Saturday, July 26, 2008

An Anglican 'Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith' ?

Ruth Gledhill reports in her Lambeth Diary blog that the AC is close to adopting:
...the Principles of Canon Law Project,...which is being talked of by primates as the 'Fifth Instrument of Communion'. I am told it will not be so much a Catholic-style 'Code of Canon Law' as a 'blueprint' of Canon Law. However, comparisons with the Roman Church will become even more inevitable because of another plan, to set up a new Faith and Order Commission.

Jonathan Wynne-Jones, Religious Affairs Correspondent of The Telegraph seems to think this implies that homosexual bishops will face an Anglican Church ban ("Homosexual clergy will be barred from becoming bishops in the Anglican communion under controversial new plans backed by the Archbishop of Canterbury.").

Commenter "Mark" on Gledhill's blog sums it up with:
By design, acquiescence, incompetence, +Cantaur has maneuvered the Anglican Communion into a position forcing a Hobson's Choice between seeing the creation of either parallel provinces in North America or a parallel Anglican Communion.

25 comments:

Anonymous said...

"Paul Lynde to block!"

Heh: it's an old (c. 1970s) Hollywood Squares reference, and it seemed appropriate that the FLAMING Lynde would make a good block-er.

In other words, I still think that TEC's contingent---and our many allies---can block something like this from taking effect. After all our bishops KNOW they couldn't agree to such a proposal "without submitting it to GC"...

...and GC wants to ROLL BACK B-033, not roll over to an even GREATER power-grab by fur'ners! (a foreign ELITE, of Primates---Heavens, NO!)

Let's all breathe, and chill. Every 48 hours, there's been another CRISIS!!! at Lambeth.

Don't believe the hype. ;-/

Ann said...

Gledhill and Wynne-Jones are desperate for "news" - and that means some electrifying split -- mostly people seem to be moving to live and let live and get on with Matt 25. There are so many gay bishops now (not open like Gene) and gay and lesbian priests and deacons (in and out of the closet)- it would be hard to have church with out gays and lesbians. To say nothing of all our music and much of our beloved BCPs.

James said...

Ann, TWR is going to rear it's head again at this Lambeth. There are some who are too committed to it, and Rowan is one of them.

Remember, we aren't dealing with anything Jeus taught, we are dealing with political political power plays.

And we need to remember that the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith is nothing but the Holy Office of the Inquisition with a new name.

And NOBODY expects the Spanish Inquisition. :)

Cany said...

I cannot possibly believe TEC would EVER subscribe to such a notion.

I know I won't.

Leslie Littlefield said...

This is both upsetting and shocking...

David said...

Unfortunately, I suspect that there are more bishops in TEC who would sign on to this in the name of unity & "not rocking the boat" than we'd like to believe. And quite honestly, I'm not completely sure that the PB wouldn't be among them (see B033 from GC2006).

OCICBW, so we'll see...

Beryl Simkins said...

Oh David,

I hope you are wrong. What happened to the middle way of Anglicanism? We are a diverse group representing many cultures; we cannot possibly all think alike.

I say to the Lambeth gathering, "Unity? How about being for truth???" Life is what is. There have been homosexual priests and bishops for a long time. Honesty and openness about that is healthier.

Anonymous said...

David, I have to agree with you. Mark Harris reported that the "rumor mice" are saying that there will be an announcement on Monday about whether or not the Primate's Council will accept the FOCA's request for a shadow communion in North America. Duncan may very well be elevated to primate status this time tomorrow and TEC may very well be on board with the ban the gay bishops/same-sex blessings as well.

Judging from the way they responded to the Dromantine demands and the way we were asked to suffer for a season, I would guess that +Katharine will acquiesce to the pressure from +Rowan to maintain unity at all costs and the gays will be left far behind again. If there had been even a slight showing of support for +Gene at Lambeth from the other TEC bishops in a way that placed them in line with his suffering I would think differently.

I pray that I'm wrong but I still remember Lambeth '98 and I have heard rumblings that Akinola, et al, are in London planning their coup even as we wait and worry.

Ann said...

The two points of view on this among US and UK I think are detailed in the blogs by Scarfe (good) and Walker(not good).

Anonymous said...

And I just read +David Walker's post on Thinking Anglicans for Sunday evening and it confirms, from his perspective at least, the very tone that David and I are talking about. Better be prepared for the bad news and start thinking of "where do we go from here?" (and maybe be pleasantly surprised!) than to be hit with a ton of bricks tomorrow.

May God's mercy and blessings flow throughout our lives.

RudigerVT said...

My effing-god, it's the plumbing police.

Their fascination with other people's nether regions is a sick transference: they can't quite bear to let go of their own.

