Pollution

Archbishop of Wales, Andrew John addressing Governing Body   Source: CinW

The Church in Wales reports that the topic chosen for the Archbishop's presidential address was pollution:

"Rivers, he said, were dying because of pollution." 

Pollution is a subject on which the archbishop must have felt well qualified to speak having been an enthusiastic polluter of the faith in the Church in Wales although he did attract some criticism.

Likewise from the pews which are swiftly emptying. 

Sympathy and understanding of personal issues which contradict scripture have been turned into celebration and promotion relegating the Church in Wales to little more than another secular institution promoting secular ideals.

It is no surprise that Anglicanism in Wales is doomed. 

From Divinity to Deviancy

Mary Stallard the new bishop of Llandaff follows Delyth Liddell, Methodist University Chaplain

and LGBTQI+ Gathering church leader at the Pride Cymru parade.    Source: Twitter

Celebrating diversity at Pride Cymru, the new bishop of Llandaff lost no time in identifying with her LGBTQ+ promoting sister bishops, the former bishop of Llandaff, June Osborne, the retiring bishop of St Davids, Joanna Penberthy, and the bishop of Monmouth, Cherry Vann, patron of Open Table. 

Diversity has become a euphemism for deviancy.

As the time approaches for appointing the next bishop of St Davids the Church in Wales needs to rethink its priorities.

From St Davids Diocese: 

"An Extraordinary Diocesan Conference is to be held on Saturday July 22nd., following the announcement that Bishop Joanna Penberthy is to retire on health grounds. The half-day conference will be chaired by the Archbishop of Wales, Andrew John, and will take place at Newcastle Emlyn Rugby Club when conference representatives will have the opportunity to discuss the future of the diocese and what they would like from their new bishop when he/she is elected in October."

Much has changed in the sixty + years since Church in Wales bishops held Oxford Firsts in Theology.

A return from deviancy to divinity is essential to restore any credibility to the Church in Wales if it wants to avoid being characterised as the queer church. 

Announcing the retirement of the bishop of St Davids, the Archbishop of Wales said "I want to thank Bishop Joanna for her ministry in the diocese and province. She has contributed significantly to areas of church life in particular on environmental matters and with our Social Responsibility network." Quite! 

Environmental matters and social responsibility are important but faith and worship still matter.

The Church needs bishops who win souls in a spirit of true equality and diversity.

BBC Sounds recently broadcast on the All Things Considered series  a programme titled 'Gender and Identity'. University chaplain Delyth Liddell was joined by bishop Mary Stallard and Sarah Jones, a transgender Anglican priest and vicar of St. John's in central Cardiff.

From the programme notes:
"... Pride is not just a celebration, it's also about protest, designed to get people thinking about acceptance, equality and deeper matters about identity. Today, we turn our attention to that very matter, considering gender. What does it mean on its most fundamental level? What did God intend? How does it make us who we are to ourselves and each other? And what of the interplay between biology, psychology and faith? Big topics and ones which can stir confusion, concern, and generate challenging questions."

Personally I have never encountered non-acceptance or unequal treatment in race, colour or sexuality in decades of church life. Quite the reverse, yet comments are often received from protestors. But that is all they do, protest and abuse others. There is no supporting evidence. No engagement or acknowledgement of other commentators' desire to protect the sacrament of holy matrimony. Difference of opinion is simply dismissed as phobia to silence any opposition.  

After 2,000 years of scholarship and witness Anglicans are expected to believe that interpreting scripture to please oneself is the way to salvation. I think not.

This is the result: "I believe in a non-binary God whose pronouns are plural."

Next stop polyamory!

Postscripts 

[29.06.2023]

From the US:

The Queering of the Episcopal Church by David W. Virtue DD

Why is America tolerating indecent exposure at Pride events? by Family Policy Institute of Washington

[30.06.2023]

From C4M: PRIDE: THE ANTI-MARRIAGE PLATFORM

[11.07.2023]

Lesbian Methodist Minister and chaplain at Cardiff University, Delyth Liddell, says that "visible gay role models are key to changing attitudes about the LGBT+ community in churches".
On 'All Things Considered' the bishop of St Asaph, Gregory Cameron, is to share his thoughts with the chaplain on his vision for an "inclusive Church".

That is selective inclusion of course because the bishops have decided that there is no place in the Church in Wales for Anglicans who keep the faith.

Living in sin and faith

Church of England General Synod: Bishop of London's Living in Love and Faith Presentation February 2023                              Source:The Church of England

The General Synod of the Church of England has backed plans put forward by its bishops to bless gay couples. 

The motion was brought by the Bishop of London, Dame Sarah Mullally, following six years of work on questions of 'identity, sexuality, relationships and marriage' known by its fully loaded title Living In Love And Faith.

For opponents of the motion it could have been more accurately described as living in sin and faith.

There was no justification of the bishops proposals based on scripture, tradition or reason. Only alleged experiences of victimhood, one of the six ways homosexual activists manipulate public opinion.

If true, there has been a remarkable turnaround, particularly in Synod membership.  

The Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, said priests would have the option to bless gay couples, but could choose not to. He told the Synod, "No-one has to offer these services and no one will be disadvantaged if they don't." 

This is very reminiscent of the step by step approach that led to the ordination of women. Revisionists do not give up. They bind their time, wearing down the opposition until they reach their goal. When the dust has settled the Church of England will surely follow the example of the Church in Wales and push for same sex marriage in Church.

As for Cottrell's assurances, Synod has only to look to the experience of Anglicans in the Church in Wales where similar assurances amounted to nothing. There has been no outcry about the shoddy treatment of traditionalists or protests of discrimination against those forced to leave.

Women and the Church (WATCH) will continue their war of attrition with their constant allegations of sexism and discrimination until they completely wreck the Church that nurtured them.

The New Unchurched

The answer to that question tweeted by the Church of England is, for increasing numbers, None.

As church attendance figures decline, the definition 'not belonging to or connected with a church' has come to embrace increasing numbers of former attendees who have been side-lined by revisionists or who feel unable in all conscience to remain in an organisation that they no longer recognise as the Church they joined. 

