The Bishop of Reading, Olivia Graham, attracted more criticism than she might have anticipated after the first of four 'environment' talks on Care for creation.
The Rev Peter Ould tweeted: "What rampant heresy is this @oxforddiocese? God did not pour 'godself' (searches Bible for word) into the Universe. God and the universe are clearly distinct. This is basic theology."
After criticism of the bishop's video message Oxford diocese added this comment: "A number of commentators have said that the core message of this film by the Bishop of Reading is pantheistic or panentheistic. Of course, this isn’t the intended message of the film. Read a response from Bishop Olivia here." As a woman of some notoriety might have said: Well she would say that, wouldn't she?
Up North, the Bishop of Carlisle is facing calls to quit after he wrote – but later withdrew – a character reference for a paedophile priest. The issue became public after the Independent Inquiry into Child Sex Abuse (IICSA) released its report into the Church of England's handling of child sexual abuse. The inquiry’s damning report concluded that the Church of England failed to protect children from sexual abuse.
The Church in Wales did not escape criticism in the IICSA Report. The Inquiry found that "to date, the Church in Wales has never had a programme of external auditing, so there has been no independent scrutiny of its safeguarding practices. It also highlights record-keeping as a significant problem for the Church; the Inquiry’s sampling exercise demonstrated both poor record-keeping and a total absence of records in some cases."
'Barry Morgan's true legacy!' wrote a regular commentator under a previous entry.
The former Archbishop of Wales did much to encourage the like-minded to interpret scripture as they pleased in pursuit of their secular, political goals. Something that attracted a stinging response from An Anglican Theologian among others.
Liberal drift is the legacy of Western Anglicanism. Oceanographer and former Presiding Bishop of the US Episcopal Church, Katharine Jefferts Schori, mentor of women bishops in Wales, left the Episcopal Church in a dire state of decline, foundering like the Church in Wales with the Church of England following close behind.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, leader of the Anglican Communion, has often faced criticism, most recently from child sex abuse victims who have called for the Archbishop to quit.
Archbishop Welby said that the damning findings of the IICSA inquiry were a 'big wake-up call' but he refused calls to resign insisting that he was "better staying in the role to continue his work"!
There have been previous calls for archbishop Welby to resign here, here and here. In the unlikely event that he were to go there would be more problems. His replacement would be political, not spiritual, causing more problems for the Anglican Communion.
As the current Archbishop of Wales said when he replaced Barry Morgan, it would be more of the same but faster, thus further hastening the demise of the Church of England and Western Anglicanism.
Repellent Priest?
ReplyDeletePriest repellent.
https://www.facebook.com/ProjectBlasphemy/videos/805515872798625
Horrific theology from the Bishop of Reading.
ReplyDeleteJust checked her bio - she has a certificate in Theology from the Oxford Ministry Course. I hope she get a full refund.
Postie
PP. I have found this thread fascinating in that simple factual errors blur the awesome magnitude of the mystery of God's infinite character. Perhaps the bishop was using the concept of the "endless void" "En Sof" found in Jewish mysticism. But for the average Christian this explanation was too deep and poorly explained in particular, the term "Godself" which is a dubious detraction and respect. A Jewish scholar would after even the mere mention of God, would add "blessed be He" in this context what does it say for our leaders in this modern age?
ReplyDeleteEven a simple journey into systematic theology would yield a correct interpretation of sorts, even liberal theologians would not use such a term. Is it a feminist theological understanding? Perhaps, with its reference to "mother" God or more likely Sophia personification, which leads into the merky depths of: Gaia, Isis, etc. Therein we lose the unchanging mystery of God.
In a lighter point, perhaps episcopal candidates should take an exam or provide a statement of theological interpretation of core doctrine?
All one needs to do is ignore them all, they are not leaders but merely more false prophets.
DeleteThe only leader that really needs concern you is he who was crucified.
A Bishop who lacks the basic theological vocabulary to avoid confusion and error is becoming rarer and rarer, simply because bishops are no longer chosen to be teachers of the faith. Rather (and certainly in the church of England) greater importance is attached to their ability in business administration and generally shoring-up a failing institution. There is currently no bishop in the C of E who has been a full-time teaching member of a university theology faculty. Olivia Graham didn't even attend a full-time residential theological institution linked to a university; but trained on a part-time course. This inevitably means that her theological formation was necessarily cursory, with all the emphasis on 'applied' and 'pastoral' aspects divorced from any rigorous exploration of their theological rooting. Certainly, she will not have done Greek and Hebrew, which are a good way of resourcing theologians to avoid the faux-pas she has committed.
