From webmaster at virtueonline.org Fri Nov 6 13:09:20 2009 From: webmaster at virtueonline.org (Robert Turner) Date: Fri, 6 Nov 2009 14:09:20 -0500 Subject: Table of Contents Message-ID: <27f978580911061109i666edbf4t57a7afd38f1c38ac@mail.gmail.com> 1. VIEWPOINTS Minnesota Dodges Gay Bullet*TEC Financial Woes Increase*New ACNA Parishes http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=11517 2. The Muddled Mind of Arizona Episcopal Bishop Kirk Smith http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=11521 3. Episcopal Dioceses Face Downsizing, Closing Parishes, More Departures http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=11507 4. UECNA Presiding Bishop Deposes Bishops Who Moved to REC http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=11502 5. Cranmer Scholar Weighs Bible in Light of English Reformation & American Culture http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=11516 6. PORTLAND, Me. Episcopal Bishop Stephen T. Lane responds to Question 1 results http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=11509 7. PITTSBURGH: Bishop Duncan Writes to his Diocese about Appeal http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=11505 8. NEWPORT BEACH, CA: ACNA Bishop is ordained before hundreds http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=11503 9. Anglican Diocese of Pittsburgh to Leave Longtime Office http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=11495 10. NASHVILLE, TN: Episcopal Diocese of Tennessee sues to reclaim church http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=11492 11. BELLEVILLE, ILL: Episcopal minister: Former church wants to 'destroy' him http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=11519 12. Church of England squandered clergy pensions in 'reckless' stock market gamble http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=11504 13. Traditional Anglican Communion in UK accepts Pope's invitation http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=11512 14. Cardinal: New Vatican move not a reflection on Anglican Communion http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=11498 15. Vatican Clarifies Celibacy Issue in Apostolic Constitution for Anglicans http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=11497 16. Vatican Clarification on Announced Apostolic Constitution http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=11491 17. ANGLICAN REFORMATIONS: ENDINGS AND BEGINNINGS - George Egerton http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=11490 18. UK Kool-Aid - Robert Hart http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=11515 19. Thou shalt not steal - Edward Fulford http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=11486 20. A Sober View of the Anglican-Roman Kerfuffle - William Wheatley http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=11499 The following stories are available at VirtueOnline.org via the hyperlink below the article title: 1. LONDON: Six Episcopal bishops portray church's 'broad center' with Williams http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=11496 2. Long Island's new Episcopal bishop faces strong challenges http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=11494 3. SIOUX FALLS: New bishop ordained in the Episcopal Diocese of South Dakota http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=11493 4. The Vatican and married ex-Anglicans: how far will Rome go? http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=11489 5. Breaking news: Vatican issues 'clarification' of Anglican plan http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=11488 6. SWEDEN: Anglicans snub Swedish lesbian bishop http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=11514 7. Episcopalians cite five goals for the future in Strategic Planning survey result http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=11513 8. SWEDEN: Lutheran decision on same-sex marriage draws flak from Africa, England http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=11500 9. PITTSBURGH: Diocese Completes Non-Disciplinary Release Of Clergy http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=11501 10. Churches --- A matter of trust http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=11518 11. Which way to turn? (Part II) - Charles H. Nalls http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=11508 12. As Night Follows Day - David Phillips http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=11506 END From david at virtueonline.org Fri Nov 6 13:15:54 2009 From: david at virtueonline.org (david at virtueonline.org) Date: 6 Nov 2009 14:15:54 -0500 Subject: VirtueOnline Viewpoints - November 06, 2009 Message-ID: <20091106191554.4030.qmail@virtueonline.org> Minnesota Dodges Gay Bullet*TEC Financial Woes Increase*New ACNA