Ordination of women, the package

"July 16, 2019 (LifeSiteNews) – There has been much concern among faithful Catholics about the upcoming Amazon Synod. Progressive Cardinals from Germany and the Vatican have already held a private meeting strategizing about how to get the Synod to approve a female diaconate. Cardinal Walter Brandmüller, one of the two remaining dubia cardinals, issued a strong critique of the working document of the synod saying its real intent is 'the abolition of priestly celibacy and the introduction of a female priesthood – beginning with female deacons'.”

"The Vatican’s working document for its upcoming Amazon Synod is 'politically correct nonsense', a venerable Catholic journalist, editor, and author has said.

"Damian Thompson, of late the former editor-in-chief for the Catholic Herald, said certain parts of the document are “garbage” and that given some elements involved in the forthcoming Pan-Amazon Synod, the assembly should be called off...

"The Amazon Synod’s controversial working document, or Instrumentum Laboris, aside, many fear that the synod is being used as a vehicle for abolishing the discipline of priestly celibacy and for ushering in female priests, using the remoteness of the region, its indigenous customs, and its religious practices as a rationale."

One would have thought that the innovation of ordaining women in the Anglican Communion would have provided the Vatican with sufficient experience-based evidence that, in general, women who seek ordination are advancing themselves not the Kingdom of God which has become a vehicle to further personal aspirations.

Using the Son of God as their model, they play on the various meanings of 'love' to legitimise their departure from the bible, twisting scripture to fulfil their particular desires. - Jesus loves me, therefore....

Their campaign has resulted in leading gullible women into believing that only love matters, excusing any excess. Familiarity leads to 'normality' and acceptability.  Opponents are regarded as disposable bigots. They are the odd ones out, despite having given decades of service to the Church and being among the majority in the Anglican Communion and the wider Church.

First and foremost the ordination of women is about women's rights and equality of opportunity in the workplace based on secular criteria. Their claims are not supported by scripture or tradition. They are based on criteria that permit ambitious women and their supporters to attack the Church as being out of touch for not moving with the times. As a consequence congregations have plummeted.

Regular attendance projections indicate collapse. The Church Growth Modelling blog indicates that the Church in Wales, Scottish Episcopal Church and the Episcopal Church of the USA are all firmly under the extinction threshold with some doubt about the Church of England.

The 'Historic Episcopate locally adapted' has resulted in do as you please provinces, some with women bishops, some approving of same-sex marriage. In Canada where same sex marriage has been defeated, some bishops have decided that they will ignore the decision and go their own way.

The Anglican Communion is unravelling but there is no indication among those responsible for the innovation of women's ordination that it was a step too far. They carry on regardless while Church in Wales bishops have admitted in private that it is finished but encourage congregations to dig ever deeper.

Women have shamelessly lied and cheated their way into the Church, misrepresenting Christ's teaching to satisfy their personal demands.

If what they claim is true, why the lies and deception? False accusations of bigotry, misogyny and homophobia designed to smear anyone who defends the faith against the false prophets as predicted.

It does not stop there. The complete package includes the full liberal agenda leading to LGBT+ clergy promoting so-called 'equal' marriage so that they can live with their partners with the apparent approval and blessing of the Church.

The Anglican experience is clear, progress step by step: Deaconesses leading to women deacons, women priests and women bishops leading to demands for the acceptance of same-sex relationships and same-sex marriage.

There is the constant self-promotion of women clergy on Twitter with endless celebrations of women's ordination.

A recent Twitter example illustrates how the trail leads from a tweet to The Campaign for Equal Marriage in the CofE and onto the rainbow collar under the banner 'When in doubt, love'.

That is the ordination of women package. You don't get one bit without the other and the other and the other, etc. Are you listening Francis?

You couldn’t make it up if you tried.

How to kill a Church

"Bringing gender equality and justice to our church"!                            Source: Bridget Mary's Blog

Taking the innovation in the Anglican Communion as an example, women priests have been a disaster for the Church.

If ever proof were needed that the way to hell is paved with good intentions, one has only to look at the demise of the US Episcopal Church (TEC) and its imitators, the Church of England, the Church in Wales and others following TEC's example of ordaining women, giving them a platform for their feminist ideology of 'gender equality and justice'.