ReplyDeleteAs far as IICSA is concerned, it was striking how incompetent and amateur the CinW was portrayed. Poor record keeping being a matter of particular concern. It was interesting to note that one commentator on the Thinking Anglicans blog wrote that, when a journalist was investigating multiple allegations of bullying in Bangor Diocese several years ago, a request was made to the CinW safeguarding people for information on how many formal bullying complaints had been lodged against Bangor over a specific period of time. The journalist was told 'we don't hold that information.' Nor, I suspect do they hold information about an out-of-court settlement with a noxious former Dean of Bangor who is currently enjoying total lockdown with views of the River Mersey!
Still, we should be relieved that the CinW isn't shelling-out millions on Reputational Managers like the CofE is. Is it?
The "stinging response" from an Anglican Theologian referred to above should be required reading for the bench of bishops and all members of the GB. It comprehensively destroys Barry Morgan's facile and simplistic views and reminds us that theology is still a powerful force even though it's long since been abandoned by so many in authority in today's church. The former archbishop's legacy is sociological rather than theological and it is regrettable that this legacy has been adopted by the current bench as a means of enhancing their erroneous views. The result is seen in the fact that so many have simply washed their hands of the C in W as it is now an essentially secular institution. Carry on Bishops! perhaps the last one to retire will switch the lights off.
ReplyDeleteNemesis
Speaking of moribund organisations in terminal decline, I see Llandaff Cathedral has finally got around to publishing their annual work of fiction, their report and accounts for the year ending December 2019 and the dud in the Deanery is nowhere to be seen to spin his usual bullshit "success" story.
ReplyDeleteDespite propping up by the RB and the now regular annual "revaluation" of the few remaining Cathedral properties the bottom line still shows a deficit of well over £60k.
DeleteDon't forget, that's only the numbers to the end of 2019 so the next lot of accounts are likely to be considerably worse with Covid-19 lockdowns too.
The last time annual losses were so large Peggy the Pilate got rid of the proper cathedral choir and the assistant organist but with only 9 employees on the books what can the Archdeaconess do this time?
Now the antiques dealer posing as a Dean seems to have disappeared into the sunset one wonders when Canon Gerard Elias QC et al will arrange for Communicant numbers to be made public once more?
DeleteOn a slightly different tack, I queried on Facebook, why the CiW was observing St Luke's day on Sunday. One reply I got from a clergy person was that if a Saints day fell on a Sunday, then it trumped the Sunday, every time.
ReplyDeleteBut only in so-called 'Ordinary Time.' If a feast day falls during Lent or the Easter season (as the Annunciation, St Joseph, St David, St Mark and a host of others do) then they are transferred to the nearest available Monday (if it is not Monday in Easter week). I hope that little piece of liturgical anoraky helps.
DeleteThat is not quite true, M.O. Does your clergy friend think that if Easter Day fell on the 25 March or 25 April - the Feast of the Annunciation and St Mark respectively - we would cancel Easter in favour of the lesser feast?
ReplyDeleteSeymour
I don't read a shred of compassion or concern for the Dean of Llandaff here on this website. How sad is that? For a person to be away from their work and to be unwell, you would have thought that there would be some compassion towards him from those of you on this blog who attend the cathedral. What warped version of Christianity are you following? Not one I recognise. Shame on you who take delight in all of this.
ReplyDeleteFeel free to stick your Dean where the sun doesn't shine cup cake, that disgusting imp of Morgan's has never been my Dean.
DeleteI have zero sympathy for a nasty little bully who writes poison pen letters to little old ladies and widows, much less a nasty little man who tries to bully parishioners from the pulpit.
Good riddance to bad rubbish and to hell with all false prophets.
A shred of compassion for what?
DeleteWhere is he?
Nobody knows.
What has become of him?
Nobody knows.
For all we know he is living the life of Riley in Ireland touring antiques dealers.
The delicious irony of a gay christian hurling allegations of warped versions of Christianity at others.
