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| The Bunch of 'Bishops' |
Charged with drawing up the Code of Practice required to accompany the authorising of women bishops in the Church in Wales, the Archbishop and his bench sitters have, true to form, produced something sexist to provide for the type of woman Barry has encouraged and who will feel comfortable with the result despite the implied intention to make provision for Church members who cannot accept the ordination of women on grounds of conscience. On this occasion he has managed to make all his bench sitters culpable.
Appalled by the deviousness of his Presidential Address I shall confine myself, for now anyway, to commenting on some tweeted remarks from Governing Body which I found interesting:
"What will you do during this Governing Body to build up our church in the body of Christ?' asks Sion in his Bible reflection". - Sounds like a good start!
"The Archbishop begins his Presidential Address and says this time it is a joint address from the Bench of Bishops". - Dire warning; all are culpable.
"Christ's was an inclusive, not exclusive ministry, says the Archbishop. But sometimes the Church has been exclusive,causing schisms" - Barry should know better than most!
"Crucial question is how do we respect difference and diversity within the Church, says the Archbishop" - Listen to those for whom the Code of Practice was supposedly intended?
"Bishops undertook an extensive listening process across the Province as they drew up the Code of Practice" - but turned a deaf ear to anything they did not want to hear.
"The Code of Practice for women bishops is for every single member of the church, not for just one group, says the Archbishop" - One tweeter grasped the point that under the inclusive code, a woman must be able to demand a woman bishop. Belief apparently is irrelevant. Only sex matters.
"We, as your bishops, see Christ at work in all our members, married or single, gay or straight, old or young.' - Archbishop" - Always provided that they are an acceptable minority who do not follow the teaching of the Holy Catholic Church.
"We perceive the call of God in women to all orders, and we are respectful of the faith of those who cannot receive such ministry" - You could have fooled me Archbishop.
"In these issues, as in others, we invite the Church to unite in the greater task of proclaiming the Gospel" - But only as Barry sees it.
The BBC report (here) is as sexist as is the Archbishop's approach to the Code. There is nothing to suggest that objections on grounds of conscience are because the bishops' beliefs differ from those held by the Holy Catholic Church of which we claim to belong.
Postscript:
WALES: The Washed Up World of the Anglican Church of Wales
From Virtueonline here
Postscript:
WALES: The Washed Up World of the Anglican Church of Wales
From Virtueonline here
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and for ever. Do not be led away by diverse and strange teachings ... ... ... ... ah, such a shame that could not be said about be the Church in Wales!
ReplyDeleteDr.Morgan also said " We regard it as an uncatholic view of the episcopate for people to accept only bishops who happen to agree with their own views "
ReplyDeleteDear me! The Archbishop does not get it ,that it is not a matter of one's "own views" ! It is not just an opinion, it is a matter of teaching,tradition and doctrine of the Apostolic succession, and those aspects of the Church have an authority over the Governing Body and The Bench of Bishops.
The BBC report says that Dr.Morgan said " I do no expect everyone to agree" :as the imperious person he is should this not read "I do not expect everyone to agree with me " ?
Further ,I read that the Bench may change this 'code' at any time.
How absolutely correct that is. The problem is that none of them give a damn about Apostolic succession, doctrine or tradition. The doctrine is what the Archbishop says it is, nodded through by the Governing Body. The Church in Wales is now no longer part of the 'one holy catholic and apostolic church'. This code of practice won't work, I can imagine what the response would be if you were asked at a selection panel about the issues, there will be non-selection of candidates who disagree, regardless of what happens. Let's hope that there is a call to action, so that the Churches that claim to hold these traditional values actually stand up and are counted , rather than people chaser a seat in the Cannon's stalls. Otherwise we may as well rip it up now and leave for Rome tomorrow.
DeleteIs that the best the Bench can come with? All those consultation meetings were a waste of time. I nearly believed those who told me that +Gregory is a good chap and would stand up for the traditionalists, but deep down something was gnawing away saying that like the rest of the Bench, no integrity, no backbone, no courage and never, ever to be trusted again. What a shocking betrayal! In years to come, in retirement, on the their death beds, these days will come back to haunt the Bench. At the same time that Christians are being martyred in the Middle East for their faith this lot on the Bench will be asked what did you do to defend the faith in your land? And the answer? We all betrayed the faith of our fathers and killed the church.
ReplyDeleteFor sure 'Hebrews', the membership figures presented this afternoon by +Andy Pandy would certainly support your thesis.
Delete"'Christ's was an inclusive, not exclusive ministry,' says the Archbishop." That rationale is what we in the states have labelled "radical inclusion." This is a flawed theology that your AB has swallowed and will not confined to W.O. or WB's. The followers of this theology conveniently forget Christ's words himself when accused for dining with sinners, Mark 2:17 "When Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." (KJV). The theology of radical inclusion gets it all wrong and demands radical acceptance of sinful behavior. SSB's are in your future I am afraid.
ReplyDeleteThe 2nd reading today in the Office of Readings (St Augustine 'On the Shepherds' Sermon46,9) has much to say about 'Project Barry'.
ReplyDeleteDid we seriously expect any more? And I am prepared to accept that +Gregory did lobby hard on behalf of the traditionalists (and even the former slippery solicitor from Brecon). But when you have a dictator at the top, there is only so far that you can go in persuading him that his stance is sectarian. In the meantime, (and this is the important bit) we have some degree of sacramental assurance because (unlike the C of E where phalanx of clergy ordained by a woman will be a reality within the next 18 months) we will not have to worry about this in Wales. It will be a long time before a woman bishop is 'consecrated' and the Peggy-Wiggly axis will have long gone into retirement before a skirt and mitre are even a possibility.
ReplyDeleteAre you sure it will be a long time? If Barry retires on schedule there could be a bishopess at Llandaff in three years. And before that there's nothing to stop him/them appointing an (additional or replacement) 'asst bishopess' just to hurry things along -- a sort of flying anti-bishop.
DeleteSurely that would be aunty-bishop?
DeleteThat says it all!
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