The women's movement called for equality and social justice. Moving with the times.

In their charity the Anglican Church listened and gave way. The Anglican Church in the UK is now dominated by secular leaning clergy obsessed with LGBT+ issues leading to same sex marriage in church.

Ignoring the consequences of their actions in the Anglican Church, the feminist brigade is intent on doing for the Roman Catholic Church what it has done for Western Anglicanism, advance their secular cause at the expense of the silent majority.

Do-gooders keen to display their charity naively fall for the propaganda while those who want the Church to adopt liberal values which validate their chosen lifestyle eagerly climb aboard.

It quickly became obvious that the ordination of women was not the end of a campaign, it was the beginning. The stained glass ceiling has to be broken. 'Equality' requires parity and inclusion. Gender justice requires referring to God as she and so it goes on.

The ambitious sign up, moving quicker up the career ladder after the more able have left. Theology is replaced by sociology. Management techniques replace pastoral care designed to ensure that the remainers are on board. Disagreement is regarded as prejudice while dissenters are silenced with complaints of misogyny and homophobia.

The Tablet reported in May:

"The leader of the Vatican's doctrine department says the Church’s belief in a male-only priesthood is infallible teaching which should be held as an unchanging and 'definitive' part of the Catholic faith.

In 1994, Pope St John Paul II ruled that 'the church has no authority whatsoever to confer priestly ordination on women' adding that this teaching should be 'definitively held' by all Catholics."

Thinking they know better Women priests demand place at Catholic altar.

Their message is the same secular message that is wrecking Anglicanism: The Catholic Church must continue to adapt itself to changing times in order to remain prophetic.

They know nothing of faith, only self, helping to pave the way to hell with bad intentions.

Bradshaw plays the Joker

Vicar's boy and LGBT champion Ben Bradshaw MP played the Joker card when he spoke in a women's ordination 20th anniversary debate in Westminster Hall yesterday on 'Women’s Contribution to the Ordained Ministry (Church of England)' here. The Mail was quick to run the headline "Church is 'running out of men to be bishops': Labour MP uses debate on women being consecrated to says [sic] Anglican talent pool is drying up". If that sounds familiar the words were recently uttered by a Synod member who warned that the Church of England urgently needs to ordain its first women bishops because it has effectively run out of male clerics who are up to the task. See earlier entry here.

One commentator responded to the Mail article with "Perhaps the church is "running out of men" because it has pursued a secular, sexist agenda designed to advance women irrespective of any other consideration? Precisely. On his Ugely Vicar blog, the Rev John Richardson has been pointing out "The Church of England has only consecrated one Conservative Evangelical bishop of 'complementarian' views since 1997. Since he retired in October 2012, it has been without ANY of that persuasion for 506 days and counting" (here).

Akin to a WATCH pressure group meeting, members were informed that despite Archbishop Justin "managing the situation quite brilliantly" WATCH remains concerned about the continuing role of flying bishops and while the first two guiding principles in the 'Draft House of Bishops Declaration on the Ministry of Bishops and Priests' (here - see Annex A) were acceptable, "WATCH has concerns about the other three statements". As the Speaker's Chaplain put it, "As we go forward, the Church must stop leaving women to feel second best" suggesting that once women bishops are approved their campaign will continue until they have a Church acceptable to WATCH.

The debate offered a marvelous opportunity for mutual back-slapping interwoven with comments solicited from women priests on motherhood, housekeeping and social work:
"It goes without saying that women are not the same as men. They often have more responsibility for families, looking after the home at the same time as carrying out a job. Many female vicars are also mothers or grandmothers, and I have seen the benefits that those other duties have had on their ministry. One female vicar in my constituency said: “In Kingshurst, people call at the vicarage if they need help. I listen to a woman who works in a factory and needs help with improving her reading. I have been doing this for about three years.” Some of the women in my constituency lack female role models within their own family—perhaps they are estranged from the grandparental generation. A female priest can provide real practical help, advice and support to young women making their first steps in motherhood without a family network around them."