Parishes* Diocesan News Stewards and heralds. We are stewards of what God has said, but heralds of what God has done. Our stewardship is of an accomplished revelation; but an accomplished redemption is the good news which we proclaim as heralds. --- From "The Preacher's Portrait" by John R. W. Stott ?You have reached a courageous decision and a faithful decision. You could go on in depletion, frustration. You have not done that,? he said. ?There are some things worse than death. One of them is denial. Resurrection follows death, not denial.?. --- Bishop George Councell, Diocese of NJ on the closure of a 125-year old parish in his diocese. If we haven't got control of our mind during the hour of spiritual study we are not benefited at all. We simply yawn and tire ourselves without a goal, for we cannot remember anything. In the same way, when the printer doesn't have his mind on his work and forgets to put ink in, the printing presses work without printing anything. --- Elder Paisios, +1994 Evangelicalism and Catholicism have a lot more in common that Evangelicalism and Affirming Catholicism. --- William Wheatley, Anglican layman, Rosemont, PA Preaching and election. The doctrine of election does not dispense with the necessity of preaching. On the contrary, it makes it essential. For Paul preaches and suffers for it (literally) 'in order that' they 'may obtain the salvation in Christ Jesus with its eternal glory' (2 Tim. 2:11). The elect obtain salvation in Christ not apart from the preaching of Christ but by means of it. --- From "The Message of 2 Timothy" John R.W.Stott Dear Brothers and Sisters www.virtueonline.org November 5, 2009 It's one diocese down, and one to go. The DIOCESE OF MINNESOTA dodged a bullet and refused to elect a lesbian to be their next bishop. Whew. Sighs of relief could be heard all the way to 815 2nd Avenue New York, NY, where Presiding Bishop Katherine Jefferts Schori was trying to figure out what sort of a conversation she would have with Dr. Rowan Williams in the eventuality that they had done so. Jefferts Schori: Rowan, this is merely a descriptive act not a prescriptive act..... Williams: (interrupting) I heard that line from your General Convention in Anaheim when you passed Resolutions D025 and C056. What's your explanation this time? Jefferts Schori: (silence). Sounds of Frank Sinatra "I did it my way" can be heard in the background. Well, The Episcopal Church will have another crack at electing a gay or lesbian. This time it is in the DIOCESE OF LOS ANGELES where Bruno the Bully, a Liar and a real Sweetheart, can't wait to lay hands on some sexually confused person to the screams of sodomite applause from (the Rev.) Susan Russell and her cadre of lesbians and gays. If the diocese elects either Mary Douglas Glasspool (lesbian) or John L Kirkley (homosexual), the Global South will erupt and it will be another nail in the coffin of any Covenant being cooked up to save the Anglican Communion. The Deep Thinkers will have to put their heads together to come up with a fourth, fifth or sixth draft to figure about how Mrs. Jefferts Schori can stay at the Anglican table of our Lord without embarrassing the Africans whom she and others keep accusing of being polygamists and practitioners of the fine art of female circumcision. The newly elected Bishop of MINNESOTA, Brian Prior got a response from blogger Kathryn at Anglicat. She wrote, "It was not the best but it was not the worst. By the fifth ballot, Spokane's Brian Prior was able to garner sufficient additional votes to his initial lead in order to cross over into victory as the Ninth Bishop of Minnesota. "By relegating partnered lesbian Bonnie Perry to last place in the initial balloting as well as on the third ballot, Diocesan delegates clearly pulled back from making an additional 'prophetic statement' to the Anglican Communion. Perry and Doyle Turner both withdrew their names after the third ballot. "What does Prior's election mean for Minnesota? As the Vice-President for the House of Deputies, Brian Prior is expected to follow Presiding Bishop Schori's leads like the proverbial white on rice. On the other hand, Prior brings a certain integrity to the Diocese in that he personally did not conduct any same-sex blessings, thus honoring the communion-wide moratorium. "An encouraging sign elsewhere at Convention was rolling back an unfortunate canonical revision of nine years ago that had given Bishop Jelinek sole authority to set the salaries for Diocesan staffers. If more of the draconian canonical revisions can be rolled back in the near future, the Diocese of Minnesota may well be on its way to healthier times. The overriding sentiment seemed to be that any change is likely to be good." One can but hope. www.anglikin.blogspot.com. ***** The UK wing of the