Some will have conscientious doubts over the ordination of women or unbiblical episcopal oversight while others have been frustrated by the direction in which their Church has been taken to further liberal causes, redefining scripture as revisionists deem necessary to support their case.  

The unchurched has been defined to mean "an adult (18 or older) who has not attended a Christian church service within the past six months" excluding special services such as Easter, Christmas, weddings or funerals. The Barna Group reported that there were 75 million "unchurched people" in the United States as of 2004.

In the US the Episcopal Church (TEC) is facing a major challenge. Virtue Online reports that TEC faces inevitable collapse with 'collaboration plans afoot in many dioceses'. The report continues: "Financial challenges and membership decline are a common concern across TEC. The language is about 'collaboration'. When things get worse, it is called 'juncturing'. When the diocese eventually dies, it is called merging."

The Church of England is in a flap leading Giles Fraser to write in UnHerd in response to Justin Welby's claim in July 2012 that "We don’t preach morality, we plant churches. We don’t preach therapeutic care, we plant churches": 

"The Church is abandoning its flock. The CofE's great leap forward will cull clergy and abandon parishioners.

"The latest Great Leap Forward for the CofE looks like this. Get rid of all those crumbling churches. Get rid of the clergy. Do away with all that expensive theological education. These are all 'limiting factors'. Instead, focus relentlessly on young people. Growth, Young People, Forwards. Purge the church of all those clapped-out clergy pottering about in their parishes. Forget the Eucharist, or at least, put those who administer it on some sort of zero hours contract. Sell their vicarages. This is what our new shepherds want in their prize sheep: to be young, dumb, and full of evangelistic… zeal."

The Church in Wales had its great leap forward in 2012 following a Review by the former Bishop of Oxford,  Lord Harries of Pentregarth, and others. Little time was lost in the establishment of Ministry Areas (Recommendation VI) but consideration of whether the Church in Wales is best served by six dioceses with three administrative centres or whether it would be more effective to reduce to three dioceses, together with four area bishops is, as far as one can tell, in the long grass.

In a Province the size of some dioceses one has to wonder why the Church in Wales needs so many bishops. Monmouth managed without for months as is St Davids where it emerged that the current holder spent much of her time tweeting to advance her socialist agenda before being signed off on extended sick leave.

Meanwhile the new unchurched are worshipping at home.

Minorities

Credit: PoliticalCharge/DailyKos

In a move influenced by Black Lives Matter, Minorities should have a say on future Church of England bishops to improve diversity, reports Mail Online:

"All future Church of England bishops should be approved by a representative from black or minority groups, leaders have recommended. The reforms will give a black or ethnic minority churchgoer an effective veto over who lands the most senior posts. The move, which was influenced by the Black Lives Matter movement, follows a year of Anglican agonising over race...The authors said the BLM movement ‘provides a particular context to the conclusion of our work and brings into sharp focus the issues of diversity highlighted throughout our report’." 

According to the New York Post, Marxist BLM leader and co-founder reportedly "raked in big bucks from jail reform initiative". 

NYP also tweeted that the BLM founder has 'built up a million-dollar property empire with at least four homes'. Something else for the Church of England's Marxist bishops to ponder.

Another minority, the Church in Wales, reports that "the Church is on track to be more inclusive, better organised and equipped and more focused on outreach", according to their Archbishop who was making his final Presidential Address to GB members before he retires in May.

The Archbishop's hope was that the Church "might grow in an ever-deepening, radically inclusive love for each other and for those not yet a part of us".

 'Inclusive' has come to mean openly gay while many have been set apart by the policies of the Bench of Bishops. 

Charity begins at home but there is no love in the Church in Wales for anyone who fails to comply with their woke agenda. 

Source: Church in Wales

One of the ironies of the GB meeting held online earlier this week was the enthusiastic support for a private members motion calling for 2022 to be a year of Biblical literacy.

Voting was: For 92, Against 1 with 3 abstentions.

Archbishop Davies supported the motion 'with all his heart' but the problem for the Bench is not literacy (the ability to read and write) but interpretation.

The Rev Dr Kevin Ellis who seconded the motion posed the question: How can we tell the story if we don't know it? Quite! The more so if the story is re-interpreted for reasons of political expediency.

The Standing Committee reported that:  "A  Bill to authorise experimental use of proposed revisions to the Book of Common Prayer (a service of blessing following a civil partnership or marriage between two people of the same sex) has been submitted to the Standing Committee by the Bench of Bishops", undeterred by earlier criticism that it is not legitimate to set aside the Church’s traditional understanding of what the Bible has to say about same-sex relationships to satisfy a handful of homosexuals and lesbians who may or may not choose to avail themselves of the opportunity of having their union blessed. Explanatory memorandum here.

The divorced and re-married Bishop of Bangor who will be the senior bishop in the Church in Wales following the archbishop's retirement and first inline for election to Archbishop if Buggins' turn applies again. He has also been told that his plea for gay marriage was not convincing.

Another well received Report, Faithful Stewards in a Changing Church (Understanding Ordained Ministry in the Light of the 2020 vision) concludes as follows:

Our Pilgrimage

            If the metaphor of an expedition has any merit, then ours is not simply a long trek in

a wilderness (however much it may seem that way at times). It is a pilgrimage from an upper

room in Jerusalem to the multicultural Wales of today, in which we follow in the footsteps of

Jesus Christ, in whose life we minister. Like any long pilgrimage, our own has experienced

many highs and lows, times when we have marched on with energy and determination and

times when we have become lost among the temptations and concerns of our world. But in

every stage, those called to ordained ministry have rediscovered their priestly vocation to

offer themselves in holy service to all within their care. As we embark on the next phase of

our pilgrimage within the fast-changing social landscape of 21st-century Wales, it is our prayer

that we may come to embrace a renewed vision of our shared ministry to God’s people and

find our deepest joy in Christ Jesus “in whose service lies perfect freedom”.

