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Celeb Anglican Bishop Comes Home to RomeIslamic scholar who defends persecuted Christians to be ordained priest 'Setback to Ecumenism'Church Militant also learned that efforts were made at the highest level of the Vatican to dissuade 72-year-old Nazir-Ali from converting to Catholicism. Across the world, Anglicanism has been seriously wounded by its own synodal process.GabTweet"First, Nazir-Ali isn't the kind of convert we are looking for under the Francis pontificate. Second, such a high-profile conversion is a setback to ecumenism. Third, Pope Francis seems to have always indicated he believes in the validity of Anglican orders," a senior Argentinian-based Anglican cleric who...

In what is being called a victory for Islamism, the Anglican Church's only ethnically Asian bishop is stepping down. The Right Reverend Dr. Michael Nazir-Ali, bishop of Rochester, announced that he is retiring next September in order to work on behalf of "endangered or beleaguered Christian minorities." Regrettably, his most important work defending Christianity will need to be inside the United Kingdom. The bishop is a controversial figure in Britain. In January 2008, he published an article in The Sunday Telegraph stating that Islamic extremists had created "no-go areas" across Britain where non-Muslims entered at their peril. In calling attention...

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...

'No-go' Bishop defends comments The Bishop of Rochester has received death threats A Church of England bishop who claimed Islamic extremism has made some places no-go areas for non-Muslims insists he was right to speak out on the issue.The Bishop of Rochester, the Rt Rev Dr Michael Nazir-Ali raised the issue last month in a Sunday Telegraph interview. Now in a follow-up interview with the same newspaper, he accuses church leaders of not confronting the matter. "The issue had to be raised. There are times when Christian leaders have to speak out. It's my duty," he says. 'Spiritual leaders' Since...

A leading Church of England bishop has launched an outspoken attack on "thoughtless bureaucracy and political correctness" for helping to "write Christ out of Christmas". The Rt Rev Dr Michael Nazir-Ali, the Bishop of Rochester, accuses a small but powerful group of officials of marginalising religious celebrations out of an oversensitivity to multiculturalism. Writing in The Mail on Sunday, Bishop Nazir-Ali, who was born to Christian parents in Pakistan but comes from a Muslim family background, also appears to call for Christians to maintain their traditions to combat the threat posed by Islamic fundamentalism. "Britain is again faced with the...

A senior Anglican bishop has accused many Muslims of being guilty of double standards in their view of the world. The Bishop of Rochester, Michael Nazir-Ali, told the Sunday Times some had a "dual psychology" in which they sought "victimhood and domination". The Muslim Council of Britain said the comments were "not very helpful". The bishop, whose father converted from Islam, also said situations such as teaching could require Muslim women not to wear full-face veils. Mr Nazir-Ali argued it would never be possible to satisfy all of the demands made by Muslims because "their complaint often boils down to...

Anglican split 'has become necessary' The Communion has become 'two religions' says Bishop Nazir-Ali A split in the Anglican Communion is inevitable the Bishop of Rochester has said, as issues such as gay and women bishops continue to divide the global Church. The Rt Rev Michael Nazir-Ali's comments came as the US Episcopal Church - which ordained the first openly gay bishop in 2003 - chose Katherine Jefferts Schori as its first female head. Here, two church members for and against such issues, give their views on a split. REV DAVID PHILIPS, THE CHURCH SOCIETYThe Reverend David Philips believes a...