Previously accused of playing the buffoon, the Second Church Estates Commissioner produced some interesting figures: "Today, some 23%, or nearly a quarter, of stipendiary ministers—full-time paid clergy—are women. Just over half, or 53%, of self-supporting ministers are women. At present, some 1,245 people in England are training to become Anglican priests and of those, 594, or 48%, are women." ... "Women priests are now involved in every part and aspect of the Church’s life, from Lambeth palace where two of the Archbishop of Canterbury’s close team are women priests, to parish priests up and down the country. As time goes on, I think everyone expects that the proportion of women as cathedral deans and archdeacons will grow." 

Sir Tony made "no pretence of seeking to be a theologian" when he quoted from the New Testament to illustrate Christ's close relationship with women which is probably why he, along with the rest of the speakers, completely overlooks the fact that Christ appointed only male Apostles, a position maintained by the Catholic and Orthodox Churches contrary to Mr Bradshaw's assertion that  "At some time, though not in my lifetime, I confidently expect the Roman Catholic Church to embrace the ministry of women, in exactly the same way as the Church of England has done." 

To mark and celebrate the 20th anniversary of women as clergy, there will be a gathering of ordained women clergy and others at Westminster Abbey on Saturday 3 May, followed by a procession to St Paul’s Cathedral where there will be a service of celebration for 20 years of women’s ordained ministry. 

This is equality? What a joke!

Postscript
The theme of this post is echoed by Cranmer (here) and VirtueOnline (here) but what really hits home for me is a comment by George Conger (here) in Anglican Unscripted [advance to position 40] when he refers to clerics such as Bishop Gene Robinson as someone who believes that the Holy Spirit has informed him of God's new way of acting in this world, not tied to scripture and tradition, but only to what he believes God is telling him to do. That sounds familiar!

"You stupid woman!"

Madame Edith with her two-timing husband René Artois in the Café René

A catchphrase which made me cringe in the old BBC TV sitcom 'Allo 'Allo! was employed whenever Madame Edith caught her husband in the arms of one the cafe's serving girls. His innocent wife was continually duped into believing that she had been judgmental after receiving the usual response from her husband René: "You stupid woman!" - example here.

Baroness Morgan of Ely has aroused similar feelings of having been duped in the latest round of a campaign to marginalise  fellow Anglicans if they remain faithful to the teaching and tradition of the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church. 'Stupid' women and men who were duped into believing what they were promised in 1996 when women were first admitted to the presbyterate that if in conscience they could not accept the priestly ministry of women they continued to be respected members of the church. In retrospect how condescending that is to cradle Anglicans who have supported the church faithfully and financially for decades, keeping bishops and presbyters in the style to which they have become accustomed only to find themselves unloved and unwanted in their own church for the sake of appeasing feminist ambitions.

The Baroness has criticised the Church in Wales' policy of ordaining priests who disagree with women in the priesthood and called for churchgoers who support female leadership to be provided with an “alternative priest” at communion services - see here. Although speaking 'personally', her intervention in a politically motivated campaign to sideline anyone who does not back the liberal policies that are destroying Anglicanism, aligns her with the bishops who are supposed to care for all but signally fail to do so other than on their own terms.

This strategy illustrates the duplicity in the alleged discrimination against women. What they complain of to advance their own cause is readily used to discriminate against anyone who does not toe the revisionist line. Anyone who disagrees becomes ever more marginalised helping to swell the numbers of  the 'majority'. This is no more apparent than in the unanimity of the Bench of Bishops of the Church in Wales, only one of whom would be on the Bench had they not signed up to Dr Morgan's policies regarding the ordination of women to the priesthood and now to the episcopate.

In the Church of England earlier this year the Archbishop of York was petitioned to ensure that the next Bishop of Blackburn would be prepared to ordain women as priests despite legislation which stipulates that "there will be no discrimination against candidates either for ordination or for appointment to senior office in the Church of England on the grounds of their views about the ordination of women to the priesthood". 

From the Church in Wales September 2012 Consultation Paper on The Ordination of Women to the Episcopate (Appendix One): Fundamental to any new process, the bishops wish to honour the statement made by the Governing Body in connection with the Ordination of women to the presbyterate in 1996 that the conscience of those who cannot accept the ordination of women as priests – and, by extension, bishops – should continue to be respected in the Church in Wales.