'Multicultural Wales of today' has come a long way from the upper room in Jerusalem. 

The Bench of Bishops is hell-bent on interpreting the Bible to reflect secular changes but as the bishop of Monmouth aptly reminded GB, only a tiny minority of the population of Wales, less than 1%, regularly attends Church in Wales services. 

Another minority (mis)leading a minority.

Church in Wales bishops ditch faith for secularism

      Source: WalesOnline (Image: Caroline McCredie/Getty Images)

The Christmas present to the Church in Wales from their bishops:

A BILL TO AUTHORISE EXPERIMENTAL USE OF PROPOSED REVISIONS OF THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER (service of Blessing following a Civil Partnership or Marriage between two people of the same sex)

WHEREAS the Order of Clergy and Order of Laity of the Governing Body of the Church in Wales indicated their view by informal poll on 12 September 2018 ‘that it is pastorally unsustainable for the Church to make no formal provision for those in same-gender relationships’.

AND WHEREAS the Bench of Bishops believes that it is desirable that, before a bill for the revision of a part of the Book of Common Prayer is submitted by the Bishops for the consideration of the Governing Body, a proposed form of service be used experimentally in the churches of the Church in Wales for a limited period.

BE IT HEREBY ENACTED that:

1. A Diocesan Bishop shall have power to authorise for experimental use in the churches within their diocese the form set out in the Appendix for a service of Blessing following a Civil Partnership or Marriage between two people of the same sex for a period of five years from 1 October 2021, subject to the conditions set out below.

2. No Cleric shall be obliged to officiate at such a service.

3. The Parochial Fees for a ‘Marriage Blessing (following a Civil Marriage)’ may be charged by the officiating minister and Parochial Church Council for such a service.

Backers:

+John Cambrensis
+Andrew Bangor
+Gregory Llanelwy
+Joanna Tyddewi
+June Landav
+Cherry Monmouth

From Church Times:

In an explanatory memorandum, the Bishops acknowledge that scripture and Christian tradition have previously understood unions of one man and one woman as the only context for sexual relationships.

“However, with new social, scientific and psychological understandings of sexuality in the last one and a half centuries, we believe that same-sex relationships can be understood in a radically different way, and that the teaching of Scripture should therefore be re-interrogated,” the Bishops write.

Postscript [02.01.2021]

From Coalition for Marriage (C4M):

Legalising gay marriage has caused a surge in divorce rates among lesbians, says same-sex fertility chief. - Mail Online

Meanwhile in Wales, Kirsty Williams’s Curriculum and Assessment (Wales) Bill was debated last month. The current legal requirement for pupils to “learn the nature of marriage and its importance for family life and the bringing up of children” has been ditched. The parental right of withdrawal is also thrown out.

More from C4M here.

C of E priesthood today

This clip from Sunday's Songs of Praise which hosted the Young Chorister of the Year 2020 competition illustrates the changing face of priesthood in the church of England.

The Rev Kate Bottley of Gogglebox star fame wore a novel creation resembling an evening dress with clerical collar to signify her calling. 

To be fair it was a welcome change from the hot pants outfit worn when caught cavorting behind Jason Mohammad in the Good Morning Sunday alarm call.

The Rev Sally Hitchiner used to grab the headlines. Dubbed 'the Vicar who wears Prada' she caused an 'unholy row among the faithful' when she posed in tight silver leather trousers worth over £1000.

Her response was "I dress in a way that reflects my personality."

'More Dior than Dibley' cracked MailOnline.

Sally Hitchiner founded Diverse Church with the aim of 'planting grass roots communities of LGBT+ Christians, enabling the wider Church to discover the gift of LGBT+ Christians in their mist'.

So successful has the LGBT+ movement become that secular values have become mainstream with the Church of England set on course to undermine the institution of Christian marriage by allowing same sex unions.

Following her appearances on Gogglebox the Rev Kate Bottley remarked that she had been compared with the Vicar of Dibley 

She follows up the comparison with some affirming tweets from other women priests celebrating their  success.

Mailonline remarked: "Rejoice! It's the real-life Vicars of Dibley: Knickers drying on the radiator, guinea pigs in the congregation and candles setting robes alight... as the Reverend Geraldine returns on Zoom, JENNY JOHNSTON meets some actual female clergy".

Dawn French's return as The Vicar Of Dibley has not been universally welcomed. The BBC was 'slammed' for not staying impartial following a scene in which French takes the knee in support of Black Lives Matter.

The comedy series originator Richard Curtis said it had a serious side. It was "grounded in reality".

He claimed he attended the wedding of two friends which was presided over by a female administrator and thought ‘this is so right’. In 1992, just as Richard was devising the series, the Church of England was allowing the ordination of women for the first time. He was also living in a Dibley-like village at the time and knew that it would be the perfect setting.

No theology. No scripture. No tradition. Just perfect!

Path to extinction

Source: Church Growth Modelling 8 July 2015

"The Bishop of Monmouth-elect, the Ven. Cherry Vann, said that it would be a 'sad day if all the focus on growth was just about numbers', but that 'we can’t ignore the fact that church congregations, generally speaking, are either stable or declining'." - Twitter @ChurchTimes

Cherry Van is right on course to discover far more about decline when she takes her notion of stability to Wales.

The Church in Wales is heading for extinction in around 20 years time along with the Episcopal Church of Scotland and the US Episcopal Church. Fortunately for her and her liberal colleagues she will have retired before the collapse leaving others to sort out the mess the 'progressives' have created.

Decline continues as traditional roles are overturned. Over the last couple of decades, women have been leaving mainstream Christian churches at about twice the rate of men while more women than men are entering clergy training in the Church of England.

Promised benefits of the ordination of women have not just failed to materialise, they have been reversed.

In 1993 when Michael Alison (Second Church Estates Commissioner, representing the Church Commissioners) moved, That the Priests (Ordination of Women) Measure, passed by the General Synod of the Church of England, be presented to Her Majesty for her Royal Assent, he said:

"For those millions of people, the Church of England, with its formal state link, is a kind of valuable stalking horse by which they can bring pressure to bear on the powers that be to promote or to maintain Christian standards in education, complex moral and ethical issues, and so on."

