Jonathan Bartley had Thoughts on Thought for the Day in the Church Times.
And John Shelby Spong was interviewed in the Church Times by Terence Handley McMath.
Ruth Gledhill wrote in The Times about the lecture given by Jonathan Sacks. See Chief Rabbi Lord Sacks: Islam must separate religion from power. And also Chief Rabbi: fundamentalism heading our way ‘with force of hurricane’. The full text of his lecture is available from the foot of this page, as a .doc file.
The Guardian today has an article about the Religious Experience Research Centre by Roger Tagholm.
In The Times Peter Townley writes about Forty years in the wilderness in East Germany.
5 CommentsOn Wednesday 11th November at 3.30pm in Westminster Hall, Robert Key, MP for Salisbury, has arranged for a debate to take place on:
“The Application of the Sex Discrimination Legislation to Religious Organisations”.
WATCH has more information here.
More information about Westminster Hall debates is available here. Debates are open to the public.
8 CommentsIn a statement given to PinkNews.co.uk, a spokeswoman from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office said:
2 Comments“We are concerned by the introduction of a private member’s bill on anti homosexuality in Uganda.
“Adoption of the bill could do serious damage to efforts to tackle HIV and its criminalisation of organisations that support homosexuality could, in theory, encompass most donor agencies and international NGOs.
“The UK, alongside our EU partners, has raised our concerns about the draft bill and LGBT rights more broadly with the government of Uganda, including with the prime minister and several other ministers, the Ugandan Human Rights Commission, and senior officials from the Ugandan Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“We will continue to track the passage of the bill and to lobby against its introduction.”
For Immediate Release
6th November 2009
Contact: Rev. Canon Aaron Mwesigye, Provincial Secretary
+256 772 455 129
The Church of Uganda and the “Anti-Homosexuality Bill”
The Church of Uganda is studying the proposed “Anti-homosexuality bill” and, therefore, does not yet have an official position on the bill. In the meantime, we can restate our position on a number of related issues.
1. Our deepest conviction as the Church of Uganda is that, in Christ, people and their sexual desires are redeemed, and restored to God’s original intent. Repentance and obedience to Scripture are the gateway to the redemption of marriage and family and the transformation of society. (Position Paper on Scripture, Authority, and Human Sexuality, May 2005)
2. The House of Bishops resolved in August 2008 that “The Church of Uganda is committed at all levels to offer counseling, healing and prayer for people with homosexual disorientation, especially in our schools and other institutions of learning. The Church is a safe place for individuals, who are confused about their sexuality or struggling with sexual brokenness, to seek help and healing.”
3. The Church of Uganda upholds the sanctity of life and cannot support the death penalty.
4. In April 2009, Archbishop Henry Luke Orombi said, “I am appalled to learn that the rumours we have heard for a long time about homosexual recruiting in our schools and amongst our youth are true. I am even more concerned that the practice is more widespread than we originally thought. It is the duty of the church and the government to be watchmen on the wall and to warn and protect our people from harmful and deceitful agendas.”
5. “Homosexual practice is incompatible with Scripture.” (Resolution of the 1998 Lambeth Conference of Bishops.) Homosexual behaviour is immoral and should not be promoted, supported, or condoned in any way as an “alternative lifestyle.” This position has been repeatedly reaffirmed by the House of Bishops and the Provincial Assembly of the Church of Uganda.
6. We cannot support the blessing of same-sex unions or the ordination of homosexuals (Resolution of the 1998 Lambeth Conference of Bishops), and we will oppose efforts to import such practices into Uganda. Again, this position has been repeatedly reaffirmed by the House of Bishops and the Provincial Assembly of the Church of Uganda.
Rev. Canon Aaron Mwesigye
Provincial Secretary
Church of Uganda
P.O. Box 14123
KAMPALA
+256 772 455 129
Updated Monday
This coming Sunday, the Church of Sweden will consecrate two new bishops at Uppsala Cathedral.
The candidates are:
There has been speculation on various websites about the non-attendance of Anglican representatives at this service.
The English language Swedish site The Local published Anglicans snub Swedish lesbian bishop. But initially, as Episcopal Café reports, the story was written differently:
Five bishops from various levels within the Anglican Church, including Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, have decided not to attend the November 8th ceremony, the Dagen newspaper reports.
“The Anglican Church has a moratorium right now concerning the ordination of bishops who live together with someone of the same sex,” Alan Harper, a bishop from Armagh in Northern Ireland, told the newspaper.