TRADITIONAL ANGLICAN COMMUNION - a group of traditionalists who have left official Anglicanism - has voted to accept Pope Benedict XVI's offer of a Personal Ordinariate. The TAC has only a few small communities in Britain, but the Pope will be pleased by this development. Worldwide they are 400,000 with some 38 bishops, Here are more details, from the Signum blog: The Traditional Anglican Communion in the UK voted last Thursday (October 29) to request that they form part of the proposed Ordinariate in the UK. During the Forward in Faith conference Archbishop Hepworth of the TAC had stated that the motion would be placed before the Synod of the Traditional Anglican Church in the UK (and other Synods of the TAC) that the Apostolic Constitution of Benedict XVI be accepted and that its immediate implementation be requested. You can read more in today's digest. ***** A NUMBER of dioceses are in deep financial trouble. Many are downsizing, closing parishes and seeing more people fleeing in all directions. You can read the story here or in today's digest. http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=11507 ***** ACNA, the new North American Anglican province announced that they will be adding five more parishes. They will be welcomed into the diocese of Fort Worth next week. Several of these parishes are former TEC churches, while one is a new church plant. The Church of Christ the Redeemer will be recognized as a mission parish in Fort Worth, under its vicar, Fr. Christopher Culpepper. St. Francis Church in Dallas will be welcomed as a new parish of the diocese, while St Gabriel's Anglican Church in Bentonville, AR, will become a mission station of the diocese. And St. Matthias' Anglican Church in Dallas and the Church of the Holy Spirit in Tulsa, OK, will become parishes of the diocese under a new Parish Affiliation Agreement that has been put into place there. ***** The other remnant diocese of Ft. Worth is set to elect another provisional bishop and will consider retired Bishop C. Wallis Ohl to succeed the Rt. Rev. Edwin F. (Ted) Gulick Jr. Ohl is the retired bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Northwest Texas. He was selected by the diocesan Standing Committee in consultation with Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori. Convention business will also include consideration of changes to diocesan constitution and canons, various resolutions, budget approval as well as election of leadership to diocesan offices. ***** The Anglican Diocese of Pittsburgh, formerly known as the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh, will gather for its 144th Diocesan Convention at St. Stephen's Church in Sewickley, PA, on Friday, November 6 and Saturday, November 7. Two-hundred and ninety deputies and additional observers will represent the fifty-five congregations of the diocese gathered to celebrate their ministry, to pray and engage in hope-filled work for the year ahead. Beginning at 6 p.m., the Friday evening portion of the celebration and banquet, featuring Archbishop Robert Duncan's address, will be broadcast live on http://www.anglicantv.org. The Saturday business portion of the meeting, beginning with prayer at 8 a.m., will feature discussion and voting on the full admission of four new parishes: Harvest Anglican Church in Homer City, PA; Church of the Transfiguration in Cleveland, OH; Saint James Church in San Jose, CA; and Holy Trinity Church in Raleigh, NC. The Convention deputies will also vote on ratifying the Anglican Diocese of Pittsburgh's status as a founding member of the Anglican Church in North America which was constituted this past summer as an emerging Province of the worldwide Anglican Communion. ***** PITTSBURGH...more. The remnant group that calls itself the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh which withdrew from The Episcopal Church over concerns relating to gay clergy, informed 135 members that they are being released from their vows. Provisional Bishop Kenneth L. Price Jr. wrote to each of the affected clergy, which a diocesan news release said was its way of "making good on its offer to release the individuals from their licensed ministry in the Episcopal Church in a way that does not involve disciplinary action." That offer came and concerns priests and deacons whom the diocese said have accepted letters of transfer to the Argentina-based Anglican Province of the Southern Cone. ***** CHRIST CHURCH PLANO will delay ordaining women, VOL has learned. The Rev. David Roseberry has decided that the issue of ordaining women is too divisive of an issue to be decided by individual churches, so he will put a hold on ordaining women until the AMiA "community" (it was unclear which community this is,) decides on a community-wide basis. In practice, this amounts to an