Game, set and match?

I watched the election of the new Pope as an interested Anglican but when Pope Benedict appeared on the balcony I had an overwhelming but inexplicable feeling that we were witnessing something truly holy. This is now clear. During Pope Benedict’s official visit to Great Britain the public were treated to the spectacle of a genuinely holy man humbly proclaiming the Christian message and warning of the dangers of putting Man before God.

In Britain we are used to spectacular events with all the pomp and ceremony that the State can muster. That was evidenced by the service of Evening Prayer at Westminster Abbey after the Pope’s historic address to Parliament in Westminster Hall. Yet none of this could match the grandeur of the Mass in Westminster Cathedral and the beautiful simplicity of the open-air Mass in Birmingham where Cardinal John Henry Newman was beatified, combined with the evident enthusiasm of their devout young people.

Those who have come into contact with Archbishop Rowan have often fallen under his spell. His natural authority is reinforced by his commanding voice which contrasts dramatically with Pope Benedict’s quiet, but assured conviction. Here is the puzzle. Both men are extraordinarily clever, learned and holy, yet they see things differently. The most sort-after prize is Christian unity but the synodical decision of the Anglican Church to go-it-alone and ordain women has seen probably the best opportunity in generations lost. For Anglicans, the evident joy of the celebrations was tinged with sadness. If only we could have been celebrating unity too! Instead there was the same, sorry spectacle of fellow Christians divided at the altar.

Dialogue will continue but many face an immediate dilemma. The Anglican Church has long provided a haven for those who, like Rowan Williams, have difficulties of conscience about crossing the Tiber. There are those in the Church of England who have ignored their Archbishops’ wishes arguing that making acceptable provision for ‘traditionalists’ would be creating a church within a church, blind to the fact that they are already a church within the Church. If Archbishop Rowan can persuade Synod to match Pope Benedict’s ordinariate offer, something of Anglicanism’s rich heritage can be preserved within the Church of England. If not, it is game, set and match to Pope Benedict.

POSTSCRIPT
I was able to add an interesting postscript to my previous post. Now from The Anglo-Catholic blog there is a helpful piece for those struggling with their consciences about crossing the Tiber here.

The sound of silence

Who could fail to be moved by the Pope's visit to our shores. Already there have been many special moments. The enthusiasm of young people has been truly inspiring as exemplified by a young student, Paschal Uche, who greeted the Pope on behalf of those who had waited patiently outside Westminster Cathedral as the Mass proceeded inside. But what has struck me most forcibly is the hush of reverence that descends on the multitudes as if sensing the presence of the Lord. What would the typical Anglican priest give for that expectant silence, absent in most Anglican churches.

That difference was mirrored profoundly by two women who were interviewed. First, a Catholic, who despaired that a women could even consider wanting to be a priest protesting that such women showed no understanding of the priesthood. The other, an elderly ordained Anglican woman from Women and the Church, complained that her grandchildren did not want to belong to a church that did not ordain women - the sort of 'I want' attitude the Pope has been warning about.

The overwhelming support the Pope has received suggests that the normally silent majority cherishes what they have, or what little they have left. Activists are busy changing everything for their advantage according to their secular whims. Perhaps it is too late for the Anglican church but not for Christianity as a whole. Divided we fall leaving a vacuum in Britain that others will fill with an ideology that does not tolerate dissension. If that happens we shall all be the losers.

POSTSCRIPT

From my Blog List, "Christ in our midst", this stark warning:

http://thehandmaid.wordpress.com/2010/09/19/ground-zero-mosque/

Freedom of religion for all - except 'traditional' Anglicans

Pope Benedict's official visit to Great Britain has had a good start in Scotland. Faith seemed to matter again, not just Catholicism but faith in general. Even the Government says it will 'do God', whatever that may mean in reality. Religious tolerance is in the air.

President Obama spoke of religious freedom in relation to the proposed mosque near ground zero quoting Thomas Jefferson, among the inestimable of our blessings, also, is that ...of liberty to worship our Creator in the way we think most agreeable to His will.

Article 18 of the universal Declaration of Human Rights declares that Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance. This is echoed in the The European Convention on Human Rights.

Her Majesty the Queen ended her speech of welcome to the Pope with the words "Your Holiness, in recent times you have said that ‘religions can never become vehicles of hatred, that never by invoking the name of God can evil and violence be justified’. Today, in this country, we stand united in that conviction. We hold that freedom to worship is at the core of our tolerant and democratic society." My emphasis, but that comes emphatically from from the Defender of the Faith and Head of the Church of England. Only out of step is Synod.

Burning issues

Watching books burn is an unpleasant experience for those old enough to recall newsreel footage of Nazi excesses. With e-books and Library deposits the notion of denying or limiting knowledge to others is a thing of the past in the free world. Now the act is more a gesture of principle or defiance as dangerously demonstrated by the obscure US pastor who caused worldwide uproar by threatening to burn copies of the Koran and encouraging others to do likewise.

