Free Republic

Conservative Anglo-Catholics, your time is up. As my colleague Jonathan Wynne-Jones reports, the General Synod committee charged with looking after opponents of women bishops has ruled out the idea of dedicated male bishops to safeguard traditionalists.The logic of the decision makes perfect sense to me. The C of E has the legal authority to decide whether to ordain women priests and bishops. Having acquired that authority, it voted to ordain women priests in 1992 and will now take the obvious step of raising women to the episcopate. Anglo-Catholics lost the battle to stop this happening 18 years ago; for a...

IT was one of those quiet summer Sunday mornings when I knew the priest in a distant parish would be away and he would have a stand in for the holiday. I sneaked in to this famous citadel of Pre-Raphaelite beauty and, like most Anglicans, sat as far from the front as possible. The choir sang the opening of the Eucharist, the Gospel was read – Jesus walked on the water and the priest started to preach. Then followed a 20-minute thesis on why the Bible had it wrong. Jesus couldn't possibly walk on water – that would defy nature...

Bishop John Broadhurst London, England, Oct 26, 2009 / 05:13 pm (CNA).-  Members of the traditionalist Anglican group Forward in Faith recently concluded their annual gathering, which was dedicated to discussing Pope Benedict's overture to Anglicans. The general impression left by the conference was the “Anglican experiment is over,” a mood that was reinforced by Bishop John Hind officially announcing he is ready to become Catholic.The 2009 National Assembly of Forward in Faith was held in the Emmanuel Centre, Westminster, London, October 23-24. The Assembly was originally scheduled before the Vatican announced its unprecedented move, but the issue dominated...

ROME (CNS) -- Dissident theologian Father Hans Kung criticized Pope Benedict XVI for his recent opening to discontented Anglicans, charging the pope was "fishing" for the most conservative Christians to the detriment of the larger church. Father Kung said the invitation to traditionalist Anglicans to join the Roman Catholic Church went against years of ecumenical work on the part of both churches, calling it instead "a nonecumenical piracy of priests." The pope's basic message is: "Traditionalists of all churches, unite under the dome of St. Peter's!" Father Kung wrote in an editorial Oct. 28 in the Rome daily La Repubblica....

Rome has parked its tanks on the Archbishop of Canterbury’s lawn after manoeuvres undertaken by up to fifty bishops and begun two years ago by an Australian archbishop, John Hepworth... In the US, where a similar “Anglican usage” model has been in operation for years and will now be incorporated into the new ordinariate structures, there are 77 million Catholics alongside a mere 1.8 million Episcopalians. A few incoming conservative Anglicans have made little difference. In England and Wales, the proportions are reversed, with 25 million baptised Anglicans but four million Catholics.... Set against this, however, is the more confident...

Having a loved one laid to rest to the blaring strains of Simply The Best might seem a fitting tribute to assembled mourners. But whenever the Tina Turner hit - or any other pop song now popular at funerals - booms out, it leaves one vicar feeling 'like a lemon'. Father Ed Tomlinson, 35, said he wonders what a clergyman's role is at such services as he feels 'spiritually unwanted'. Writing on his internet blog, the vicar from Kent lamented the decline of Christian farewells centred on a 'beautiful requiem mass'. He said: 'The best our secularist friends can hope...

Top trumps appears to have suddenly become the in thing in the world of religion. It used to be ferraris and lamborghinis. Now a Christian version of Top Trumps, called Testament Trumps, has been released, apparently to help children learn more about biblical characters. And not to be outdone, the humanists have also launched their own version of Top Trumps, called God Trumps. A pack has been sent to me from the New Humanist magazine, and it’s brilliantly satirical, as you’d expect. With the caricatures by the Guardian’s excellent cartoonist, Martin Rowson, it pitches Catholics against Anglicans and pagans against...

CANTERBURY, UK, July 29, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Suggesting a "two-track" model for the Anglican Church, Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, said in a statement released Monday that the crisis over the acceptance of homosexuality in the Global Communion could be resolved by acknowledging "two styles of being Anglican." Williams was responding to the decision earlier this month by the US Episcopal Church to continue to ordain active homosexual clergy and bishops and "bless" same-sex partnerings. In one "track," said the archbishop, the mainstream of Anglicanism would continue to hold to Christian beliefs of sex and marriage, and the...

Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams London, England, Jul 29, 2009 / 03:21 am (CNA).- Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, head cleric in the Church of England, has responded to the Episcopal Church’s decision to allow the ordination of homosexual bishops. Saying that a change in Anglican teaching, if necessary, would require broader agreement, he proposed a “two-track” church structure which recognizes “two ways of being Anglican.”On July 14, the Episcopal Church’s General Convention voted to approve homosexual bishops. It was seen as a rejection of the Archbishop of Canterbury’s and the Anglican Communion’s call for a moratorium on the...

Bishops of the Anglican Church in the United States have voted to overturn a three-year moratorium on the election of gay bishops. The decision seems likely to lead to the Episcopal Church's eventual exit from the worldwide Anglican Communion. The Communion has been fighting to avoid disintegration since the Episcopal Church consecrated the openly gay bishop Gene Robinson in 2003. The decision is expected to be confirmed in the next few days. Archbishop's regret The election of the Bishop of New Hampshire, the Right Reverend Gene Robinson, created an apparently irreconcilable rift between liberal and traditional Anglicans. Liberals believe the...

In a rebuke to the more conservative branches of the Anglican Communion, the bishops of the Episcopal Church voted 99-45 on July 13 to affirm the ordination of non-celibate homosexuals” to “any ordained ministry” within the church, so long as they are in “lifelong committed relationships.”

Church accuses Government of favouring Muslims Church leaders have accused the Government of giving preferential treatment to the Muslim community because of "political correctness". By Jonathan Wynne-Jones, Religious Affairs Correspondent 11 Jul 2009 Parishes are being starved of state funds to help the poor as a result of money being diverted to other faiths, senior clergy told the General Synod, which is meeting in York. A report endorsed by Dr John Sentamu, the Archbishop of York, claimed that the Government had become "unbalanced" in its approach to faith groups. It argued that the determination of ministers to tackle Islamic extremism...

Church of England under pressure to accept gay marriage By STEVE DOUGHTY 11th July 2009 The Fellowship Of Confessing Anglicans, a coalition of clergy and lay people, are unhappy with the liberal agenda of some churches The Church of England warned last night that it is under pressure to accept gay marriage. But two senior bishops - writing on behalf of the CofE - said it is not prepared to abandon its traditional teachings in favour of the idea of 'gender neutral' marriage. They said that the Church of England considers 'it is vital for the Church to maintain a...

Chris Bryant, who once posed in his underpants on a gay dating website, said he wanted clergy to be "much more open" to the idea of treating civil partnership ceremonies like traditional marriages. However, his suggestion goes directly against the rules of the Church of England and the Roman Catholic Church, which state that only the union of a man and a woman can be celebrated by a priest in church.

A senior Church of England bishop has angered gay-rights campaigners by saying homosexuals should repent. Archbishop of Rochester Michael Nazir-Ali told the Sunday Telegraph newspaper that the Bible defined marriage as the union of a man and a woman. He said the church welcomed gay people, "but we want them to repent and be changed." Nazir-Ali is a leading member of the conservative wing of the global Anglican Communion, which is riven by divisions over homosexuality and the ordination of women. Gay groups condemned the bishop's remarks. Campaigner Peter Tatchell said Nazir-Ali's view "goes against Christ's gospel of love and...

A senior Church of England bishop has angered gay-rights campaigners by saying homosexuals should repent. Archbishop of Rochester Michael Nazir-Ali told the Sunday Telegraph newspaper that the Bible defined marriage as the union of a man and a woman. He said the church welcomed gay people, "but we want them to repent and be changed." Nazir-Ali is a leading member of the conservative wing of the global Anglican Communion, which is riven by divisions over homosexuality and the ordination of women. Gay groups condemned the bishop's remarks. Campaigner Peter Tatchell said Nazir-Ali's view "goes against Christ's gospel of love and...