indefinite hold on ordaining women at Christ Church. A source told VOL that although this is not the outcome many had hoped for, it at least buys some time. ***** NASHOTAH HOUSE conferred honorary doctorates on four notable persons recently. They were: The Rt. Rev. D. Bruce MacPherson, Bishop of Western Louisiana. The Rt. Rev. Donald Frederick Harvey, Bishop of Eastern Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada The Rev. Canon Doctor John H. Heidt, Canon theologian of the Diocese of Ft. Worth (Bishop Iker's Diocese). He died 10/23/2009. Nashotah House said that Canon Heidt's Award was personally presented posthumously in a ceremony in Texas to his family by Bishop Keith Ackerman the Vice Chair of Board of Trustees of Nashotah. The Rev. Dr. Jeremy Patrick Sheehy is Guardian of the Shrine and Principal of St. Stephen's House, Oxford, UK. ***** NEW YORK. Eight New York Episcopal bishops sent a letter to the state's Governor David Patterson recently protesting proposed budget cuts to education. In the letter, the bishops, representing the state's six Episcopal dioceses, gave four reasons among their concerns for opposing the cuts: * "We believe that it is immoral to work out the consequences of adult behavior on the backs of children. Ideally we should give more resources to better prepare this generation to inherit the world we are leaving them. * "The proposed cuts disproportionately affect poor and minority children, further entrenching institutional racism in our society. * "The lack of resources will reinforce the school to prison pipeline. Such cuts are a false economy, as keeping a child in school is a fraction of the cost of keeping him in prison. * "These cuts will reverse the hard-won progress made in recent years." Patterson proposed $686 million in education cuts this school year on Oct. 15 in an attempt to close state's $3 billion projected budget deficit this fiscal year. The eight bishops are: New York Mark S. Sisk and Bishop Catherine S. Roskam, bishop suffragan of New York, signed the letter on behalf of the Council of Episcopal Bishops of New York State, which also includes the Bishop of Central New York Gladstone B. Adams III, retired Bishop of Albany David Ball, Bishop of Western New York Michael Garrison, Bishop of Albany William Love, Bishop of Rochester Prince Singh and Bishop Coadjutor of Long Island Lawrence Provenzano. ***** WESTERN NEW YORK. The Diocese of Western New York has opened the application process for its 11th bishop, according to a Nov. 3 news release. The profile and nomination and application forms are available at: http://www.wnybishopsearch.org/. The deadline for completed applications is Dec. 31, 2009. The profile identifies a sense of balance as key to the character of the next bishop of Western New York: balance between being an administrator and pastor, a person of prayer and a community leader, a good listener and a bold speaker. "While we are looking for a person whose leadership is grounded in a deep relationship with God in Christ, we are also looking for someone who will laugh with us, who will find joy in our presence, who will be so awed by the mysteriously surprising work of God in and among us that s/he will remind us not to take ourselves too seriously, and who is so passionately committed to building up the Body of Christ in this place that s/he will take risks with grace and faith," the profile states. ***** MAINE "Gay marriage" goes down to defeat. Despite a massive effort by outside homosexual activist groups to influence the vote, a homosexual "marriage" bill went down to defeat in Maine through a "People's Veto" - whereby voters can reject a law by plebiscite. The YES vote was inching up in the late hours Tuesday and early morning. At 2:00 AM EST, with 87% of the precincts tallied, the "Bangor Daily News" reported that the "YES" vote to repeal Maine's new "gay marriage" law was ahead by about 52.75 to 47.25%. Americans For Truth and Mass Resistance worked with Maine pro-family stalwart Paul Madore of the Maine Grassroots Coalition to educate citizens on the role of outside radical homosexual groups in the "NO" campaign. A massive effort initiated by out-of-state homosexuals working with liberals was compromised by a brilliant campaign by Maine's conservative citizens. The Bishop of Maine Stephen Lane lamented the vote saying, "Many faithful Episcopalians are deeply grieved at this decision. They had hoped that they and their families might enjoy the recognition and protections afforded heterosexual couples. The rejection of the law also feels like rejection of them as persons. I join in their grief that the right of same gender couples to enter into a lifelong, monogamous marriage has been denied. At the same time I know there are other faithful Episcopalians who are thankful