Consecration of the Bishop of Llandaff

The bishop-designate of Llandaff, the Very Rev June Osborne    Source: CinW

“This service will be a wonderful celebration of faith and hope for the future as we consecrate June as bishop and welcome her into the family of the Church in Wales. I am sure everyone will welcome, support and pray for her as she begins this new stage in her ministry." - Bishop John Davies 

Faith? What a load of old cobblers. Faith has long since been abandoned by the Church in Wales in favour of an ideology of relativism. Why the new bishop is to be presented with a copy of the Bible is a mystery unless it is to act as a reminder of when the Church was built on faith.

A graduate in Social Sciences, June Osborne was a founder of the Church’s Leading Women programme. No surprise, then, in the travesty that the Gospel will be read by Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, former Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church of the USA, the Anglican Communion’s first woman primate and the ruination of the Episcopal Church in the United States.

A portent I wonder?

Liberal drift to engulf Wales?

The Dean of Salisbury addresses Gay Pride marchers.       Source: Facebook

The above still from a gay pride video on Facebook last Summer shows the Dean of Salisbury, the Very Rev June Osborne, encouraging participants to be strong in difference, standing against "prejudice and hatred" and to march with pride in Salisbury after she gives the parade her blessing.

Lobbyists interpret 'dislike' as 'hatred' and 'disagreement' as 'prejudice'. Allegations which stick whether or not they are based on factual evidence. Charges of homophobia are used as a matter of course to stymie any discussion on the legitimacy of accusations that LGBT+ people are treated unfairly. Say it often enough and people will believe it without checking the facts. Introduce something and people will get used to it. That is the strategy and it has worked, hence the liberal drift of the Church.

When a senior church person speaks, people are expected to take note. The fact that senior church persons increasingly speak not for the Gospel but for the advancement of liberal values in the Church makes the problem all the more serious.

Even though the implication is false, 'spread love not hatred' is a mantra that has become fully in tune with Anglicanism in the UK today as it drifts away from Christianity towards paganism. Love is all but the meaning of love has been twisted to mean acceptance of just about every desire. If you are not 'for' you are regarded as 'against'.

The image of the Dean of Salisbury at the gay pride march is considerably different from the image projected on the Church in Wales website where she is presented as a thoroughly competent woman who will take the Church forward. But forward to what? The irony of the 'homophobia' charges after Jeffrey John's rejection by the Electoral College will not be lost when the reality of another LGBT promoting appointment dawns on unsuspecting Anglicans in Wales. June Osborne previously lent her name to the suppressed Osborne Report on homosexuality which should have been published in 1989 and was finally published in 2012. Some think the Report damaged her chances of preferment in England.

The die has been firmly cast in Wales. Interviewed in Llandaff Cathedral on BBC TV News yesterday evening bishop John Davies candidly explained  that: "There is no truth whatsoever in the allegation that the bench of bishops or indeed the Electoral College of the Church in Wales is homophobic. I have said on countless occasions that homosexuality, participation in civil partnerships is no bar whatsoever to ordination in the Church in Wales whether that be to the order of deacons, priests or bishops."

The charge of homophobia was clearly absurd given the grovelling apology by the bench of bishops to the LGBT+ community for perceived errors. There followed the Changing Attitude, Iris in the Community propaganda film alleging homophobia while promoting the LGBT+ cause despite the  gay friendly stance of the bishop of St Asaph who not only has appointed a LGBT chaplain but has a transgender ordinand waiting in the wings. So at some stage there will be a 'she' at the Altar though she is he, preferring to be thought of as she.

All minorities are regarded as acceptable in the Church in Wales with the exception of orthodox Christians. After the stitch-up which saw the first woman bishop in Wales involved in MAE Cymru's 'Saints and Sparklers' event it appeared that things could not get much worse.

What has become known as the liberal drift in England is overwhelming the Church in Wales with seemingly no-one able to repel it. When the bishop designate said "I do want to be a bishop for absolutely everybody, [including] those who might have wished for another candidate", did she really mean everybody, including loyal, conscientious Anglicans who have found that their Church has left them without provision.

Para 346 of the Osborne Report will be of particular interest for traditionalists:
We believe that the bishops, as the focus of unity of the Church, need to affirm the catholicity of the inclusiveness of the Church. The bishops have an important role in helping the Church live with unresolved issues. The way to resolve the conflict and tensions between groups is not by exclusion of one or more minority groups.

Exclusion has been used as a weapon in the Church in Wales since the retirement in 2008 of the  Provincial Assistant Bishop. Every minority has been deemed worthy of inclusion except orthodox Anglicans. Are they not worthy of love?