Portrait of Cardinal Newman. (CNS) A papal decree announcing the beatification of Cardinal John Henry Newman is imminent and will most likely be made before the Vatican closes for its summer break in August, the Register has learned. Last month, the Vatican’s medical board concluded a miracle attributed to Cardinal Newman’s intercession was due to inexplicable causes. Deacon John Sullivan, 70, of Marshfield, Mass., was healed of severe back pain in 2001 after praying to the 19th-century English theologian. Deacon Sullivan was prompted to ask for Cardinal Newman’s intercession after watching an EWTN program on Cardinal Newman’s beatification process. Now,...

Young clergy face life on the dole after Church of England loses £1.3billion 31st May 2009 No jobs: The Church is turning away graduates of theological colleges The Church of England is turning away trainee clergy for the first time in history after £1.3billion of its investments were wiped out in the financial crisis. Up to a dozen graduates of theological colleges will miss out on their ordination next month and may end up on the dole as there are no parish jobs for them. The Church has previously given all graduates placements in parishes as curates, which they need...

The Vatican has opened its secret archives, the repository of centuries worth of documents pertaining to the Holy See, to let the world get a closer look at a document presaging England’s split from the Church of Rome. Dated July 13, 1530, and addressed to Pope Clement VII, the letter, right, asks for the annulment of Henry VIII’s marriage to Catherine of Aragon and includes the seals of dozens of peers of England who concurred with the request.

Priests stage fashion show The latest fashions among the clergy were on display in Devon as local priests swapped pulpits for the catwalk. 30 Jan 2009 Clergy Catwalk Show at Westpoint, showing off the cloths form the cloth is - Reverend Wiz Slater, curate at St Michael's CofE Stoke Gifford Photo: The ecclesiastical event was a showcase of the latest designs of religious gowns in various colours, patterns, shapes and textures. Several priests acted as 'models' to strut the cat walk in front of hundreds of clergy at the exhibition . One model, The Rev James Hutchings, said: "I've done...

Penny wise, pound foolish? In a breathtaking leap of faith, the Church of England has decided to gamble £150 million on global warming alarmist Al Gore's sketchy investment firm, Generation Investment Management (GIM). What makes the investment so risky is that GIM stands to make a killing only if the U.S. government cracks down on carbon dioxide emissions. We previously examined Al Gore's adventures in climate change finance in the August 2008 edition of Foundation Watch and before that in the August 2007 edition of Foundation Watch. (Hat tip to Noel Sheppard of NewsBusters)

The bishops of the Church of England have agreed to admit women to their ranks in a compromise that also aims to accommodate traditionalists. Under the plan, female bishops would be equal to their male colleagues, The Times of London reports. But the church would also have a class of subordinate "flying bishops" to serve parishes who do not accept women's ordination as priests. Several churches within the worldwide Anglican communion ordain women, including the Episcopal Church in the United States, which began in the 1970s and now has a female presiding bishop. The Australian church recently consecrated its first...

Church of England Gives Money to Gore's Investment Firm By Noel Sheppard Created 2008-12-30 11:24 Did you need any more proof that climate alarmism is indeed an environmental religion? The Church of England has invested 150 million pounds with Generation Investment Management, the green fund started by Nobel Laureate Al Gore. Can I get a "Hallelujah" ladies and gentlemen? As reported [1] by Religious Intelligence News Tuesday: The Church of England's Church Commissioners have gone green, investing £150 million with former US Vice-President Al Gore's environmentally minded investment firm, Generation Investment Management. On Nov 18 the First Church Estates Commissioner,...

Relations between the Government and the Church of England reached a new low on Sunday as Labour figures angrily hit back at criticism of the party's economic policy from several bishops. Anglican leaders led by Rt Rev Nigel McCulloch, the Bishop of Manchester, accused Labour of being "morally corrupt" and "beguiled by money". Rev McCulloch described Gordon Brown's plan for Britain to borrow its way out of recession as "scandalous". The Bishops of Carlisle, Durham, Hulme, and Winchester also used interviews with The Sunday Telegraph to voice strong criticism of Labour's policies on the economy, poverty and social justice. The...

A Church of England clergyman has banned the popular hymn O Little Town of Bethlehem from his Christmas services because he claims it does not reflect the true state of the town believed by Christians to be the place of Jesus' birth. “That just isn’t what it is like there at the moment. It isn’t still and peaceful, it is full of tension and anger and fearful people. Mr Coulter visited the Middle East last month along with a group of 30 parishioners and said he was shocked by the security wall.

