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My church loyalties Why I am not yet a Catholic Jul 28, 2014 by D. Stephen Long In 2005, after Benedict XVI was elected pope, I wrote an essay for the Century titled “In need of a pope?” That essay cost me a job at a Protestant evangelical institution. A Catholic friend told me at the time that I should think of that result as a gracious preemptive strike. Since then I have repeatedly been asked, “Why are you not Catholic?” The main reason I am not (yet) Catholic and remain a Methodist and an ordained Methodist elder is that...

A fierce row between Catholics and Protestants in Germany is the result of a misunderstanding, a German theologian has claimed. Lutheran leaders had invited the Catholic Church to join them in commemorating the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation, when Martin Luther published his 95 theses. Luther was opposed to the sale of indulgences, to the Bible not being in the vernacular and to the Church’s doctrinal position on justification through faith – all issues which have seen significant changes over the years. In 1999 the Catholic and Lutheran Churches issued a joint declaration on the doctrine of justification which...

Israel’s ambassador to the United States, Ron Dermer, addressing the annual Washington conference of Christians United for Israel, July 21, 2014.With sharp jabs at the Obama administration, Christians United for Israel launched its annual Washington rally with appeals to Congress to impose new sanctions on Iran and cut off funding to the Palestinian Authority. David Brog, the group’s executive director, said CUFI regarded the Iran nuclear talks as a failure and would back legislation proposed by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) that would impose new sanctions immediately. The Cruz measure is tougher than legislation already under consideration that would trigger sanctions...

Tony Palmer, the charismatic young preacher who enjoyed a friendship with Pope Francis, has apparently died in a motorcycle accident. Not a Catholic, Palmer was bishop in the Communion of Evangelical Episcopal Churches, a group that is inspired by the “middle way” of classical Anglicanism and considers itself part of the Convergence Movement. News is spotty at this point; but according to Archbishop Charles Hill, presiding prelate at Ambassadors for Christ Ministries of America (AFCMOA) in Atlanta, Palmer was in an accident while riding a motorcycle in the U.K. After hours of surgery, Bishop Palmer died on Sunday, July 20,...

Healing the Family Tree is a groundbreaking book by the British psychiatrist Kenneth McCall. I met Dr McCall when I lived in England, and used his book in my own developing healing ministry as an Anglican priest. Dr McCall was brought up in China as the son of Christian missionaries. While there he experienced exorcisms and the influence of generational curses on families. As he matured he studied to practice medicine and specialized in psychiatry. He discovered that some incurable psychiatric patients had, as part of their problem, unresolved deaths within their family circle. He experimented with a new therapy...

The Archbishop of Canterbury has written to the other Christian leaders, saying that he hopes ecumenical progress can continue after the decision of the Church of England ordain women as bishops. Dr. Justin Welby acknowledges that some “ecumenical partners may find this a further difficulty on the journey towards full communion.” But he observes that a shared Christian faith provides “much that unites us,” and argues that there is “so much troubling our world today that our common witness to the Gospel is of more importance than ever.” In his letter the Anglican primate explains the drive to approve the...

Worried about global warming, a growing number of churches and other faith groups are divesting their holdings in fossil-fuel companies, which release large amounts of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. “The warning in Scripture that ‘the wages of sin is death’ could not be more literally true than it is in the case of fossil fuels,” said Serene Jones, president of New York’s Union Theological Seminary, whose board voted in June to divest its $108.4 million endowment of holdings in fossil-fuel companies. “While we realize that our endowment alone will hardly cause the fossil-fuel giants to...

My alma mater, The University of Chicago, was recently in the news for an overtly politically correct act for replacing its historic Bond Chapel's pews for Muslims to worship. This act is raising hackles reminiscent of the university's other, recent, tone-deaf decision to demolish the childhood home of former President Ronald Reagan, on its campus, and replace it with a parking lot and a commemorative plaque.The school, founded by the Rockefeller family in the late 19th century as a Baptist-affiliated institution of higher learning, with an English-style undergraduate college, and German-style graduate research school, today positions itself as completely non-denominational...

The leader of the ordinariate has issued an invitation to Anglicans following the Church of England’s vote to create women bishops. Mgr Keith Newton, Ordinary of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham, invited Anglicans “considering their future” to attend an “exploration day” in September. “Having agreed to permit women priests in 1992, the Church of England’s decision to allow women bishops is the next logical step. What is undeniable is that both developments make harder the position of those within the Church of England who still long for corporate unity with the Catholic and Orthodox Churches,” he said....