This problem has become all the more pressing with the appointment of a second women bishop to the most Anglo Catholic and populous diocese in the Province. Many more Anglo Catholic clergy who have kept the faith find themselves with nowhere to turn. They deserve better.

I hope the new bishop of Llandaff along with the rest of bench will now consider the dire position of the orthodox minority in the Church in Wales. Many of these loyal Anglicans are now elderly, often lonely with little to sustain them other than their faith but after years of service they find that their church has left them.

The bishop designate claims that women can make a difference. To date that has been wholly negative resulting in a code of practice designed for exclusion. If women want to make a difference they can start by making arrangements to include all, not just all those caught up in the liberal drift.

The 72nd bishop of Llandaff

June Osborne, Dean at Salisbury Cathedral (getty) Source: Telegraph

Already displaying a taste for purple, the bishop designate of Llandaff is the Dean of Salisbury, the Very Rev June Osborne. Announced on Twitter on the heels of a tweet by the Rev Peter Ould there will no doubt be considerable shock in Llandaff, still the most Anglo Catholic diocese in the Province despite the former Archbishop's attempts to eradicate it in favour of nonconformity.

Dean Osborne was tipped to become the first woman bishop in the Church of England. Instead she is the second woman bishop in the Church in Wales with possibly a third next year if +John Davies retires.

Ironically June Osborne is only three months younger than +John. She was involved in an 'unholy row' with a plan to move Salisbury Cathedral School from its home in the Bishop's Palace which created "divisions between parents and the church hierarchy" so Llandaff should feel like home from home. No doubt we shall be hearing more about the Osborne Report too, some solace for the gay community which was known to be desperate to avoid a woman bishop.

Jeffrey John's gay chorus augmented by quartet

"Gay dean is in the running to become Bishop of Durham" The Times 6 May 2013 Photo: Chris Harris

Harry Farley has reported in Christian Today that a second complaint has been lodged as "pressure builds" over alleged homophobia by the Church in Wales after a senior gay cleric was blocked from being appointed a bishop.

Where one wonders does Farley obtain his information? The hymn sheet is always the same. One sided, all singing in unison ♫homophobia, homophobia, homophobia ♫. Who is the conductor?

In his Kiwianglo's Blog, an Anglican priest and LGBT advocate wrote a resume of the position of the Church in Wales as seen by the recently retired Archbishop Dr Barry Morgan. He emphasised "the Church in Wales has apologized unreservedly for its mistreatment of gay and lesbian people and strongly indicated it could allow or bless same-sex marriages in the future".

The Church in Wales is not homophobic, it is very gay friendly with LGBT chaplains. An over emphasis which is becoming all too obvious as the LGBT lobby tries to call the tune. There have been complaints from MPs, Cathedral Chapters and Electors with the list growing. Given the absence of any contrary view one suspects that the complainers are either gay themselves or sympathetic lobbyists. Much has been made of the weight of requests for John to be made bishop which merely suggests an orchestrated campaign. Others think it would be  a disaster but they were not asked for their opinion.

This is what one unpublished (anonymous) commentator had to say "I am assured by someone who was present that no homophobic remarks were made in the electoral college. (Already in the public domain so he felt he could concur.) Also that there are a lot of lies being told about what happened."

Jeffrey John has been rejected many times. Originally he had my sympathy but no more. Others dioceses have come to the conclusion that Jeffrey John would be more of a distraction than an asset. He claims that the Church does not speak with authority, advocates same sex marriage claiming that God does too and controversially interprets the Bible to suit his circumstances. Previously he threatened to take the Church of England to court after he was blocked from becoming a bishop contrary to 1 Corinthians 6:7 "The very fact that you have lawsuits among you means you have been completely defeated already. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated?"

Why not rather be wronged, indeed? Nothing good can come out of this. The diocese, the province and the Church are suffering for one man's ambition. If he were to succeed in his outrageous campaign everyone else would be the loser.

Postscript

From ECCLESIASTICALLAW

Electing the Bishop of Llandaff: Propriety and Privacy

"The Thinking Anglicans website relates that the objection ‘has now been referred to the Legal Sub-Committee, which is a body in the Church in Wales assembled to consider legal and governance matters’.

However, it is difficult to see what this Sub-Committee can achieve, however legally learned its members.  Absent proper authority from the Governing Body, it has no power under the Constitution to investigate the deliberations of the Electoral College.  And to be effective in practice, any investigation of the objection is bound to contravene the constitutional rule of privacy concerning the Electoral College meeting.  One procedural impropriety is remedied by committing another."