DeleteFunniest thing I have seen this year.
Taking delight?
DeleteOne thinks not.
Reaping what he has previously sowed?
Quite possibly.
My point made exactly in those responses from the compassionate pew-sitters at Llandaff. Letters to nasty ladies, not a bit of it - that 'nasty old lady' was positively poisonous in the rhetoric she was using with others; he called her out on it and then she plays the 'poor defenseless old lady' card. As for Enoch - glad you find the idea of a gay Christian 'delicious', maybe we should meet up darling?
DeleteGosh, anyone else thinking that this could be The Dean himself!
DeleteNo Merthyr, nobody else is thinking that, why would you. You're a nasty piece of work to think that. Bet your organ playing is just as lacking.
DeleteThe nasty little man sent several letters to different people.
DeleteEven if your own false bitchy allegations were true, you'd think a "man" of the cloth would know better, turn the other cheek, forgive 7 x 70 times, love his neighbour as himself, but no, he resorted repeatedly to his poison pen.
Whatever his fate he's certainly no loss to Llandaff or to what little is left of the Church in Wales.
Neither false nor bitchy, I know the lady in question who was sent one of the letters and she spreads falsehoods and unkindness. That sinfulness needed to be called into check and I admire the tenacity and directness with which it was done - put in writing so that she couldn't say he said one thing when in reality he had said another. Takes a brave person to put things in writing when dealing with deceit.
DeleteI too know the lady in question and have done for over sixty years. She is most definitely a lady and both she and her family have, at a guess, between them given over 170 years loyal and faithful service to both the Cathedral and the Diocese.
DeleteTo have been treated so shabbily was a disgrace that has still not been corrected.
Caiaphas should have dismissed him years ago but she has revealed herself to be just as bad.
Both false and bitchy.
DeleteYou are not the only one who knows the lady in question and you would have to travel a very long way to find a nicer person and a nicer family.
The sooner your twisted theology and twisted version of events depart Llandaff the happier I shall be for one.
Let's agree to disagree shall we. As for departing Llandaff, I'm not going anywhere. So if that makes you less happy, I'm sorry, but I for one wish you well as we part company on this issue. Peace be with you.
DeleteAway from his work?
DeleteSurely you jest?
The golf caddie has achieved nothing and had more time off than any other Dean in living memory.
Forced to accept the poison chalice?
Despite being utterly ill equipped for the post, underqaulifed and so inexperienced, despite the fact that Janet Henderson walked out after merely nine or ten weeks in post, in his arrogance he took it on and has made a complete hash of it and a fool of himself.
Instead of seeking counsel from older and wiser heads he surrounded himself with a crowd of self-serving fools like the oily amphibian Mr Toad and Dick the server and all to keep Barry Morgan's skeletons in the cupboards.
It could all have been avoided if the dud had paid heed to the predictions posted on this blog before he was installed.
GayChristian, you and your ilk have spread nothing but poison and deceit at Llandaff.
DeleteThe Dean has proved himself useless and no-one but he is responsible for the large deficit the Cathedral incurred in 2019. He continues the Bazza tradition of nepotistic appointments who have ruined Llandaff.
There is nothing to admire in this weak little man whose five years as Dean has been utterly negative.
What unpleasant reading from all sides! Perhaps a more measured approach is called for. If the dean is unwell, then surely he needs sympathy and understanding. At the same time, one should ask how things have come to this sorry state. It seems to me that the dean was forced to take the poisoned chalice after the former bishop of Llandaff failed to find another candidate when Janet Henderson had departed in a hurry, having discovered some uncomfortable truths, and after Peggy had made such a mess of things. The man was clearly unprepared for office and probably out of his depth, having had limited experience at parish level and naively unaware of what was ahead of him. It may well be that his misguided reaction to the circumstances in which he found himself were encouraged by someone who should have known better. Looking to the future, one cannot hold out too much hope for improvement under current management. One can only hope that the personal vindictiveness displayed by certain people on this blog will be tempered by a more considered approach. It is sad that matters have come to this but it's obvious that feelings have been building up over a considerable period of time. A future review of this period will undoubtedly see it as one of the lowest points in the history of the cathedral and its management.
ReplyDeleteNemesis
I agree. This is purely conjecture on my part as (a) I am not a personal friend of the Dean and (b) I don’t actually know what has happened to him, only hearsay; never accurate in church circles I find. But the following is my suspicion.