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The General Synod of the Church of England voted July 14 to authorize the ordination of women as bishops and approved motions pledging to respect and work with people who believe that, theologically, the vote was a mistake. Before the vote, Archbishop Justin Welby of Canterbury, spiritual leader of the Anglican Communion, told the synod that "to pass this legislation is to commit ourselves to an adventure in faith and hope. Like all adventures, it carries dangers ... uncertainties and for success will require integrity and courage." Anglican Archbishop Justin Welby of Canterbury, England, greets Pope...

"At this difficult moment we affirm again the significant ecumenical progress which has been made in the decades since the Second Vatican Council and the development of firm and lasting friendships between our communities."The following is a statement from the bishops's conference of England and Wales, issued in response to a vote on July 14 to ordain bishops in the Church of England. The ballot took place during the ecclesial community's general synod in York, England. The Catholic Church remains fully committed to its dialogue with the Church of England and the Anglican Communion. For the Catholic Church, the goal...

The Church of England has voted to allow women to become bishops for first time in its history. Its ruling General Synod gave approval to legislation introducing the change by the required two-thirds majority. A previous vote in 2012 was backed by the Houses of Bishops and Clergy but blocked by traditionalist lay members. The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby said he was "delighted" but some opponents said they were unconvinced by the concessions offered to them. The crucial vote in the House of Laity went 152 in favour, 45 against, and there were five abstentions. In November 2012 the...

Key Points The Church of England has voted in favour of allowing women to be appointed as bishops The vote took place at a meeting of the ruling general synod in York - 18 months after a previous attempt was blocked The Yes votes overturns centuries of tradition in a Church that has been deeply divided over the issue for decades Anglican leaders had warned of severe damage to the Church's reputation

The Church of England is set to vote on whether women should be allowed to enter its top ranks as bishops. […] Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby told the BBC that he hopes the vote will go through, saying “the votes, I think, are there.” …

The story behind a case that made headlines a few months back, from The New York Times: Father and son had always been close, from the moment Tim Schaefer was born, six weeks premature, with blood poisoning, a weak heart and lungs, and a doctor who thought he would not make it through the night.His father, the Rev. Frank Schaefer, a United Methodist minister, thought of his eldest son as a miracle child, saved by some combination of medicine and prayer, saved for something special.“We couldn’t even touch him; he was in an incubator, and we had to reach in...

The cross-party campaign to legalise the right to die took a significant step forward last night when the former archbishop of Canterbury, Dr George Carey, announced his support for the proposal as a way of preventing "needless suffering". The Church of England is strongly opposed to the bill. But in an article for the Daily Mail, Carey said he had changed his mind after witnessing the pain of Tony Nicklinson who suffered from locked-in syndrome. He died two years ago just weeks after losing his high court battle. "Here was a dignified man making a simple appeal for mercy, begging...

The Church of England (CofE) has called for an inquiry into assisted dying. It follows a U-turn by former Archbishop of Canterbury Lord Carey, who said he would back legislation to allow the terminally ill in England and Wales get help to end their lives. The current Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby says the Assisted Dying Bill is "mistaken and dangerous". But the Church said an inquiry would include expert opinion and carefully assess the arguments. Speaking on behalf of the CofE, the Bishop of Carlisle, the Rt Rev James Newcome, said a Royal Commission would allow the "important issue"...

This article from London’s Guardian reports that, should the Church of England General Synod again reject the ordination of women as bishops that Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby has plans to bulldoze the measure through–trampling on the whole synodical process in the Church of England.For those who don’t know how it works, the Church of England decides everything through a democratic synodical system. The General Synod is made up of three houses: laity, clergy and bishops. For a major decision like women’s ordination they need a three quarter majority in all three houses. When the vote for women bishops happened...

The archbishop of Canterbury plans to force legislation through if the General Synod does not accept female bishopsThe archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby is preparing to drive through legislation to allow women bishops even if it is rejected by the church's governing body, the General Synod. The synod is poised to vote again on the vexed plan next week but senior sources have told the Guardian that should the move be blocked again, there are now options being considered to force the change on the church. Options under consideration include an immediate dissolution of the synod so that fresh elections...

"The outcome of the dialogue in Tallinn was sobering, as it is difficult to come closer on substantive issues. The question of women’s ordination is regarded as church-dividing, at least from the Orthodox angle . . . Consequently I think we on the Lutheran side have to think about whether progress in dialogue is to be expected at all.” These sobering reflections come from Rev. Dr. Jennifer Wasmuth, a participant in the Joint Commission for theological dialogue between the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) and the Orthodox Church, following recent discussions in Estonia. The meeting, which took place May 8-13, focused...