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Sun 6 Jul, 2008 08:55 am
Church schism widens over women bishops
As the General Synod continues this week, divisions between Anglican reformers and traditionalists threaten a stalemate.
Emily Dugan reports
Independent UK
Sunday, 6 July 2008
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.
The Synod has already agreed to the principle of women bishops, but has yet to decide what should be done to appease the 1,300 clergy who are threatening to leave the Anglican Church over the issue. A debate on what special arrangements might be made for objectors to the idea has been tabled for tomorrow, but a final decision was looking unlikely last night as bishops called for further research to be carried out.
Talks might yet be hampered by claims last night that some bishops have already secretly met advisers to the Pope, relaying their concerns over a "liberal" direction to senior Vatican figures.
Amid fears that the Church might fail to reach a resolution on this occasion in order to avoid a confrontation, the Right Reverend Nigel McCulloch, Bishop of Manchester, said that it was crucial that delegates came to a unanimous decision quickly.
"We are aware of those who argue that now is not the right time, that there are too many other difficult issues around, that the balance of arithmetic within the Church may be different in a few years' time," said the the bishop. "But the fact is, of course, that any legislative process is going to take several years to complete even if we take the first steps now."
He added: "I think the one thing that we would all be sad about would be if this synod on Monday simply were to kick the whole thing into touch."
Traditionalists voiced their objections to a national code of practice
The Rev Angus MacLey of Sevenoaks in Kent said such a code would be "inadequate" and "unworkable" for those who wanted to set themselves apart from women bishops.
"I do recognise that the consecration of women to the episcopate is going to happen," he said.
"I want to highlight that it is reasonable to permit those who consciously object, that it is fair for them to stay in, rather than in any way be sidelined, or forced to leave, because we base our views on accepted theology and biblical views that have been held down the centuries."
Traditionalists point to the Bible for justification. They say that since Jesus chose an all-male band of apostles as his first leaders, he must have seen the job as suitable only for men. Others simply protest that the Church of England would be going back on its founding principles.
For a new generation of women in the church, however, the wait has already been too long. The Rev Rose Hudson-Wilkin of Hackney, east London, was one of many female clergy who were concerned about the delay. "In 1994, when I was ordained in the priesthood, I remember a sense of excitement," she said.
"I also remember the sense of overwhelming sadness etched on the faces of the women in their 70s who had served the Church over all their lives and were never allowed to exercise that ministry - and the great loss to the Church [that resulted]. And we continue to say 'let's go back to the drawing board'. We are never, ever going to agree on this."
The possibility of women bishops had strong backing from male members of the Church attending the synod. Tim Hind of Westbury-sub-Mendip in Somerset called for women to be freed from the "shackles" of legislation.
"For the past 15 years we have guarded people in legislation," he said. "It is time to take the shackles off the imprisoned and to allow women access to the ladder."
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Vatican Objects to Anglican Women Bishops
The Church of England is paving the way for women priests to be eligible to become consecrated as bishops. The Vatican is not pleased. They write:
The Vatican Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity issued a Statement Tuesday regarding recent events within the Anglican Communion. The Council is headed by Cardinal Walter Kasper. The statement reads: "We have regretfully learned of the Church of England vote to pave the way for the introduction of legislation which will lead to the ordaining of women to the Episcopacy. The Catholic position on the issue was clearly expressed by Pope Paul VI and Pope John Paul II. Such a decision signifies a breaking away from the apostolic tradition maintained by all of the Churches since the first millennium, and therefore is a further obstacle for the reconciliation between the Catholic Church and the Church of England. This decision will have consequences on the future of dialogue, which had up until now born fruit, as Cardinal Kasper had clearly explained when he spoke on June 5 2006 to all of the bishops of the Church of England at the invitation of the Archbishop of Canterbury. The Cardinal has been invited once again to express the Catholic position at the next Lambeth Conference at the end of July".
It is somewhat difficult to hear that this is "a further obstacle" to unity, and that this will have negative consequences for a dialogue between our communions "which had up until now born fruit." The most productive fruit of Anglican - Roman Catholic dialogue - of the Vatican II era - was the 1971 Windsor Statement, which declared that our two communions had achieved substantial agreement in our theology of the Eucharist.
But, indeed, over the past decade, one figure within the Vatican, who is now the Pope himself, has contributed a number of obstacles to fruitful dialogue. Consider the following:
* in 1998, Cardinal Ratzinger (now Pope Benedict XVI) reaffirmed the 1896 papal bull of Leo XIII (Apostolicae Curae), which declared ALL Anglican clerical orders (deacon, priest, bishop) to be "absolutely null and utterly void."
* in 2000, the declaration Dominus Iesus (authored by now Pope Benedict XVI) said that Anglicans belonged to defective non-Churches, being rather merely 'ecclesial communities.'
* in 2003, now Pope Benedict XVI wrote the following words of encouragement to the leaders of what would become the most effective schismatic movement in Anglicanism in our history: "I hasten to assure you of my heartfelt prayers for all those taking part in this convocation. The significance of your meeting is sensed far beyond Plano, and even in this city from which Saint Augustine of Canterbury was sent to confirm and strengthen the preaching of Christ's Gospel in England."
* And just this past week, the Sunday Telegraph reports that the Vatican has been holding secret meetings with a number of Church of England bishops to "build closer ties with the Roman Catholic Church." The Telegraph reported that the Archbishop of Canterbury was not informed by the Vatican or his own participating bishops of the meeting.
While I, like many Anglicans and Episcopalians, have a great respect for so much of the Roman Catholic Church - in so many areas, ranging from history, to liturgy, to theology, to social and prophetic witness, to the 'religious' communities of Francis, Benedict, etc. -- it is this very kind of statement from the Vatican which itself is an obstacle to unity - both for the presumption it represents, and for the veiled threat which it contains. Moreover, the past ten years' indicate something far other than Vatican desire for dialogue between Rome and Canterbury. It appears that what we are seeing is rather a Vatican desire for monologue from Rome to Canterbury, and through both front door and back door channels - with the desired end being not conciliation but co-option.
Posted by fatherjones.com at Tuesday, July 08, 2008
Anglican Centrist
Will Rome ever learn to mind it's own business?
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