DeleteI fear that Dean Gerwyn has suffered hugely over the last few years to the detriment of his wellbeing. He has been the subject of intense and, on occasions intrusive, scrutiny of some within his congregation and also others within the Diocese. If I’m not mistake, many wanted him to fail even before he began. What an impossible job he was given – a job nobody wanted and a job I suspect he accepted as a favour to Bishop Barry.
Since his appointment, some who claim to represent the Cathedral on this site (your Ruths etc.) have been overly and pruriently fascinated by the in's and outs of every facet of his life. Many have been content to place him on an unhelpful and theologically questionable pedestal and then simultaneously enjoyed treating him de facto as a mere object and a dumping ground for their accumulated historical anger (which pre-dated him). It’s abundantly clear to me that many on this blog have treated him as an object and have ashamedly enjoyed being violent (and vile) to him whilst others have looked on aghast, knowing him to be a kind, compassionate and hugely gifted priest. It’s simply tragic. How shameful that a small number of lay people exercising petty power, together with other adults clearly infantilised by church and their own fragile authority, have behaved like spoilt children. A gifted priest and Dean treated in an extraordinarily unpleasant (crucifying) way. Shameful
I don't accept or believe anyone WANTED Capon "to fail even before he began".
DeleteHowever, so many were able to predict such a likely outcome precisely because it was patently obvious Barry Morgan could find no other mug to take on Llandaff Cathedral (to keep the lid on his various cans of worms left behind by John Lewis, Janet Henderson and Peggy the Pilate such as the fiddled Organ appeal accounts, the sale of Cathedral endowments & properties, the Eleri Jones report fiasco, the demise of the Cathedral Lay Clerks, assistant Organist & Director of Music, the sale of the Memorial Institute) which in turn were exacerbated by concealed Quinquennial reports, plummeting Communicant numbers (subsequently concealed), closing the kitchen, stopping the Parish breakfasts, foolish "vanity" projects, poison pen letters and patronage of Mr Toad.
Combined with Capon's lack of qualifications, experience, insight, intellect and the continued dishonesty inherent in prolonging bully boy Bazza's MO, the predictions have become reality.
One thing is certain, things will only get worse before they get better.
Capon's appointment was pure nepotism. The Dean's dependence on his patron, and on his ill-assorted circle of friends, shows how manifestly out of his depth he is (or indeed was).
DeleteNone of us give a damn about the "in's and outs of every facet of his life" because he isn't worthy of the attention. Rather, we are concerned about his dereliction of duty and the lassitude of his approach to running the Cathedral.
Few people have found him either kind or compassionate; more say he is lazy, aloof, bad-tempered and small-minded. As far as the world beyond the Cathedral is concerned, he is invisible and never made a mark as Dean. The declining coffers speak volumes about his inability to raise any funds.
There is an entertaining history to be written about the postwar Deans of Llandaff, charting their decline from the heights of Glyn Simon to the depths of John Lewis and beyond. We are truly scraping the barrel with Gerwhine.
@Gaychristian
DeleteI have never claimed to represent Llandaff Cathedral and I challenge you to prove otherwise.
Nobody knows if "the dean is unwell", Nemesis. That is precisely the point, Parishioners have no idea what is going on and the prolonged silence from Caiaphas has served only to add to the speculation.
DeleteOne point worthy of note, I suspect, is the timing of the Capon's disappearance which was around the time the old Chapter resigned and the new Lay Canons came on the scene.
One can't help suspecting that the Chapter Acts books suddenly being available and open to scrutiny by competent professionals like Gerard Elias QC would have been enough to persuade the dud to jump ship before being pushed.
PP. What interesting comments. I have heard from a North Wales senior cleric that their is to deanery musical chairs in the province. One from North to South and South to North. True or not the speculation is interesting
ReplyDeleteOn another note I see His Holiness the RC Pope has shown favour for same sex civil unions in his statement today.
Perhaps the Catholic CiW has influenced his decision. What a joy for LGBT RC members who have hoped for recognition for decades. What does this do for theology?