about the election results. I understand that this matter has been a matter of conscience for them." ***** In the DIOCESE OF DALLAS, Canon Neal Michel reports that the diocese is healthy and growing. In a recent address to the diocese, he reported: * "We have continued to plant churches. We have planted five churches and several new communities of faith, targeting Latinos, young adults, Koreans, and African Immigrants. Approximately ten percent of our average Sunday attendance is traceable to these new communities of faith. * We have increased the number of people going on short-term mission trips. * We have been more intentionally involved in more and more local outreach. We are leaders in the City of Dallas Justice Revival. * We are revising the way we do communications. * All Saints Camp continues to be a place where leaders are developed and people deepened in their relationship with Christ. Have we accomplished the goals we set for ourselves? No. Are more passionate about the gospel as a diocese? Yes. Have we made great strides? Yes. We are a remarkably different diocese than we were nearly nine years ago when we first embarked on our Strategic Plan. We are more mission oriented, more evangelistic, more strategic at every level." And how diversified and improved is their discernment process? * "We currently have 21 people in the discernment process. * Nine are scheduled to graduate this coming spring. * Five are under the age of thirty * Seven are under the age of forty * Four are pursuing the Diaconate * 19 the priesthood * 7 are women; 14 are men * In addition, we have four candidates in the Titus Project for rural areas." It's a pity liberal dioceses like Maine, Newark and Pennsylvania can't or won't imbibe the same message. ***** ACKERMAN AND JEFFERTS SCHORI....THE LETTERS. The following is from Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori posted on Curmudgeon blog from the office of the Presiding Bishop. Dear Mr. Johnson, I am unable to accede to your request, as Keith Ackerman has asked that I not publish his letters to me. I would encourage you to speak to your own diocesan bishop if you have concerns about this matter. I remain Your servant in Christ, Katharine Jefferts Schori Background. In his "deposition" Bishop Ackerman wrote two hand written letters to Jefferts Schori and got no response. At a phone-in press conference several reporters asked to see the letters. Sometime later Bishop Ackerman wrote and said he felt it was not appropriate to release them and the Presiding Bishop has concurred with that request. ***** The British Parliament will host the first "'gay wedding"' in equalities victory for supporters. The hallowed halls of Westminster will take a major step into the 21st century next spring when the Palace defies convention to host its first ever civil partnership ceremony, The "Independent" newspaper revealed. Chris Bryant, the Europe minister, will become the first gay MP to have a civil partnership within the parliamentary estate in what will be seen as a symbolic victory for gay rights. Despite his role in the historic event, the former Church of England chaplain said he was "just happy to be getting married" after becoming engaged to his partner, Jared Cranney. "Jared and I are engaged and we hope to have a civil partnership - or a marriage is what it feels like - in March of next year," he said. "We'd like to do it in Parliament, if possible." ***** IN AUSTRALIA the Catholic and Anglican Churches are praising a decision that overturned a finding favoring a gay couple's bid to become foster parents., with Sydney's Cardinal George Pell calling called it a "helpful" step "in the right direction", according to "The Daily Telegraph". The couple, who were refused access to the Wesley Mission's foster care agency because they are homosexual, had successfully pleaded their case to the Administrative Decisions Tribunal., they They were awarded $10,000 and the Wesley Mission told to change its practices so it didn't discriminate. A highly critical appeal panel has however quashed that decision and ordered the original tribunal to hear the case again. ***** The Financial Times reported that Anglican clergy are facing the prospect of receiving smaller pensions when they retire after the Church of England's pension scheme succumbed to the "cult of equity" and sank 100 per cent of its investments into stocks towards the end of the 1990s bull market. According to the FT, the Church of England's current pension scheme for the clergy is now considering sharply curtailing the rate at which they accrue benefits. For a young clergyman, aged 30, these benefits could turn out to be less than half of what recent retirees are receiving. ***** ENGLAND: The Church of England has published a book of prayers and reflections