Instead we have bishops who advocate same-sex marriage in Church and appear oblivious to the dangers of confusing children by spreading LGBT propaganda in primary schools in the guise of sex education.

In 2015 the Church Growth Modelling blog forecast that attendance figures for the Church in Wales, the Scottish Episcopal Church and the Episcopal Church of the USA (TEC), indicated extinction dates around 2040. The Church of England was "on the margins of extinction with some calibrations say yes, just; some say no, just."

The liberal leaning Canadian Episcopal Church must be added to the list.

Regular attendance figures from Canada show that the Anglican Church of Canada (ACC) is in serious trouble, "running out of members in little more than two decades if the church continues to decline at its current rate". Statistics for 2017 indicate that average Sunday attendance has dropped to 97,421. The rate of decline is increasing suggesting an extinction date also of 2040 based on 'five different methodologies'. Figures for baptism, confirmation, marriage and funerals show an even faster rate of decline.

There is a common factor. Churches that have adopted liberal programs are in decline while conservative Protestant churches which take a more literal view of the Bible continue to thrive.

On his retirement the Archbishop of Wales reflected that he had supported numerous secular causes, including gay marriage. He has also backed women clergy during his 'leadership'. Commenting on the consecration of the Church in Wales' first female bishop he said: "I think that was pretty important as a matter of justice, as a matter of equality and as a matter of doing what was right".

No theology; pure secularism.

On gay marriage, Dr Morgan had previously called for the church's view on same-sex marriage to change with popular opinion adding "That's quite something, I think, in a church that hasn't always been known for its liberalism."

The Anglican Church is now soaked in liberalism and heading for disaster. Liberals have what they want at the price of extinction.

In Wales, Membership and Finance figures for 2018 show "continued decline in most measures of participation in parish life." Regular Sunday attendance has sunk to 26,110 or 0.8% of the population. The political appointment of Ms Vann to the position of bishop of Monmouth has been welcomed by liberals who no longer see the traditional teaching of the Church as relevant.

In the Church of Ireland clergy have objected to the appointment of a conservative bishop because of his membership of the Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON). These clergy believe that GAFCON’s policies "are 'antithetical' to the principles a Church of Ireland bishop must commit to in the rite of consecration. These include 'fostering unity, care for the oppressed, and building up the people of God in all their spiritual and sexual diversity'" showing how far many Anglicans have strayed like lost sheep.

This from Church Times illustrates how absurd the liberal position has become in undermining traditional beliefs: The Dean of Waterford, the Very Revd Maria Jansson, told The Irish Times that "the Bishops’ attendance at GAFCON had undermined unity within the Church. 'How can Bishops Harold Miller and Ferran Glenfield reconcile the vows they made at their consecrations as bishops ‘to maintain and further the unity of the Church’ with their support of GAFCON, which stridently endeavours to undermine that very unity?', she asked."

More to the point, how can liberally progressive bishops reconcile their vows to maintaining the unity of the Church when they represent a small and shrinking percentage of the 87 million Anglicans worldwide?

The Church is in crisis. Only 2% of young adults identify as C of E. 

Interlopers have changed the Anglican Church to satisfy their own desires, driving forward an agenda to validate a lifestyle incompatible with the Gospel.

From Virtue Online: "Progressive Pansexualist 'Christians' have declared war on orthodox believers. Their goal is not mere acceptance, but to overthrow the moral order and destroy conservative churches who hold the line on faith and morals."

What we are left with is not Christianity but Churchianity and it is spreading.

Anglicans often described themselves as “Episcopally led and Synodically governed.” That is fine so long as bishops remain guardians of the faith but many are in the forefront of aggressive change, putting 'progressive' provinces at odds with mainstream Anglicanism.

Now Pope Francis is calling for a 'synodal' Church giving progressive Catholic bishops a similar platform to Anglican bishops for driving forward change with claims of being moved by the Holy Spirit.

Is there no end to this madness?

Marriage

Church wedding                                                                                          Source: Church of England

In 2017 Premier reported that Anglican church weddings had reach a record low: "Figures from the Office for National Statistics show they hosted 49,717 ceremonies in 2014, a reduction compared to 50,226 in 2013."

In April this year the Church Times reported that "for the first time ever, fewer than one quarter of all marriages in England and Wales were religious ceremonies. They accounted for 24 per cent of marriages in 2016, falling by nearly a half (48 per cent) from two decades ago. In the same period of time, the number of all marriages fell by 28 per cent. In 1966, a third of marriages were civil ceremonies. Since 1992, civil marriages have increasingly outnumbered religious marriages every year."

The Government plans to introduce a new system of registration for marriages, including church weddings, in England and Wales.

Premier reports that the new system could lead to criminal offences and £1,000 fines. Under changes which may be law before 2020, couples will no longer be given a marriage certificate at the end of a church wedding. Instead of being asked to sign a register and certificate, they will instead sign a "marriage schedule", the Faculty Office said. The couple then have to take this document to their local register office to record their marriage into a database and only then will they get a certificate, it added.

A London-based Anglican priest commented said it was "an astonishing change to the way marriages are recorded. Now, instead of marriages being registered then and there by the priest, the couple will get a temporary certificate which they then have to present to the register office within a week of the wedding. When they might want to be on honeymoon."

In addition the Government wants to give every married couple in England and Wales the chance to downgrade their marriage. As the Coalition for Marriage (CM4) points out, by allowing people to downgrade their marriage, the Government is creating new instability, a halfway house to family breakdown. Just because a tiny minority of people want the rights of marriage without the commitment.

The slide continues with another nail in the coffin for Christian marriage!

More marriages in Register Offices followed by Church blessings are likely to lead to more pressure to allow same sex blessings in church.