Baroness Morgan is not a stupid woman. The daughter of a Church in Wales priest, married to a NSM, she is a rounded politician who should be very familiar with church politics yet ignoring official pledges she says: “I am at a loss to understand why the Church in Wales is still ordaining priests who fundamentally disagree with the stated position of the church 16 years after the principle of women priests has been accepted." Coming at a delicate time in church life when soundings are being taken by the Bench of Bishops on a code of practice this is a very worrying development for worshippers who already feel threatened with promises being so easily dismissed.

If the Baroness is really troubled about receiving Holy Communion from a priest who, in common with the majority of priests in the Apostolic Church, believes that women should not be admitted to the priesthood she should have no trouble in finding a like minded priest in today's Anglican Church. Or she could try going without which is the fate of the 'respected' few when there is no alternative. But that is not the real issue. It is a device to turn on its head genuine conscientious views which from a secular standpoint may appear absurd but to those people so is the Resurrection.

Readers of Baroness Morgan's comments who do not share her views will have been encouraged by the response of the Bishop of Swansea & Brecon, the Rt Rev John Davies:
“There has been no separate provision for those who have difficulty in accepting the ministry of women priests since 2008 when the then Provincial Assistant Bishop retired. Despite this, the Church in Wales recognises that there are those faithful worshippers who, in good conscience, hold views of scripture and the tradition of the Church which makes it difficult or impossible for them to accept the role, of ordained women."

It will be interesting to see how this is embodied in the Code of Practice which accompanies the women bishops measure if the Church in Wales is to stem the haemorrhaging of members. Another Church in Wales report referred to here shows that the number of Christenings across the country has approximately halved in the past 25 years. The ordination of women was supposed to be the saving of the church but not so. With attendances continuing to decline will there be anyone left to minister to in the next generation unless urgent action is taken to redress the wrongs being perpetrated in the Church in Wales?

Source: Church in Wales Membership and Finances 2012

Ladies first

"Bishops' hat-trick"                                                                                   Photo: Church in Wales

“He who controls the past controls the future. He who controls the present controls the past.” ― George Orwell, 1984.

For older Anglicans the year '1984' is most likely to invoke memories of George Orwell's novel 'Nineteen eighty-four' but for 50% of the Bench of Bishops of the Church in Wales it is the year that they were ordained by the late Derrick Childs, former Archbishop of Wales and Bishop of Monmouth, in his Cathedral - story here. Who could have imagined that all three would become bishops occupying half the Bench a generation later. Much has changed in the church since Derrick Childs was Archbishop.

In 1984 two were ordained deacon, the third, Gregory Cameron, was ordained priest. Since then he has been out in the world serving the wider Anglican Communion - see here - but not the rest of the Bench which is made up of local boys, safe pairs of hands becoming Barry's apparatchiks putting the ordination of women first before any ability (see here) to spread the Gospel or adding to the church. Inward investment has been limited at the highest levels to Barry's blunders here and here although he has achieved a remarkable success (in his terms) with a convert who has succeeded in robbing faithful Anglicans of the promise of an honoured place in the church secured by statute. 

Great Britain has not become the 1984 'Oceanian province of Airstrip One' but 'perpetual war' has broken out within the church and between church and society. This was summed up by the current Archbishop of Wales Dr Barry Morgan in 2007 when he said the new phenomenon of "atheistic fundamentalism" in British society was dangerous because it refused to allow any contrary viewpoint and affected public perception of religion. He went on to say: "All of this is what I would call the new "fundamentalism" of our age and any kind of fundamentalism, be it Biblical, atheistic or Islamic, is dangerous, because it allows no room for disagreement, for doubt, for debate, for discussion. It leads to the language of expulsion and exclusivity, of extremism and polarisation, and the claim that because God is on our side, He is not on yours."

The Church in Wales today no longer allows any contrary viewpoint, only expulsion and exclusivity. This was demonstrated by the Governing Body in its decision to make no statutory provision for anyone with a contrary viewpoint as it rubber stamped Dr Morgan's view of his church. The Archbishop should choose his words more carefully if he is to avoid charges of double standards.