to help frazzled commuters prepare for the winter ahead -- and then unwind on the way home. To mark the launch, the bishop who prepared the book has recorded an extract for a special podcast, downloadable from the Church of England website, to help commuters get into the habit through their iPods. The podcast is available at http://cofe.anglican.org/podcast. The Rt. Rev. Christopher Herbert, recently retired bishop of St. Albans, wrote the book after reflecting on the "turbulence" of the modern working day, beginning with the search for a space to park. "It might have been dark, wet and miserable," suggests the bishop, "and then, once on the train, the carriage was packed. It's not exactly a stress-free or easy way to begin the day, is it?" In Pocket Prayers for Commuters, published Nov. 4 by Church House Publishing, the bishop sets out a month-long set of brief reflections and prayers for the morning rush and evening exodus, drawing on the idea that in spite of all the hassle and stress of commuting, "real peace is waiting to be found." The full address can be found here. http://lowly.blogspot.com/2009/11/bishop-nominee-neal-michell-address-to.html ***** When the Pope goes to England, he has been invited to visit North East UK and preach in Durham Cathedral at the invitation of its bishop Tom Wright. The invitation, from a partnership of Anglicans and Catholics, follows a visit by a Vatican representative to Durham University in March. It was made by Tom Wright, Bishop of Durham, and is supported by Bishop Seamus Cunningham of the Catholic diocese of Hexham and Newcastle. Bishop Wright said,: "Durham has in recent years become a major global centre for ecumenical work and the close interlinking of cathedral and university means that Durham is well placed to host an event which is simultaneously academic and ecumenically spiritual." This confirms my suspicion that the Pope has more respect for the neo-evangelical Tom Wright than the Affirming Catholic Rowan Williams. What a message to send out to the world. If he accepts, it would be the first Papal visit to north-east England. ***** The 2009 report on International Religious Freedom can be seen here: http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2009/index.htm ***** Christians persecuted in England. Watch this chilling report: http://tinyurl.com/yjbrhsh ***** ERD SUES CHURCH OF SOUTH INDIA. Malaika Kamunanwire, Senior Director, Marketing & Communications for Episcopal Relief & Development (ERD), wrote VOL to say that funds to benefit the victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami have gone missing and are unaccounted for forcing Episcopal Relief & Development to file a civil case against the Church of South India (CSI) and its former leadership in Chennai, India. Two years ago, ERD approached the local Church authorities with concerns when CSI failed to complete the financial reporting and required audits outlined in their agreement for 2005 and 2006. "As a result, we suspended work with CSI and implemented an in-depth effort to account for the missing funds. After a lengthy process, we deeply regret that we have been forced to take legal action. While this situation is highly unusual, we strive to honor our commitment to the people we serve around the world and the generosity of our faithful donors. By and large, our global partners are extremely meticulous in providing required reports and conducting audits as required by the terms of our partnership agreements. Our partnership with CSI was only a portion of our tsunami response work. As per standard plans and procedures, clean audits were completed with our church partners in both North India and Sri Lanka. "The sole objective of our ongoing efforts to recover the tsunami relief funds is to fulfill our original intent to faithfully administer the funds that are received on behalf of vulnerable people." Episcopal Relief & Development is the international relief and development agency of the Episcopal Church of the United States. ***** Reporters and those who write for VOL are working longer hours with their time and talent to bring you the stories you read. We believe that reporters should be paid for their services. Please consider a tax-deductible donation to keep this coming. VOL stories can now be read in 34 languages. Just go to the website www.virtueonline.org and click on the link GOOGLE TRANSLATE and select the language of your choice. Wait a few seconds and the entire website will come up in the language of your choice. www.virtueonline.org Please consider sending a tax-deductible check to: VIRTUEONLINE 1236 Waterford Rd., West Chester, PA 19380 You can also make a donation through PAYPAL. You may do so by going to www.virtueonline.org and hitting the PAYPAL link. We will respond immediately. Thank