Civil partnerships were welcomed by many but it did not stop there as illustrated by CM4:

"It’s part of plans to introduce heterosexual civil partnerships, after the Supreme Court ruling last year. C4M predicted this ruling all along. It stems directly from introducing same-sex marriage for homosexual couples in 2014 when they already had access to civil partnerships. The court said this was discriminatory against heterosexuals, who only had access to marriage."

Once people start fiddling with an institution change by stealth takes over as illustrated by the decision to ordain women.

After women were made deacons they complained that they were discriminated against if they were not allowed to be priests. Once they were priests they complained of a stained glass ceiling. Before long virtually anything goes.

The Church of England has lost its way with All the fun of the fair in Cathedrals which are used to play mini golf and provide helter skelter rides at £2 a slide.

There are secularised archbishops charged with being 'not fit for office' by a vicar who says his disclosures about being sexually abused as a teenager were ignored by senior clerics while Justin Welby keeps digging a pit for himself over gay marriage.

One would have thought that the Church would provide some stability based on scripture but that is no longer what the Anglican Church is about. It is about satisfying personal desires regardless of biblical teaching.

In Wales Archbishop John Davies said after a Governing Body vote in September 2018: "The bishops are united in the belief that it is pastorally unsustainable and unjust for the church to continue to make no formal provision for those in committed same-sex relationships."

The Governing Body had agreed by 76 votes to 21 that the lack of formal provision was "pastorally unsustainable". Abdicating all responsibility the archbishop responded: "the vote was an important steer to the bishops in exercising pastoral care." So much for leadership.

Pastoral care used to be in line with scripture and tradition. Under the current regime it has become liberal social work in vestments.

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.

Depression! Time to get a grip

Archbishop Justin Welby,  "a risk-taker and reconciler by nature".- Gurardian/Photo: Facundo Arrizabalaga/EPA

From the Guardian, Thursday 21 March 2013 08.00 GMT:

"Justin Welby doesn't do fluffy spirituality – he's the tough leader the church needs

"The new archbishop of Canterbury will not be easily fazed by the burdens thrust upon him. Welby is a decisive man of action.

"Rowan Williams' parting wish, as he bid farewell to Lambeth Palace after a difficult decade, was that his successor might be blessed with "the constitution of an ox and the skin of a rhinoceros". Many are wondering how the new archbishop of Canterbury will cope under similar stress. Justin Welby, a risk-taker and reconciler by nature, is gifted with unusual mental toughness, shaped through personal suffering. His background at Eton, Cambridge and Kensington gives the impression of untroubled privilege, but must be set alongside a broken home, an alcoholic father, and the tragic death of his firstborn daughter aged just seven months."


Fast forward to the Telegraph, 11 OCTOBER 2017 • 9:45PM:

"Archbishop of Canterbury opens up about 'black dog' as he reveals he suffers from depressive episodes 

"Justin Welby has opened up about suffering with a "black dog" as he reveals for the first time that he has suffered with depressive episodes. The Archbishop of Canterbury revealed that he has only recognised that he experiences the bouts of feeling "hopeless", which have not been formally diagnosed, within the past year.

"Asked in an interview for GQ Magazine whether he had been depressed, he said: "I think if you had asked me a year ago I'd have said no, and ten years ago I'd have said absolutely not. "But what was that phrase Churchill used? 'Black dog'. There is an element of that. I think as I am getting older I am realising it does come from time to time."

In his customary, forthright manner the Rev Dr Peter Mullen says it as he sees it when writing in his  'All Things Considered' blog. He writes, "Welby admits he’s hopeless" before going on to illustrate how the teaching of Scripture concerning sexual relations turns darkness into light, something Dr Mullen assumes Archbishop Welby has not done:

"Difficult as this might be to believe, it seems that the Archbishop of Canterbury has not thought to look at the 3000 years old tradition of Judaeo-Christian ethical teaching to help him settle his mind on the matter of sexual relations."

Depression has been described as a "common mental disorder that causes people to experience depressed mood, loss of interest or pleasure, feelings of guilt or low self-worth, disturbed sleep or appetite, low energy, and poor concentration". Anyone who suffers from it deserves sympathy and understanding.

Less severe but also debilitating are periods of stress and anxiety, especially when brought on by others. So consider all those poor souls whose religion has been their only solace, taught from an early age to leave their problems at the altar to be borne by Him, "For my yoke is easy and my burden is light". How are they expected to cope when their church has left them?

One would think on that basis that many bishops, particularly in the Church in Wales, would be feeling depressed at the misery they have caused to others. There is no evidence of contrition as they sideline the many while elevating the vocal few who allege injustices despite a church presence which is out of all proportion to their numbers in society (2%). Perhaps the bishops today have problems with numeracy as well as biblical erudition.

Looking wider, according to Pew Center Research, "Five Centuries After Reformation, Catholic-Protestant Divide in Western Europe Has Faded". From their August 31, 2017 Report:

"As Protestants prepare to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, a new Pew Research Center survey finds that the prevailing view among Catholics and Protestants in Western Europe is that they are more similar religiously than they are different. And across a continent that once saw long and bloody religious wars, both Protestants and Catholics now overwhelmingly express willingness to accept each other as neighbors – and even as family members.

While some Catholics look down their noses at the Ordinariate and over zealous converts dismiss Anglicans who, for many legitimate reasons, have not followed them across the Tiber, there are also new Anglicans who see no problem in defining faith according to their own desires rather than as it has been received.

How ironic, then, that while the average (often lapsed) Catholic and Protestant has come closer together, the new 'liberal' Anglican church is tearing itself apart over the LGBTQI+ ascendancy when they account for just 2% of the population in the United Kingdom leaving many cradle Anglicans excluded because they remain faithful to biblical teaching.

Christianity in the UK is approaching crisis point as illustrated by the headline: An Oxford College has banned the Christian Union from its freshers’ fair on the grounds that it would be “alienating” for students of other religions, and constitute a “micro-aggression”:

"The organiser of Balliol’s fair argued Christianity’s historic use as 'an excuse for homophobia and certain forms of neo-colonialism' meant that students might feel 'unwelcome' in their new college if the Christian Union had a stall. Freddy Potts, vice-president of Balliol’s Junior Common Room (JCR) committee, said that if a representative from the Christian Union (CU) attended the fair, it could cause 'potential harm' to freshers".