Just the suggestion had Islamic people on the streets waving placards and threatening violence particularly against against US troops. There is an odd contradiction here. The pastor had the freedom to exercise free will in a free country but was shackled by public opinion and political pressure. Islamists on the other hand have no qualms about desecrating non-Islamic religious symbols or even killing people just for being Christians.

As we celebrate the 70th Anniversary of the Battle of Britain we remember those who fought and died in the war against tyranny. Today we face a different tyranny, the threat to freedom of expression. Islamic fundamentalists are succeeding in muzzling everyone but themselves. The slightest hint of criticism is regarded as abuse yet Islamic abuse is rife, particularly in Iran. If as claimed, Islam is a religion of peace, protestors could demonstrate that forcibly by taking up the cause of Sakineh Mohammadi-Ashtiani, sentenced to death by stoning, or is a book, however sacred, more precious than a life?

Water of life - and of death!

In Britain our weather is rarely far from our lips. When it's not a 'Nice day!' it is too hot, too cold, too dry or, more often, too wet.

We can't live without water while too much can cause misery and death. The tragedy that has struck Pakistan has brought this home even more forcefully but for some it is part of the on-going struggle to provide for others what we take for granted. 'Water Aid' is an international non governmental organisation. Their mission is to transform lives by improving access to safe water, hygiene and sanitation in the world's poorest communities.

Their current campaign "Dig toilets Not Graves" seeks to save the lives of 4,000 children who die every day through the lack of this basic amenity. There are "2.6 billion people worldwide still don't have access to clean, safe toilets – a basic human right.

This is more than an inconvenience. It's a killer. Diarrhoea kills more children than AIDS, malaria and measles combined.

The solution to the problem is simple - safe toilets will save thousands of lives. Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg will be attending a Millennium Development Goals summit in New York to discuss global poverty targets and we are asking him to make building toilets a priority.

We call on our coalition Government to tackle this global crisis and prove their commitment by increasing aid to sanitation and water to £600 million.

Please help us shout so loud the UK Government has to listen. There is no time to lose, so please put your name to our petition right now and together we can work to dig toilets, not graves."

Water Aid is asking for our support by signing a petition by 19 September 2010. You can do so here.

Postscript - Please forward this request to others who will be willing to sign the petition using the email facility below.

Space to think...

Christ Abandoned

I have noticed that some Blogs are taking a break during the summer so perhaps I should take the hint and leave some space to ponder for a while, in particular on what has happened to Anglicanism and where we go from here.

When I came across the above image a few years ago it spoke volumes to me. The church was derelict leaving Jesus hanging abandoned on the cross.
 ("O my people, what have I done to you? What have I done to make you tired of me? Answer me!")
Old Anglicanism hangs by a thread; New Anglicanism wants it cut. Why? The road to the ordination of women was not easy for them. There were failures and disappointments which proponents put down to the work of the devil but after the voting procedures had been suitably engineered, success was proclaimed as the work of the Holy Spirit. That cannot be right. The constant misrepresentation of those with a conscientious objection to the ordination of women, together with the way New Anglicanism is moving, demonstrates that what has been ‘achieved’ cannot be the work of the Holy Spirit, in fact, it is the other way round.

While I have been heartened by the ‘traditionalist’ faithful women and men who have contributed to blogs on this subject, I have despaired of the mean, vindictive ‘Christian’ people, often women, who, now they have what they wanted, enjoy rubbing the noses of the faithful in the dirt as they attempt to cast us adrift. To their credit, there are still faithful Old Anglicans who are determined not be put down by these strident advocates of liberalism whose attitude is “If you don’t like it, leave!” But leave for what? For confirmed Anglicans there is nowhere to go. If, as seems implied, Rome were an option, worshippers would have made that decision on its merits, not on a single issue however fundamental that issue. It does not concern ‘liberal’ Christians that for many there simply isn’t anywhere to go, hence our desire for sacramental and pastoral oversight that accords with our consciences and with what we believe to be Christ’s example. That does not make women bishops second class, it maintains the gospel.

New Anglicans pick and mix to suit their cause while many of them regard Jesus simply as a man of his time from which we have to move on. If that were true, the Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church must be nonsense but for those who believe that Peter answered Jesus correctly when he said You are the Christ, the Son of the living God, there can be no leaving. Can New Anglicans seriously suggest that Christ did not know what He was doing, or is it that they simply do not care?

'Great' Minds Think Alike!

A report in Wales Online shows Katharine Jefferts Schori, the Presiding Bishop of the American Episcopal Church, and the Archbishop of Wales, Barry Morgan, to be in complete agreement on how religion should be brought into the third millennium to make it more relevant to society today.

Unhappily for those trying to keep the faith, these church leaders are just big fish in small ponds, completely out of touch with the wider Christian church. Rather than adhere to scripture and tradition, the new make-it-up-as-you-go-along Anglican church twists events to suit their stance and misrepresents the facts giving rise to claims of discrimination and misogyny to crush those who disagree with them.

Thy do it their way without the humility to consider that they may be wrong, dragging their flocks down with them. The very least they could do is to allow those who disagree with them to worship according to their own beliefs, not how they, as church leaders, determine. Neither has the authority to do so other than that taken upon themselves by a flawed procedure.