you for your support. In Christ, David From david at virtueonline.org Fri Nov 6 13:16:55 2009 From: david at virtueonline.org (david at virtueonline.org) Date: 6 Nov 2009 14:16:55 -0500 Subject: The Muddled Mind of Arizona Episcopal Bishop Kirk Smith Message-ID: <20091106191655.4091.qmail@virtueonline.org> The Muddled Mind of Arizona Episcopal Bishop Kirk Smith News Analysis By David W. Virtue www.virtueonline.org November 5, 2009 Of all the commentary appearing on blogs and in Anglican cyberspace regarding the Pope's recent offer of a safe harbor to traditionalist Anglicans, none has appeared more inane, muddled and downright inaccurate than that of the Rt. Rev. Kirk S. Smith, the Episcopal Bishop of Arizona. Here is what he said: SMITH: I've been waiting a few days to make any comment on the recent invitation from Pope Benedict XVI to disgruntled Anglicans to become Roman Catholics. VOL: First of all, these Anglicans are hardly "disgruntled". What they are wanting is to be faithful to Scripture, tradition and reason at a time when the Episcopal Church is unfaithful to Scripture, has virtually wiped out all tradition, and is being totally unreasonable over property issues. SMITH: This current invitation is a bit different in that those going to Rome have been promised that they can maintain their Anglican ways (Prayer book, etc) and even have oversight by former Anglican bishops. Still those priests and bishops will be ruled by the Vatican. VOL: That's precisely why the Pope set it up this way rather than giving them a Personal Prelature as he did Opus Dei. Anglicans would retain their Anglican identity rather than simply being absorbed like the Borg. It is exactly why they wanted their own bishops and at least one group - the Traditional Anglican Communion - has accepted the offer. SMITH: The reason dissenting Episcopalians left our church is because they don't like control. VOL: Nonsense. It has nothing to do with control. Episcopalians left to to go to Rome, the AC-NA and countless other Anglican jurisdictions because they no longer believe TEC upholds the faith once for all delivered to the saints. It has nothing to do with control. And speaking of control, there is no bigger control freak than Katharine Jefferts Schori who has assumed papal like powers in deposing bishops and controlling what bishops do over orthodox parishes that want to leave with their properties. She has said she would sooner sell them to saloon keepers than to faithful Anglicans. Who's controlling who here? SMITH: I doubt many of them would be anxious to trade in their current relative independence for orders from the Chair of St Peter. VOL: You have just contradicted yourself, Bishop. You just said that conservatives left because they didn't like control? Now you're saying that they will be trading in their "relative independence" to take "orders from the Chair of St. Peter." Which is it Bishop Smith? You can't have it both ways. SMITH: It might be a different story in England where there is a much more pronounced Anglo-Catholic wing of the Church of England, yet even so, there is wide disagreement among Anglo-Catholics over such issues as the ordination of women, use of the Roman missal instead of the Prayerbook, and the role of gay and lesbian people in the church. As has been pointed out, the Roman Church's position on sexuality is hardly consistent. It does not permit married clergy (except for Anglican converts?) and it does not permit gay clergy (even though until recently pedophilia was secretly tolerated?) There seems to be something missing here. VOL: Actually that is inaccurate on nearly all counts. Anglo-Catholics are totally united over the rejection of women to the priesthood. You will not find a single Anglo-Catholic who believes in WO. Furthermore, use of the Missal among Anglo-Catholics is very widespread and has been so for a very long time. The Roman Catholic Church's response to sex scandals has been terrible, to say the least, and they have paid a huge price with whole dioceses' declaring bankruptcy and millions paid out to those abused, often decades later. To his credit, this Pope has sent emissaries to the U.S. to clean out the Pink Mafia from its seminaries. This Pope will not tolerate sodomy in the seminaries or in his pulpits. Lastly, the sexual abuse crisis in the Catholic Church in the US and abroad was a matter of homosexuals preying on adolescent boys, not one of pedophilia, as the bishop alleges. It is "more correct," said Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, to speak of ephebophilia, a homosexual attraction to adolescent males, than pedophilia, in relation to the scandals. "Of all priests involved in the abuses, 80 to 90 per cent belong to this sexual orientation minority which is sexually engaged with adolescent