While Christians face "worse persecution than at any time in history" according to a new Report, 'progressive' Anglicans are happy to reject other Anglicans who remain faithful to scripture and tradition resulting in an alarming drop in numbers regularly attending church services put at only 1.4 per cent of the entire British population.

If we don't get a grip, Christianity which has formed the basis of Western society will become something for academics to ponder over in secular institutions and madrasas.

According to a 'Christian Today' report, the supermarket chain Lidl has edited out the Christian cross from churches in its Greek food range because it 'does not wish to exclude any religious beliefs'.

I wonder if they are have read about the boy in Mosul who was buried alive because he "steadfastly refused" to throw away the small cross he was wearing around his neck when ordered to do so by "IS terrorists". Read The Last Christians: Priest Describes Horror, Courage of Christians Being Killed for Their Faith

Depressing, isn't it.

Church in Crisis

(The relevant section of this report is reproduced below)

 Interviewed for the Church Times about changes during his years of ministry, the retiring Archbishop of Wales Dr Barry Morgan said that the 'Welsh Church' is now a ‘more welcoming place’. Perhaps he was referring to the Uniting Church in Wales which he has been cultivating.

"In 2004, after the first year of his archiepiscopate, 41,000 adults attended an Anglican church service on an average Sunday in Wales. The most recent statistics, for 2015, show that figure has dropped to 29,000, a fall of nearly 30 per cent in 11 years."

Dr Morgan's welcome has not been extended to all. He has shunned many in his own church for not embracing his liberal views while welcoming feminists and other campaigners such as LGBT activists who have used the Church as a means of extending their influence.

Mirroring Women and the Church (WATCH) is a Welsh sister organisation, MAE Cymru "to promote gender equality in the Church in Wales". The report (left) of their first AGM on 5 November 2016 appears in the Forward in Faith journal New Directions.

With glasses of Prosecco raised they celebrated the election of a woman to be the 129th bishop of St Davids. Clearly they were in no mood to echo Dr Morgan's claim that the appointment had nothing to do with Canon Penberthy being a woman.

Mrs Briton had picked up New Directions first. I heard an anguished exclamation. "Good God, have you seen this?" She read aloud the last section which referred to a liturgical dance led by Archdeacon Peggy Jackson. Peggy 'the pilot' Jackson is Archdeacon of Llandaff. With little or no prospects of advancement in England, she was one of Dr Morgan's recruits to aid him in his obsession with the ordination of women. Unlike the first female Dean of Llandaff who lasted only a few weeks, Peggy the pilot has made it her business to pilot through legislation to ensure that there can be no equality in the Church in Wales other than on her terms. The following paragraph describes her 'act of worship, a style much favoured by her legislating companion:

"At the end of the afternoon, we held an act of worship - 'Saints and Sparklers'. We stood in a circle around an artificial bonfire of brightly coloured tissue paper, and with gingerbread-scented candles representing the saints we heard readings and prayers which referenced Sarah, Hagar, Rebecca, Rachel, Leah, Miriam, Jael, Deborah. Judith, Tamar, Mary Magdalene and Mary, the Mother of Jesus. Led by Archdeacon Peggy Jackson, we carefully executed a liturgical dance which made the shape of a crown - the crown of the Queen of Heaven. - Once the dance had moved outside, we lit sparklers and spoke aloud the names of the people who had inspired us on our journey. 'Shine as lights in the world, to the glory of God.' After the final blessing, we were free to make our way home, truly encouraged and inspired." - No men allowed.

This is Barry Morgan's 'welcoming' church, just another branch of non-conformity. The Sacraments of the Church becoming devoid of the inward and invisible grace bestowed by the outward and visible sign.

Supported by his bench sitters one of Dr Morgan's final acts was to write a Pastoral Letter 'to all the faithful' concerning admission to Holy Communion of all the baptised "by virtue of their Baptism alone". The pastoral letter may be read here. Some will have been convinced but many have not.

Writing in New Directions the former Archdeacon of Margam, the Venerable Martin Williams, has much to say about the issue. Some of the highlighted text: The Civil Law was all that mattered; Canon Law is swept away; These are existential concerns about our identity; Not once in the documents is "Eucharist" used; and, It is hard to imagine what the bishops have in mind. The Archdeacon concludes, "The Church in Wales is in a very deep crisis indeed."

Here is a response to the Pastoral Letter by a former legal adviser to the Governing Body of the Church in Wales, in a letter to the Church Times.

From the Rev'd Professor Thomas Glyn Watkin:
Sir, - The Church in Wales Book of Common Prayer, enacted by various canons, declares that confirmation is a rite, and its rubrics provide that confirmation is generally necessary to receive holy communion. The Church's constitution provides that alterations to rites and discipline may be made only by canon.

The Welsh Bishops wish to allow those who have been baptised to receive the sacrament without need of confirmation. They are attempting to do this by pastoral letter, without any authorisation by canon. The Archbishop has written in this paper (Letters, 25 November) that the change makes confirmation "a service of response and commitment to God's grace given at baptism and at the eucharist for those who want to make such a commitment".

Baptism, as both he and the Bishop of Swansea & Brecon (Letters, 6 January) state, is to be the full rite of Christian initiation. Confirmation is to become an optional extra. Is not this an alteration to the rite and to the existing discipline?

When the Church of England relaxed its rules on admission to holy communion, it did so by Measure and canon. The Welsh Bishops state that they have legal advice assuring them that the "step does not require any change in the present Canon Law or Constitution of the Church in Wales". A polite request to make public that legal advice met with an equally polite refusal. That the alteration is controversial is clear from recent correspondence in these columns (Letters, 14 October and 23/30 December).

The procedure for enacting canons exists precisely to ensure that potentially controversial changes are subjected to scrutiny, deliberation, and debate by all orders within the Church. Regardless of one's views regarding Christian initiation, respect is due to the inclusiveness of such decision-making.