Church of England apologises to Darwin Anglican Church’s neo-Chamberlainite appeasement of secularism 20 September 2008 ...it’s notable that many evolutionized clergy not only have appeased secularism but also appeased radical Islam: the leading cleric in the CoE, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, stated earlier this year that adoption of sharia law in the UK seems unavoidable. (Click link to read entire article...a must read!)

The Church of England will tomorrow officially apologise to Charles Darwin for misunderstanding his theory of evolution. In a bizarre step, the Church will address its contrition directly to the Victorian scientist himself, even though he died 126 years ago. But the move was greeted with derision last night, with Darwin’s great-great-grandson dismissing it as ‘pointless’ and other critics branding it ‘ludicrous’. ---- Church officials compared the apology to the late Pope John Paul II’s decision to say sorry for the Vatican’s 1633 trial of Galileo, the astronomer who appalled prelates by declaring that the earth revolved around the sun....

An explosive article appeared Wednesday in the London Times entitled “Rowan Williams: Gay relationships 'comparable to marriage'”. Ruth Gledhill, the Religion Correspondent of the Times may have blown the lid off of the perceived pause in the internal battles threatening the the Church of England after the Lambeth Conference. Ms. Gledhill wrote: “Rowan Williams believes that gay sexual relationships can “reflect the love of God” in a way that is comparable to marriage, The Times has learnt. Gay partnerships pose the same ethical questions as those between a man and woman and the key issue for Christians is that they...

<p>New York (AP) -- The spiritual leader of the world's Anglicans is urging an extended ban on consecrating another gay bishop until their troubled fellowship can be healed.</p> <p>Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams made the plea Sunday, the final day of the Lambeth Conference, the once-a-decade Anglican meeting in Canterbury, England.</p>

The rector who presided at the controversial 'gay marriage' of two priests has caused fresh outrage by conducting £1,800 'white wedding' services for Japanese tourists. The Rev Martin Dudley has benefited from a craze for Western-style ceremonies among Japanese couples - many followers of Shintoism or Buddhism - by blessing their unions in his London church. The blessings - which feature traditional music, a white bridal dress, prayers and Bible readings, bouquets and confetti - are not banned by the Church of England but critics say they undermine the dignity of marriage.

Tonight the London Literature Festival at the Southbank Centre featured the UK premier of For The Bible Tells Me So, “a provocative documentary about the chasm that separates gay life and Christianity today,” produced by Dan Karslake. It was followed by a conversation and Q&A with the Rt. Rev. Gene Robinson and Sir Ian McKellen, Shakespearean actor and star of The Lord of the Rings. The evening started with a beautiful bass voice giving the standard instructions for everyone to turn off their cell phones and pagers. Turns out it was Sir Ian, who arrived on stage a few minutes...

Christian doctrine is offensive to Muslims, the Archbishop of Canterbury said today. Dr Rowan Williams also criticised Christiaity in history for its violence, harsh use of punishments, and its betrayal of its peaceful principles. His acknowledgement of Christian faults came in a highly conciliatory letter to Islamic leaders calling for an alliance between the two faiths for 'the common good'. It risked fresh controversy for the Archbishop in the wake of his pronouncement earlier this year that a place should be found for Islamic sharia law in the British legal system. The Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams has admitted...

Church of England General Synod to touch off an exodus by approving women bishops YORK, England - "There can be no future for Christianity in Europe without Rome," an Anglican bishop told the Sunday Telegraph this weekend, after it was revealed that a group of "senior" bishops from the Church of England has been in secret negotiations with the highest levels of the Vatican to discuss the current crisis in Anglicanism over the acceptance of homosexuality and female bishops. Bishops from both the Church of England's "evangelical" or protestant and "high" or "Catholic" wings are said to have been involved...

The Church of England's ruling body has voted to go ahead with the ordination of women bishops. But the Church was facing a damaging split after members of its General Synod threw out compromise proposals on females in senior ranks. All safeguards demanded by traditionalists were rejected. Sky News correspondent Mike McCarthy said: "It's a historic and very significant moment for the Church of England. "The real test now is how many people will leave (the Church). There are certainly going to be many wrestling with their consciences." The Synod members voted to approve work on a national statutory code...