“Big Brother is Watching You.”                      Photo: Anthony Devlin/PA Wire

“Doublethink means the power of holding two contradictory beliefs in one's mind simultaneously, and accepting both of them.” ― George Orwell, 1984

Deception in the church

Ali Bari and his Band

In a previous blog entry I referred to the recent suggestion made by a woman vicar in the Church in Wales that those opposed to the ordination of women should no longer be accepted for ordination. More information has come to light including a copy of the Credo Cymru (Forward in Faith) 2011 Autumn Newsletter from which I quote:

“We were also made aware that Prospective GB candidates were now being asked to state their position on some major topics that might be coming up for debate. Within the last GB debate some participants were arguing that the church should no longer be ordaining men who cannot fully embrace the priestly ministry of women. It may be worth noting that this part of the debate did not get reported in Highlights and the viewpoint was strongly challenged by some of the speakers.” [My emphasis - Ed]

Selective reporting suggests further evidence of duplicity by the Church in Wales ruling elite, a view strengthened by other reports of an insidious campaign to marginalise those who refuse to abandon the traditional faith by favouring those who have fallen under the spell of the liberal establishment. 

In an earlier development, Fr Michael Gollop in his LNYD blog had expanded the theme tracing it back to a 2009 blog entry which referred to a report of the Standing Committee Working Group on Representation of Women in the Church in Wales. Among the Report’s gender politics was this quote: 'The authors also (section 6.5 on page 18) make the following observation: “The Working Group found it difficult to understand why the ordination of those opposed to the ordination of women continues in a Church committed to the ordination of women.”' Fr Gollop went on to expose the deception used by the Church in Wales in their failure to honour promises made to those who did not accept the ordination of women as explained in his link.

The following day the Rev John P Richardson wrote in his ‘The Ugley Vicar’ Blog exposing similar duplicity in the Church of England. He wrote that he "was responding to the claims by a leading member of the Group for Rescinding the Act of Synod [GRAS - Ed] that ‘no promises have been broken’ regarding the ordination of women."

Fr Gollop would not have been the only witness to promises made by the Church in Wales any more than people in the Church of England could have forgotten the basis on which earlier decisions were made. There may be no written contract but an oral contract with witnesses has equal force so why claim that promises have not been broken? But this is not a matter of contractual obligation, it is simply a matter of trust between Christians which has descended into a game of denial and deceit in order to marginalise anyone whose only wish is to keep their traditional faith in the absence of an acceptable alternative. Now the lies have been nailed in Wales and in England where, as The Ugley Vicar puts it, “the proposed legislation [for the ordination of women bishops] will introduce two classes of Anglican — the central and the legally marginalized.” Following the experience of those in the Church in Wales that will mean marginalization followed by the easing out of loyal members of the Church of England. This must not be allowed happen.

While the liberal majority talks of equality they see no contradiction in denying a significant minority of fellow Christians the opportunity to worship according to conscience, something fundamental to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This feminist inspired form of New Anglicanism makes much capital about women being ‘called by God’ yet they can dismiss God’s call in favour of “gender equality” when it suits them. Perhaps too much inter-faith dialogue has encouraged a culture of Taqiyya in the church but which ever way one looks at it, in Wales Ali Bari and his band are out to rob traditionalists of their heritage. The same deception is being used by GRAS in England. The feminist cause is robbing us of our right to the promised honoured place in the Anglican Church. That is stealing, contrary to God's law. 

Women, Discrimination and The Church

I am indebted to an alert follower for this link to a broadcast on Christmas Day describing how one women battled against discrimination. A remarkable woman; God bless her.

"Priscilla, Queen of iPM listeners. Doctor, lawyer and theologian, Priscilla Noble-Mathews talks about her life, death and the hereafter. A homesick wartime evacuee, she's faced down sexism and ageism to work her way from the Bar, through the civil service to medicine. In what many would regard as her retirement, Priscilla has found new challenges working with a helicopter rescue team, risking her own life for others."

Humble pie

On 17th November the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, will be in Rome for the 50th anniversary of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity. Humble pie should be on the menu. As this healthy recipe indicates, it is real family food, just made without meat.