The Bishop of Swansea & Brecon wrote of baptism as "birth into a family wherein all are welcome to be nourished by the sacramental family meal at the family table". The Bishops' actions make it plain that, once at the table, unless they are in episcopal orders, God's children are to be seen but not heard.

Seen but not heard is the preferred status of 'traditionalist' Anglicans. The news that the Rt Rev Philip North, "from the traditionalist Anglo-Catholic wing of the C of E, is being 'promoted' from his position as bishop of Burnley" has been met with shrieks of disapproval from WATCH.

Similarly the aim of MAE Cymru, part of a 'welcoming' organisation which purports to seek 'equality', has been to outlaw the very people who have sustained the Church over the centuries.

Accused of being “swayed by the liberal culture of our age” and ignoring Holy Scripture, Barry and his bench sitters have led the charge for change. Campaigns for so-called equality have bent what Jesus said and did to suit the prevailing secular mood. This has had devastating effects on the Anglican Church in Wales, in England and the United States.

Early in his archiepiscopate Dr Morgan delivered a lecture in memory of Canon Norman Autton. Dr Morgan claimed then that "In the New Testament the teaching of Jesus as a whole is about caring for the outcast as a test of righteousness and in his own ministry he dealt with those on the margins." He has repeated similar sentiments up until his retirement to justify advancing secular causes. In a word, all hell has broken loose.

In Westcott House Theological College recently, student priests organising Evensong talked about Jesus welcoming the outcast to justify an attempt to 'queer evening prayer': “Today we might follow in the footsteps of his daring, boldly and outrageously welcoming the Queer (both human and divine) in a way never before attempted.” A prayer referred to the “Fantabulosa fairy” and ended: “Praise ye the Duchess. The Duchess’s name be praised.” Psalm 19 was reworded to refer to “O Duchess, my butchness”.

WATCH is on record as wanting to change the Lords prayer to "Our Mother who art in heaven". The new Church in Wales is unrecognisable from only a generation ago.

When the bishops' aim of same sex marriage in church is achieved, their task of secularising the Church in Wales will be complete.

As they dance their way into oblivion taking the church with them, MAE Cymru will have to seek another gullible, affirming host to destroy.

The hypocrisy of it all

Bishop-elect of St Davids                     Archbishop Morgan                  Archdeacon of Llandaff

The Changing Attitude gay propaganda film 'All One in Christ' was premiered in St Asaph Cathedral on Tuesday evening. Defying the logic of observation and current practice it pleads for 'inclusion & equality'.

Showing her support for inclusion and equality along with the bishop-elect of St Davids is the architect of exclusion in Wales, the Archdeacon of Llandaff, the Ven Peggy Jackson who has done more than most, apart from Archbishop Barry Morgan, to exclude faithful Anglicans who in common with the vast majority of Anglicans are unable in conscience to accept their understanding of scripture and tradition.

What is it about late converts that they cannot tolerate cradle Anglicans? They claim to have heard God calling them. So did Muhammad and Joseph Smith!

A Call to Persevere

The bishops of St Asaph, St Davids, Monmouth, Llandaff (Abp), Swansea & Brecon and Bangor.
 Credit: South Wales Argus

The Pastoral Letter from the Bishops of the Church in Wales to "all the faithful" concerning admission to Holy Communion of all the baptised "by virtue of their Baptism alone" has been published on the Diocese of St Davids web site. It can be read here. Its contents remained secret until it was introduced at the recent meeting of the Governing Body (GB) of the Church in Wales raising some suspicion that another round of duplicity might be expected from the Bench of Bishops.

Fine details have yet to emerge but whatever one's views on the subject one thing is clear, the Bench of Bishops has been inconsistent. They hark back to history and tradition to support their case in this instance while scripture and tradition have been confined to the bin on just about every other matter under Archbishop Barry Morgan's guidance.

Dr Morgan's final GB Presidential Address provided an excellent opportunity to sum up the current state of the Church in Wales as he prepares for his retirement as the longest serving primate in the Anglican Communion. That, instead, he chose to bend Holy Scripture to support his views on the divisive issue of same sex marriage rather than address the decline in membership of the church under his leadership suggests that his political agenda always takes precedence over the spiritual well-being of his flock.

Rumour has it that Dr Morgan wants one more liberal feather in his hat before he retires in January, the appointment of the first woman bishop in Wales. The diocese of St Davids will become vacant when Bishop Wyn Evans retires in October. Originally a monastic community founded c. AD 589 by Saint David, the Patron saint of Wales, St Davids has been a centre of pilgrimage since the Cathedral was built the 12th century. The shrine was regarded as so important that it was decreed that two pilgrimages to St Davids were equivalent to one to Rome, three were equivalent to one to Jerusalem. St Davids remains an important centre of pilgrimage to this day.

When David died in the year 589 the monastery is said to have been 'filled with angels as Christ received his soul'.  St David's final words to his followers were: 'Be Joyful.  Keep the Faith.  Do the little things that you have heard and seen me do.'

If a political gesture is allowed to take precedence over faith in the appointment to the See of St Davids it will be the final nail in the coffin for the faithful.

A Call to Persevere

But, dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ foretold. They said to you, “In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires.” These are the people who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit.

 From The Letter of Jude

Basics

"We have created the conditions for full scale revisionism not just of order in the Church but our very understanding of revelation."

"How we speak of Jesus reveals something of our faithfulness or not to what God has revealed."

"What it is that makes the Church I would say is the passing on and the receiving and the passing on again of the Apostolic Teaching and the Apostolic Tradition."

"The legitimacy of what the teachers teach in fidelity to Scripture and Tradition does not depend on reception by the faithful...This has always been the case in the past."

Hat tip to TitusONENine for this Anglican TV video of Bishop Michael Nazir Ali speaking on "The Necessity of Unity in Truth for the Church’s Mission", at the International Catholic Congress of Anglicans, Fort Worth; also to Anglican Mainstream.