Now the report says that:
Swedish Archbishop Anders Wejryd, who will conduct the ordination of Brunne and Koivunen Bylund, disputed the claim that the Church of England was somehow boycotting the ceremony.
“That’s not true at all,” he told the Kyrkans Tidning newspaper.
“We send invitations to those with the highest rank. That’s why the Archbishop of Canterbury received an invitation, but no one expected him to say yes.”
He added that the Church of England would be represented by the Reverend Karen Schmidt, who serves as the Bishop’s Chaplain for the Portsmouth Diocese, with which the Stockholm Diocese has a twinning relationship whereby church leaders from both diocese conduct reciprocal visits with one another.
The Church of Ireland Gazette has a report, which (with the editor’s permission) is reproduced in full below the fold.
Updates
The Living Church published Anglicans Respond Coolly to Swedish Consecration which contains further discussion of who did or did not attend, and why.
Pictures of the actual event can be found in Swedish reports, here, and also here.
41 CommentsUpdated Friday noon
Ekklesia has published Anti-gay bill tests core Christian witness by Savi Hensman.
Religion Dispatches has published Rick Warren Won’t Denounce Proposed Ugandan Anti-Gay Law by Sarah Posner.
Colin Coward has Excerpts from a hearing on the Uganda Anti-Homosexuality Bill 2009 with religious leaders and also Some Ugandans categorically oppose Anti-Homosexuality Bill.
The blog article mentioned in the above, by Okello Lucima, is at Buturo, Bahati more dangerous to Uganda than gays and lesbians.
The International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI) has condemned the proposed legislation, see IBAHRI Condemns Introduction of Death Penalty for ‘Aggravated Homosexuality’. via AllAfrica.com.
There is an editorial in the Uganda Observer Anti-gay Bill is not helpful.
Update
The Church Times has a report by Pat Ashworth World’s Anglicans urged to condemn Ugandan Bill.
See in the Comments for initial responses from Reform and Anglican Mainstream.
10 CommentsHere is the announcement from Downing Street:
The Queen has approved the nomination of the Venerable Donald Spargo Allister MA, Archdeacon of Chester, for election as Bishop of Peterborough in succession to the late Right Reverend Ian Patrick Martyn Cundy, MA.
Notes for Editors
Donald Allister (aged 57) was educated at Peterhouse, Cambridge. He trained for the ministry at Trinity College, Bristol. He served his curacy in the Diocese of Chester at Hyde St George, Chester from 1976 to 1979, and at Sevenoaks St Nicholas, in the diocese of Rochester from 1979 to 1983. From 1983 to 1989 he was Vicar at Birkenhead Christ Church, in the diocese of Chester. From 1989 to 2002 he was Rector at Cheadle in the Diocese of Chester, and from 1999 to 2002 he was Rural Dean of Cheadle. Since 2002 he has been Archdeacon of Chester. Sidabrinės apyrankės internetu https://www.silvera.lt/apyrankes
He is married to Janice and they have three grown-up children and one grandchild. His interests include hill walking, science fiction and medical ethics.
The much longer press release from the diocese is here. Do read it all.
The Church of England website has this press release.
Here is the new bishop’s Press Conference Statement.
17 CommentsWarren Throckmorton had an opinion column published in the Uganda Independent, see Guest Blog: Put down the stones.
AFP reports US slams Uganda’s new anti-gay bill.
And also, via an Australian newspaper, AFP has France slams Uganda’s anti-gay draft law.
And this report, via iAfrica.com expands on the response of Ugandan government politicians, see ‘We won’t sell our souls’.
See also MPs FORUM: Homosexuality is not a human right by David Bahati and Ndorwa West.
Box Turtle Bulletin reviews the latest developments at Uganda Parliament, Religious Leaders Weigh Death Penalty for LGBT People.
And the Uganda Monitor has an article Why anti-gay Bill should worry us by Sylvia Tamale who is is a Makerere University Law don.
Meanwhile, Colin Coward has written further about why Changing Attitude is pressing for action by Anglicans, see The Anglican Communion is committed to the inclusion and pastoral care of LGBT people.
The discussion at Fulcrum continues, and is worth following.
Andrew Goddard has published a paper which can be found at Fulcrum Briefing on ‘The Anti-Homosexuality Bill’ in Uganda.
15 Comments