Yes, I'd heard something to the effect that the Bangor Car Crash was heading South and the Castrated Chicken moving North. I don't think it has legs (the rumour - not the chicken). It is one of those mischievous snippets of fake news, planted ('confidentially') with a certain individual who is notoriously indiscreet to see how far the rumour spread. I was not surprised to read it on this esteemed blog.
DeleteAndy Crap has had his fingers (and bank account) badly burned already over a bullying Dean and not even he is stupid enough to risk that a second time. Ditto, June doesn't want to have to spend all her time supervising a Dean who spends the majority of an average working day away from work (or avoiding it) and who has 'form' when it comes to not being absolutely 100% truthful about her whereabouts or what she is doing. So, as you can see, such a move would just repeat past mistakes - and both bishops are probably agreed that this would just create more work (and not a few headaches) for both of them.
Having a Dean who spends the majority of an average working day away from work (or avoiding it) and who has 'form' when it comes to not being absolutely 100% truthful about his whereabouts or what he is doing has been a long standing problem for Caiaphas already.
DeleteHence the mysterious absence about which no-one is speaking.
Llandaff is fast becoming the Bermuda triangle in which unexplained disappearances are common.
Janet Henderson.
The little Catholic curate.
Now the dud Capon.
Matters are not improving.
I can concur with Medwyn's analysis, which is why the two lazy decanal wastrels are unlikely to be waving to one another as they meet on the A470 heading in opposite directions.
DeleteCathy has had a great lock down by all accounts. The Cathedral doors have been tight shut for much of the year as she has only too willingly complied with public health guidelines to the last letter and full-stop. There have been far fewer of those annoying services to attend which had a tendency to muck-up her weekend and evening plans. Apparently, she's not even fussed about the huge drop in income either because she knows all about financial black holes from her time in Betwsycoed. And because she was not prepared to live in the historic deanery at Bangor (because it affords none of the seclusion and concealment she demanded as a condition of her accepting the job), she can continue to keep well out of the public eye. If she moved to Llandaff, the game would be up, and the gravy train would grind to a crashing halt, as June would undoubtedly have her telescope permanently trained on a certain conspicuous property on The Green.
At least when the grotesquely grand Dame Hawkins occupied the aforementioned historic pile in Bangor, he was candid enough to make sure everyone knew that he spent more time at his bijou apartmentette in Cardiff Bay than he did close to the seat of Deiniol's successors.
@1662
DeleteHave you forgotten the unexplained disappearance of Richard Moor House?
PP. With the applications now closed for a new Dean of Monmouth, it will be interesting to see who will assume the role. With the Dean of Bangor on the selection panel it will be interesting. Then shortly into 2021, Archdeacon posts become vacant in Mon and Klan, so hopefully new blood in the executive pool won't be a bad thing, or will it?
ReplyDeletePeggy the Pilate's disappearance into the sunset is long overdue. Without doubt the worst Archdeaconesse Llandaff has ever seen.
DeleteThe only selection panel Cathy the Car Crash would be qualified to sit on is to nominate "Skiver of the Year"!
DeleteAgree, too, with Zadok, re Peggy the Pilate. She's been divisive, dissembling and generally hopeless. But that was Barry the Golfer's way of stuffing the Diocese of Llandaff with broken-winged half-wits (in her case having applied for and been rejected for more archdeaconries in England than there are days in the month) because, in the kingdom of the blind, the one-eyed man is king!
Three years ago but still relevant.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/oct/17/former-bishop-of-chester-hubert-whitsey-investigated-over-abuse-allegations
"The former bishop of Chester, Victor Whitsey, is being investigated 30 years after his death over allegations of sexual abuse in the latest scandal involving high-profile figures in the Church of England."
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-54629399
ReplyDeleteThe archbishop also chairs the homeless charity Housing Justice Cymru and he spoke of his worry that "a crisis such as we have at the present time sometimes can be in danger of making people forget, or quite accidentally leading them to forget, long-term problems that other people are facing. So I want to keep the whole issue of homelessness on the agenda - that it's not forgotten."
How many of the homeless has he accommodated in his Bishop's palace?
How many of the homeless has the Church in Wales accommodated in any of its properties?
1 Corinthians 13:1
Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.
This from the man who authorised the move of the RB from 39 Cathedral Road to the £1/2 million per annum luxury penthouse offices overlooking the homeless hanging in and around Callaghan Square.
Hypocrite!