Church of England clergy plan mass exit over women bishops 1,300 write protest letter to archbishop Ruth Gledhill, Religion Correspondent More than 1,300 clergy, including 11 serving bishops, have written to the archbishops of Canterbury and York to say that they will defect from the Church of England if women are consecrated bishops. As the wider Anglican Communion fragments over homosexuality, England’s established Church is moving towards its own crisis with a crucial vote on women bishops this weekend. In a letter to Rowan Williams and John Sentamu, seen by The Times, the signatories give warning that they will consider...

LONDON — A "wedding"-like ceremony between two male priests broke the Church of England's rules, a spokesman for the Anglican body said Saturday. The two clergymen exchanged rings and vows last month at a ceremony in St. Bartholomew the Great in London, according to The Sunday Telegraph, a preview of which was made available Saturday. The paper said the ceremony included traditional marriage liturgy, hymns and a Eucharist. The ceremony took place in defiance of the Bishop of London, in whose diocese it took place. It is likely to embolden liberal clergy who have been reluctant to offer a full...

An Anglican church has held a homosexual "wedding" for the first time in a move that will deepen the rift between liberals and traditionalists, The Sunday Telegraph can disclose. Two male priests exchanged vows and rings in a ceremony that was conducted using one of the church's most traditional wedding rites – a decision seen as blasphemous by conservatives. Rev Peter Cowell and Rev Dr David Lord The ceremony broke Church of England guidelines and was carried out last month in defiance of the Bishop of London, in whose diocese it took place. News of the "wedding" emerged days before...

The collapse of Christianity has wrecked British society, a leading Church of England bishop declared yesterday. It has destroyed family life and left the country defenceless against the rise of radical Islam in a moral and spiritual vacuum. In a lacerating attack on liberal values, the Right Reverend Michael Nazir-Ali, the Bishop of Rochester, said the country was mired in a doctrine of 'endless self-indulgence' that had brought an explosion in public violence and binge-drinking. In a blow to Gordon Brown, he mocked the 'scramblings and scratchings' of politicians who try to cast new British values such as respect and...

Senior Bishop Warns - Radical Islam is filling a ‘moral vacuum’ in Britain, a senior Church of England bishop has warned. The Bishop of Rochester, the Rt Rev Michael Nazir-Ali, has said that the decline of Christian values has meant that Britain is now gripped by the doctrine of ‘endless self-indulgence’ which had led to the destruction of family life. He warned that the ‘newfangled and insecurely founded doctrine of multiculturalism' has led to immigrants creating ‘segregated communities and parallel lives’. In an article published in the new political magazine Standpoint, Nazir-Ali claimed that the Church lost its influence over...

SAINT AUGUSTINE OF CANTERBURY CONFESSOR, APOSTLE OF THE ENGLISH—C. 605 Feast: May 28 When Pope Gregory began to plan for the evangelization of England, the land was still largely pagan, although in the southwest there were remnants of earlier missionary efforts. To lead this important mission, Gregory chose Augustine, prior of St. Andrew's monastery in Rome, of which Gregory had been the founder. Nothing is known of Augustine's life until the year 596, when, with a party of Benedictine monks, he set out northwards from Rome. He carried letters of commendation to various Gallic bishops. On reaching Provence, the...

Church attendance in Britain is declining so fast that the number of regular churchgoers will be fewer than those attending mosques within a generation, research published today suggests. The fall - from the four million people who attend church at least once a month today - means that the Church of England, Catholicism and other denominations will become financially unviable. A lack of funds from the collection plate to support the Christian infrastructure, including church upkeep and ministers’ pay and pensions, will force church closures as ageing congregations die. In contrast, the number of actively religious Muslims will have increased...