It's genital/anal anxiety. Fear-driven. A bunch of spooky old men.

Ugh
LPR

Ann said...

Yes- I feel like bad moon rising on the Anglican night.

Ann said...

Here is the view from a Steward at Lambeth

Ann said...

I think that the TEC bishops will only go as far as saying B033 is the state of TEC now (dioceses do whatever - nothing national yet). Judging from Wynne-Jones usual rumor mongering - he is a shill for the right wing trying to stir up something more than what is really happening.

David said...

Ann+ has a point about Wynne-Jones. AFAIK, The Telegraph is certainly right-wing, and I gather from MP and others over in the mother country that their religion correspondents aren't fans of ++Rowan.

But my problems with this are deeper & been around longer. Maybe I'm getting cynical in my old age ;) but I just don't trust most of TEC's bishops. Too many "company men" as it were...

Oh well, we'll see what Monday brings.

Anonymous said...

In an ordinary world, the following would not be news (needless to say, we do not live in an ordinary world):

Robinson will not be asked to resign by presiding bishop

I agree, that the piece by +Scarfe (his address to the "Windsor Continuation Group": a group of brownshirt-wannabees if ever there were one!) was tremendously inspiring.

Like many people, I have had to pray and work my way through to be able to be a pastor accessible to gay and lesbian Christians. I have counseled in relationships, buried church members and their friends, been present during long illnesses with families and friends. And I have learned Christ in them, and cannot deny Christ’s full blessing upon them. Please don’t make us choose which “us” we must be in communion with.


As far as (CofE) Bishop David Walker goes, I'm not exactly sure WHAT he's saying (Jim Naughton is, and It's Bad)

I'm trying to have more hope, for TEC's bishops---that they ACCURATELY interpret and reflect, where TEC's people are right now (Holy Office of Inquisition? Heavens, NO!)

We'll just have to wait and see (and pray! I hope we---Episcopalians---all remembered Lambeth in our eucharists this morning)

Dennis said...

what is bing said about this on the House of Bishops/ House of Deputies list serve? Surely someone subscribes and can report some of the thoughts that are being shared.

Ann said...

those signed up are not supposed to share without permission stuff on HOBD -- you can sign up at http://hobd.org

Lisa Fox said...

Well ... I'm with you all. After watching Katharine cave at Dar es Salaam and hearing her call us to "forbear" and "stand in a crucified place" ... and watching our bishops go all mealy-mouthed in March ... I have little faith that they will stand for the church if Rowan applies the thumb-screws. I would dearly, desperately love to be proven wrong! I've blogged about it over at My Manner of Life. You now how to get there, if you're so inclined.

IT said...

Since "Jake's place" is no longer, this site will needs must provide space for conversation. I suggest one of our contributors from an Eastern time zone put something up in the AM for commenting and venting. I'm on Pacific time and have a number of appointments on Monday AM that will prevent me from putting up the thread.

Anonymous said...

To ask the most obvious question: when has Gledhill ever been right on one of her "scoops?"

Anonymous said...

Fr Mark wrote on TA: “What does the C of E offer us as gay people? It just seems like prolonged misery at the moment.”

So it does. And it does seem right to remind us that neither what the Bible “does not say or know of”, nor the continued political and anti Christian use of British Colonial legislation (the blackmailers “charter” as it was called) in former Colonies reasserting themselves anti colonially are arguments against Gays and Lesbians, God’s Very Good Creation, Human rights or even the Millennium Goals ;=) Not even Islamic mission-strategies, if be.

With the vantage point of 50 years hence the anti Modern emissions yesterday in the comments to Ruth Gledhill’s blog on Times online or the continuous panic mongering in The Felegraph will seem only quaint and strange and this day and age a bad and embarrassing memory for the churches.

A sobering thought.

Ann said...

Good news coming from Trevor Mwamba - bishop of Botswana here.

Kurt said...

I don’t know what you’re smok’n zigzag, but where can I get some?

Anonymous said...

A commenter on TA wrote: “Therefore the moratoria, in my humble opinion, are one-sided.”

To which I answered: It is a proposition which will not last. Dead in the water. Won’t hold water.

Not to mention highly Immoral. Trading property against Human Rights... Who could have though this up other than Apparatchniks?

Now, does anybody believe this scheme, really??

“Trading” some of the most valuable property in the World (on the threshold of Washington, in the Virginia cases ;=) against losing Human Rights for gay people??? TEC should give up many of its congregations and churches – and Gay American Citizens their Civil Rights?

Why not let the Courts of Justice go through with what they have already begun? TEC will keep what is theirs and Gay Americans get their full Civil Rights, including Marriage...

; = )