The ingredients of the Christian faith continue to cause meaty problems as they have done since the first schism. For Anglicans the process continues following the introduction of the ordination of women and problems over gay rights. Most Christians worship God with little or no thought of what separates them from other worshippers believing 'right' to be on their side, usually determined by the 'religion' of their birth. I see little problem with that, as long as they follow Christ's example and commandment to love one another, according to others the same privilege of conscience. In the Church of England supporters of the ordination of women have sought to deny others that right with a 'take it or leave it' attitude over women bishops, dismissing arguments that the innovation is contrary to scripture, tradition and the will of the universal church.

Detailed Ordinariate plans have yet to be published but if there is no change from their position that Rome is always right and others have to admit the error of their ways to be received, they will not have learnt the lessons of history that, unlike Christ, the church can and has made errors in the past. Christ is the true light, pure light made of many colours. To enable non-believers to see the pure light of Christ our varied colours have to be united because separated we are not understood. Fifty years of talking is long enough. It eclipses the true Light who, before His betrayal, prayed that we all may be one.

A healthy serving of humble pie must be the order of the day to avoid the faithful who fall between two stools being forgotten as they follow Christ's example as conscience dictates.

Let These People Go

From The Guardian looking forward to the forthcoming Synod debate on women bishops and the Archbishops’ desperate last hope amendment to maintain some integrity for the church:

“Sally Barnes, from Women and the Church [WATCH], said: "If you institutionalise this kind of discrimination, it creates more problems. The issues of division will not be healing. If this goes down, Christian women who want women bishops have said, 'We're waiting for it to happen, we're so sick of the opposition. We will just leave.'"

Well go and good riddance. The people in WATCH have already been given too much rope. They are wrecking the Anglican Church with their duplicity claiming the guidance of the Holy Spirit when it suits them and the work of the devil when things do not go according to their selfish plan. They claim discrimination where none exists. They are blatant feminists caring not one jot for the faith of true believers in the one Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church.

For those who have been converted to acceptance of the ordination of women to the priesthood, life is so much easier. They have bitten the apple but why make life so difficult for the rest of us who remained true to the tradition of our church? Saturday’s Observer Magazine (04.07.10) carries an article “Is the Church Still Sexist?” which says it all. Still sexist? Joanna Jepson pictured below is quoted as saying “Whether I am called to be a bishop or not, the impact is personal, for all of us, because this corporate injustice is being challenged.” [My italics]

“I know I can do the job that is best suited to who I am” was the quote from a young curate while Lucy Winkett, who to her credit has not hidden her feminist goals, complains of what “in any other area of public life would be called discrimination.” She dismisses “the number of people who really can’t accept this [the ordination of women] [as] extremely small.” Rather like the early church? Forward in Faith and Reform are brushed aside as a small proportion of the ‘regular worshipping community of 1.7million (who attend at least once a month), the majority of whom – 65% - is female.”

This huge majority, a small minority in the Christian church as a whole, may be regular (I would say occasional) but it distorts the fact that the more frequent faithful few worshippers are more likely to have a deeper faith which is being pushed aside by forces content to see them fall by the wayside. How can this be? WATCH has nothing to do with faith. It is an ultra-feminist entrist organisation dressed in clerical clothing. I have no objection to feminism or to feminists but I do object to the deceit and duplicity WATCH use when they falsely claim discrimination to achieve their aim which is parity in the church as though it were a business corporation. They have already formed a woman bishop’s queue as they worm their way through the legal complexities and vote fixing in Synod as though they were engaged in some sort of corporate power struggle.

These women say they “will just leave” if they don’t get their own way. So what does this say about their faith and loyalty to the Anglican church if they can just up sticks and leave in a fit of pique while many devout Anglicans are so desperate to stay in their cradle church they are grateful for almost any fudge that can be put together? For far too long these WATCH feminists have been telling us to leave if we don’t like what they are about. Enough is enough. The church should embrace feminists but not destructive feminism before faith. It’s time to let them go and set up their own church, not destroy ours.

Postscript

With acknowledgments to Fr Ed's St Barnabas Blog this link is recommended viewing. I couldn't agree more.