FAMED American pastor, Dr Rick Warren has said he supports the decision by Ugandan bishops to boycott the forthcoming Lamebth conference in England, United Kingdom. The conference brings together Bishops of the Anglican Communion from all 38 Provinces of the Communion every 10 years. "The Church of England is wrong and I support the Church of Uganda(CoU) on the boycott,"Dr Warren said on Thursday shortly after arriving in Uganda. The Bishops are protesting the Church of England's tolerance a homosexuality. Announcing the boycott in February, Archbishop Henry Luke Orombi said that Uganda's action had been prompted by the invitation of...

The Government has failed to find a vision for the country and has not built a cohesive society, the Archbishop of York has claimed. Dr John Sentamu said that racism had been allowed to flourish and that Britain was no longer the "great nation" it once had been. Instead, it was a nation in crisis. "Britain is in a very, very uncomfortable place," he said. In a wide-ranging speech on the country's "broken society", the Ugandan-born archbishop called for Britain to regain the values of "mission and enterprise" that had made it so effective when it had an empire. Dr...

There are an estimated 1.6 million Muslims in Great Britain. By some estimates, more people attend mosque than go to Anglican churches every week. Judging by recent comments by the Archbishop of Canterbury, it is easy to see why. As most of you by now know, Archbishop Rowan William said in a recent interview that the “UK has to ‘face up to the fact’ that some of its citizens do not relate to the British legal system.” He left no doubt who those “citizens” are: British Muslims. So according to Williams, British Muslims should not have to choose between “the...

LONDON, February 11, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The Anglican bishop of Hereford has been ordered by a court to undergo "equal opportunities training" and pay a fine of £47,345.00, the equivalent of $92,106.00 Cn., for refusing to hire an active homosexual for a position of trust with young people. The ruling also stated that Hereford diocese staff "involved in recruitment should receive equal opportunities training"."The respondents discriminated against the claimant on the grounds of sexual orientation," said the ruling from the Cardiff Employment Tribunal.The Right Reverend Anthony Priddis refused to hire a homosexual man, John Reaney, as a youth worker...

CSP Decision Brief | Feb 11, 2008 Ironically, we all owe a debt of gratitude to Rowan Williams, who in his capacity of Archbishop of Canterbury is the head of the Church of England. Our thanks are not due this cleric, however, for his appalling pronouncement last week that we had better get used to the imposition of Shariah law in Britain since it is now, in his words, "unavoidable." Rather, we should be appreciative because, by his declaration of capitulation to and appeasement of the Islamofascists – who agree with him on the inevitability of the triumph of the...

A bishop described as "one of the most formidable figures in the world of Christian thought" is now challenging the widely held belief that Christians go to heaven when they die. N.T. "Tom" Wright, the fourth most senior cleric in the Church of England who has been praised for his staunch defense of the literal resurrection of Jesus Christ, has published a new book in which he says people do not ascend to God's dwelling place. Instead, God will be coming back to Earth. "Never at any point do the Gospels or Paul say Jesus has been raised, therefore we...

My text for today is “Hold fast that which is good”: 1 Thessalonians 5:21. These are words I heard so regularly in prayers at my Anglican girls’ school that I have been unable to forget them. I draw them to the attention of the Archbishop of Canterbury, who seems to have forgotten them. At least, he seems to be losing his grip on what is good in this country and, indeed, to be throwing it away with both hands in his curious suggestion that aspects of sharia should be recognised in English law. In an interview on Radio 4 last...

Senior religious leaders attack multiculturalism and sharia law today, warning that they are "disastrous", socially divisive and are destroying Britain's culture and values. Lord Carey and Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor rebut the call of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, for Islamic law to be recognised in Britain. Lord Carey, the former archbishop of Canterbury, said: "His acceptance of some Muslim laws within British law would be disastrous for the nation. He has overstated the case for accommodating Islamic legal codes. "His conclusion that Britain will eventually have to concede some place in law for aspects of sharia is a...

Under fire: Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams The Archbishop of Canterbury was facing demands to quit last night as the row over sharia law intensified. Leading bishops publicly contradicted Dr Rowan Williams's call for Islamic law to be brought into the British legal system. With the Church of England plunged into crisis, senior figures were said to be discussing the archbishop's future. One member of the church's "Cabinet", the Archbishop's Council, was reported as saying: "There have been a lot of calls for him to resign. I don't suppose he will take any notice, but, yes, he should resign."...