Recommended viewing if not seen already. A refreshing change from the personal pulpit politics of many Anglican Bishops today.

Above reproach?

Church in Wales bishops, Llandudno 2012
+St Davids,  +St Asaph,  +Llandaff (Abp),  +Monmouth,  Ass+Llandaff,  +Bangor,  +Swansea&Brecon

The liberal credentials of the Archbishop of Wales are beyond question. He has been straight forward about his attitude to the next trauma for the church, same sex marriage. He talks about it here adding his thoughts about the then forthcoming women bishops legislation and his idea of 'provision' for those who remain faithful to the teaching of the Holy Catholic Church. Studying his delivery and what he had to say suggests that, given their unanimity, he and his bench have no intention of changing their previous stance on alternative Episcopal oversight.

In an earlier 'first' in 2004 Dr Morgan and his bench of bishops appointed the first divorced bishop in the UK after the electoral college failed to agree. At the time the Archbishop said the bench was unanimous in deciding that their candidate was the person "who best fitted the requirements" for the bishop's post.

In that regard it should be noted that the name of the new Bishop of Monmouth was being circulated long before the Archbishop appointed his facilitator to help diocesan representatives in their task of discernment (ie, naming the selected bishop who favours the ordination of women). The new bishop obligingly went on record saying that he was "in favour of women bishops and wants to make the church more relevant for society" - straight off the Archbishop's hymn sheet!

Had 'The Venerable Pain' not been in favour he wouldn't have had a chance but his assurances guaranteed the continuity of unanimous voting by the House of Bishops, thus perpetuating a disease which has spread to the other two Houses resulting in traditionalists being denied their rightful place in the church despite Dr Morgan's claim that "The Bishops are unanimously committed to securing a continuing place in the life of the  Church for those who cannot in conscience accept the new situation created by  the ordination of women to the priesthood." (See below).

Dr Morgan has actively encouraged the appointment of an openly gay bishop in his Province though not yet realised. Presumably he also looks forward to the appointment of a lesbian bishop following the decision to allow women to be appointed bishops in the Church in Wales giving him another 'first'. But that is not the issue here. There is one minority group within his own church whose wishes he has had no truck with. This doesn't augur well for discussions on the Code of Practice, provision for which accompanied the women bishops 'yes' vote in the Church of Wales.  

This is what Dr Morgan said in 2009 about alternative Episcopal oversight :

“We have ... given an assurance that there is room in the Church in Wales for those who in conscience cannot accept the ordination of women. However, we are not minded as bishops to perpetuate a system whereby conscientious objectors may avoid not only the ministry of ordained women but also the ministry of male bishops who have ordained them. That leads in the end to fundamental division and a denial that things are other than they are – that we do live in a church that ordains both women and men.

“There is a difference between recognising the fact that some individuals hold personal views that are at variance with what the Governing Body has decided about the ordination of women and reflecting those views in the structures of the church as if the Church in Wales as a whole had doubts about women’s ordination and the bishops who ordained them. That to my mind would be a real act of injustice – to ordained women, bishops, indeed to the whole church.” [In this context 'whole church' means his dominion, not the Holy Catholic Church which the bishops still claim to belong to despite separating from her following the vote - Ed.]

Compare Dr Morgan's statement with what he promised on behalf of the Bench when persuading the Governing Body to allow women to be ordained to the priesthood:

 The Bishops  are unanimously committed to securing a continuing place in the life of the  Church for those who cannot in conscience accept the new situation created by  the ordination of women to the priesthood. They wish to preserve the highest  degree of unity possible in the Church in Wales for the foreseeable future. With this  in mind, they propose to appoint a bishop who will undertake among other duties  the pastoral oversight of those unable to accept women as priests in the  Province, and to represent their views in the councils of the Church in Wales. He will be an Assistant Bishop,  appointed by one Bishop and authorised by all to minister in their dioceses,  and will share collegial responsibilities with the diocesan bishops in the  Province.

The 'foreseeable future' can now be seen as the shortest possible time before abandoning it bringing into doubt the bishops' sincerity. If their 'commitment' was to be strictly on their own terms they should have said so. It was a shabby promise which is about to be repeated based on the available evidence.

When the Bench of Bishops voted unanimously for the amended Bill which substituted a voluntary Code of Practice for statutory provision they already knew what was meant by alternative episcopal oversight. This was clearly spelled out by the Provincial Assistant Bishop in his paper "A Noble Task". I quote: 

... For this  reason, I believe that the only way in which it might be possible for so-called  traditionalists (how I loathe that misleading word!) to remain in the Church in  Wales [if women were to be ordained as bishops - Ed.] would be if the PAB were to be replaced by a bishop or bishops who had  jurisdiction over those in his or their pastoral and sacramental care. In  saying this, I am not necessarily suggesting the creation of a seventh  ‘non-geographical’ diocese. I can see no reason why such a jurisdiction should  not remain within the existing diocesan and provincial structures in all  matters to do with buildings, finance, schools, etc. It would be necessary,  however, for such a bishop to be able to receive in his own right the customary  declarations of canonical obedience made by clergy, churchwardens and others on  admission to office and to issue licences, dispensations and whatever other  legally binding documents are required for the day-to-day running of the  Church. Likewise, such a bishop would need to have final authority in all  matters to do with the selection, training, ordination, deployment and  discipline of those clergy in his care.

Why would 'traditionalists' now want to accept anything less? The ecstatic reaction to the passing of the amended Bill appeared to consummate the Bench's duplicity. With no canon, a damp squib was thrown in to register concern enabling the Archbishop to make another pledge:

"I promise on behalf of the bench of bishops that we will talk to a range of people across the Church. We'll come back in April to hear what people have to say but in the end the bishops will have to draw up the code of practice." [My emphasis - Ed.]

Based on statements in the public domain it is difficult to see how an acceptable Code of Practice can be agreed. In scripture a bishop must be above reproach. If they enter into discussions with the same predetermined attitude it will lay bare a disgraceful charade rendering the Governing Body vote a deception and make their positions as bishops of the Church completely untenable.