In full here.

Postscript [31.03.2017]

Two interesting letters have appeared in the Church Times.

The first from the Bench of Bishops of the Church in Wales, The Welsh Bishops on the Dean of St Albans and the see of Llandaff, responding to an "ill-informed, unbalanced" leader comment,

the second from the Rt Revd Dr Barry Morgan objecting to false allegations by the Dean of St Albans that Dr Morgan  blocked his nomination to the sees of Bangor and St Asaph in 2008 and 2009.

LATEST

Church's legal subcommittee advises that complaints are without merit and bishops can proceed with appointment. Details here.

The Victim

Women in the Church were victims, allegedly. Gays, lesbians and transgenders in the Church are victims, allegedly. 

The true Victim was left hanging on the Cross. His words have been twisted to justify sectional interests to the detriment of the Church. The latest episode is witnessed by the LGBT campaign to have the high profile gay cleric Jeffrey John elected bishop of Llandaff.

Dr John says the bench of bishops is guilty of homophobia. This is the bench which wrote:

“Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

We recognise that you have often been persecuted and ostracized by the Church for your sexuality, that you have been mistreated by the Church, and forced into secrecy and dissimulation by the attitudes of prejudice which you have faced.  We deplore such hostility, and welcome and affirm the words of the Primates that condemn homophobic prejudice and violence.  We too commit ourselves to offering you the same loving service and pastoral care to which all humanity is entitled, and we commit ourselves to acting to provide a safe space within the Church and within our communities in which you can be honest and open, respected and affirmed."

Jeffrey John claims in an open letter to the Bishop of Swansea and Brecon that his situation is exactly similar to that of the Bishop of Grantham who is also in a same sex relationship. It may be insofar as civil partnerships are concerned but I have found no record of Bishop Chamberlain supporting the Out4Marriage campaign, twisting the Bible to support his stance.

Dr John also suggests that same sex couples are no different to infertile couples, or couples who are beyond the age of childbearing. He is badly mistaken. Addressing gay people directly in his Out4Marriage video Dr John claims that "the official church doesn't speak with integrity... so frankly doesn't deserve to be listened to". That does not bode well for the mission of the Church or for bench collegiality. It is a  pick and mix form of Christianity which leads John to claim that "God is Out4Marriage too"!

In his letter to the bishop of Swansea and Brecon who is the Church in Wales' most senior bishop, Dr John said he had been told by "a bishop present at the meeting of the electoral college" that “a number of homophobic remarks were made and were left unchecked and unreprimanded by the chair”. [My emphasis - Ed.]

For members of the Electoral College to leak information is a serious breach of confidence but for a bishop? He or she should seriously consider his/her position.

Regular churchgoers are dying out, literally and metaphorically. Those who have not been pressured into leaving and battle-on are fed up with gays and feminists claiming to be badly treated when the Church clearly has so many women clergy and gay people in their midst.

In England Archbishop Justin Welby appears to have sold out to Women and the Church (WATCH) despite their shameless campaign against Bishop Philip North because he is an orthodox Anglican. Read the history of this sorry saga here.

In Wales Archbishop Barry Morgan led the bishops into battle against Church members promoting same sex marriage. At the same time he was desperately engineering the election of the first woman bishop in Wales before he retired. His candidate also complained of discrimination. On investigation it proved to be nothing of the sort. One stitch-up is one too many.

I hope that the Bench has at last come to its senses. People need to hear about Christ crucified not false claims of victimhood.

Postscript [21.03.2017]

Unsurprisingly given the gay men's chorus which is singing ever louder to Jeffrey John's tune, the LGB pressure group OneBodyOneFaith this morning published an open letter (here) expressing their "concerns" about the way the process to appoint a bishop for the See of Llandaff has been handled. One of the signatories is the Rev Jeremy Pemberton, Chair for the Board of Trustee. It was he who thumbed his nose to the Church of England over the gay marriage issue.

OBOF have only Jeffrey John's word for what took place. That is second hand. There is no context, merely accusation. "The reported unanimity of the Llandaff electors is a strong indication of what they wish to happen" they write. There are two points here. It was common knowledge that many in Llandaff were desperate to avoid a woman bishop. Their best hope of avoiding that eventuality was to support Jeffrey John. Also, given the strong gay presence in Llandaff, the impression given is that many if not all form part of the chorus demanding that Jeffery John should be the bishop-elect.

As we approach Passiontide  the baying crowd becomes louder. There are echoes of "Give us Barabbas". The crowd had it wrong. So does OBOF and the media. Pray that the Bench withstands the media onslaught.