"The Archbishop of Wales and the Church in Wales’s four serving diocesan bishops are calling on the UK’s political leaders to commit to the rule of law and work together to secure the prosperity of our country."
- Provincial press release
Full statement HERE.
It is a bit rich when the Bishops of the Church in Wales place on record their "evident concern for the well-being of our democratic processes and constitution in the United Kingdom" when the Bench of bishops regularly ignores democratic processes.
Consultations in the Church in Wales have been regularly ignored when the results have not accorded with the wishes of the Bench.
Extract from an entry on 9 August 2016:
"Diocesan meetings were organised at considerable expense to discuss a Code of Practice designed to cater for faithful Anglicans who, on theological grounds, were unable to accept the ministry of women bishops. The wishes of the majority were ignored, see True to his word: "Over my dead body!". Then there was the farcical taking of opinions about allowing same sex marriages and/or blessings in church, see Marriage: Dodgy discipleship?. Barry and his bench sitters simply did what they wanted when the result did not fit their secular agenda, see Bishops' rank hypocrisy. So why should anyone expect other than a predetermined outcome this time?"
Physicians, heal thyselves springs to mind again.
Is the Anglican Church in Wales a political or a religious organisation?
ReplyDeleteIt's a far left political organisation which opposes Brexit. Hadn't you realised? But there is no reason for people to attend Church anymore if it has nothing different to offer.
DeleteNot having the stomach to read the link for the whole statement I assume they mean that Boris should obey the farcical law made by 300 traitors and ignore the 17.4 million who voted leave. They are competing with Welby to be the most moronic this week but I think he still wins by a country mile.
ReplyDeleteRather like the £5,000 report done by Prof Eleri Jones in Llandaff-ignored by that complete ignoranus, Peggy the Pilate.
ReplyDeleteI am no great admirer of bishops who resort to soundbites as a means of grabbing media headlines. Rarely do they manage to pull it off convincingly (just listen to the Bishop of Bangor's excruciatingly poor performance on Bwrw Golwg last Sunday morning), and often betray a lack of credibility when they manifestly need to put their own house in order first.
ReplyDeleteHaving said that, those who would be quick to draw sharp lines between the political and religious spheres, and who would want to identify themselves with traditional Catholic teaching and practice, should look to the rock from which they were hewn with a touch more clear-sightedness, especially our friend Danny who seems to know with absolute certainty what being left-wing involves.
One of our claims to be Catholic is rooted in the witness of holy scripture and the teaching the Fathers of the early Christian era, and (in the spirit of John Henry Newman) in the legitimate development of that tradition.
When St John Chrysostum persistently challenged imperial abuses of power, and its impact on the poor ("not to share our own wealth with the poor is theft from the poor and deprivation of their means of life; we do not possess our own wealth but theirs") was he straying unacceptably from the spiritual into the political? Or was St Basil of Caesarea a left-leaning, Guardian-reading friend of Jeremy Corbyn ("when someone fails to clothe the naked, while he is able to do this, is such a man deserving of any other appellation? The bread which you hold back belongs to the hungry; the coat, which you guard in your locked storage-chests, belongs to the naked; the footwear mouldering in your closet belongs to those without shoes. The silver that you keep hidden in a safe place belongs to the one in need. Thus, however many are those whom you could have provided for, so many are those whom you wrong")? Is one of the Fathers of the contemporary Church, Desmond Tutu, who always speaks truth to power (whether it is the corruption-ridden ANC or the former Apartheid government) completely wrong when he asks "If these things are not God's, whose are they?"? Recent popes (not least Benedict XVI and now Pope Francis) have spoken consistently in the same vein.
If our friends, such as Pete, haven't the stomach to read the whole statement by the CinW bishops, I am left wondering if they have the stomach to mine the rich seams of Christian tradition instead of leaving it to the superficial, partisan, secular journalists of the tabloids? No wonder dear Pete has been quick to 'assume.' Very often, when praying for the kingdom of God to break in on the affairs of this world, we should be continually alert to the possibility that the issues are often much more complex than we would like them to be - and the Catholic tradition in its totality may not always be saying what we necessarily want to hear at any given moment.
Many of us who comment on this blog often wish the bishops of the CinW would engage brain before releasing their words into the public square, and show a good deal more humility in the process. It would be wonderful if we could set a better example here.
Wow! I don't come from the Catholic tradition (you've probably guessed that) but I think that is a marvellous post. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you entirely.
DeleteThe Christian theology which I studied - in Wales, and over half a century ago now - never suggested - at least to me! - that the Church should structured like a secular western democracy.
ReplyDeleteWord is that we in Monmouth have a new Bishop, Cherry Vann 🤬 Archdeacon in Manchester
ReplyDelete