boys between the ages of 11 and 17," said Tomasi. His statement is backed up by a report commissioned by US bishops that found that in the overwhelming majority of cases the clergy involved were homosexuals, with 81 percent of victims being adolescent males. The Arizona bishop's charge of pedophilia against Catholic priests is dead wrong. Furthermore, the Roman Catholic Church is picking up the pieces of a church (TEC) that publicly ordained a non-celibate homosexual to the episcopacy, because those fleeing believe their immortal souls might be at stake if they stayed or had any business with him. Can you blame them? Being a celibate bishop might not be something Smith wants for himself, but who can justify a twice divorced, three times married bishop like Barry Beisner. Smith needs to reflect on that little Biblical passage about who is without (sexual) sin casting the first stone. TEC has as much sexual sin to go around as The Roman Catholic Church. SMITH: What I think is missing is any clear Gospel proclamation on the part of the Pope. VOL: Say what? If TEC's bishops had a clear fix on the gospel, it would not be rapidly going downhill with every diocese being in numerical decline. It was Mrs. Jefferts Schori who ripped the need for personal salvation at GC2009. Most bishops believe in the weird, made-up "doctrine" of inclusion that denies repentance and faith, just a "come as you are, stay as you are", feel good church. The Anglican Church in North America was born precisely because The Episcopal Church has lost sight of what the gospel is. SMITH: Of course, he (the Pope) wants to increase the rapidly dwindling ranks of his own church. What leader would not want to do that? VOL: Say what? The Roman Catholic Church has a billion souls, give or take a million or two. Like their Anglican counterparts, they are growing by the millions in the Global South nations of sub-Sahara Africa. Admittedly, millions are pray, pay and obey Catholics who can be seen at church two or three times a year. They are Catholics nonetheless with as much of a church attendance track record as nominal Episcopalians who claim just over 2 million adherents but have an Average Sunday Attendance of about 700,000. By comparison you could fit most of TEC in a large SUV. Worldwide Anglicans are a mere 55 million not the vaunted 80 million that Lambeth proclaims. One has to take out the 25 million members of the Church of England who darken the doors at baptism and later fill cemetery plots. If it wasn't for the Global South Anglicanism would be a dying cult. Catholicism, for all its errors and omissions, continues to draw thinking people. SMITH: Is the building up of a church on the basis of hatred consistent with Jesus' message? Is the idea "If you hate gay people and women, then come join us" one Benedict really wants to support? Or is this gesture likely to become, as I suspect, a tremendous embarrassment to present and future generations of Roman Catholics? Jesus Christ's message about love and acceptance of all seems to have been somehow overlooked by the Holy Father. VOL: A billion people would not be going to a church that preached "hatred". The RCC has consistently (as have evangelicals) declared that HOMOSEXUAL BEHAVIOR is morally reprehensible and unacceptable in men, women, priests, bishops or anyone else. That is not homophobia. It is the belief that the church views marriage between a man and a woman as the only acceptable avenue for sexual behavior regardless of who breaks that commandment. The RCC has consistently said "love the sinner, hate the sin" as most of Christendom does. The Pope is not the slightest bit "embarrassed" by his stand and there is not a shred of evidence that the RCC is in decline because of his stance. Many non-Catholics view the Pope as a bulwark against post-modernism at a time when Islamic insurgency and Western decadence are polarizing the West. SMITH: Lastly, such an invitation is simply not working. In every congregation I visit, the number of people I receive from the Roman Church is almost as great as those new Episcopalians I confirm. During my visitation last week I received six people. That in just one week. In my entire five years as bishop, I know of only two people who have left the Episcopal Church to become Roman Catholics. The migration is clearly in our direction. VOL: Not only is this a narrow, provincial view of matters, the real reason Smith is seeing Catholics becoming Episcopalians has everything to do with divorce and remarriage and little else. It has nothing to do with Anglican doctrine. The Roman Catholic Church does not recognize divorce. Remarriage is only permitted and recognized if an annulment has taken place. The plea of Louie Crew to gay Catholics to join the Episcopal Church has fallen on deaf ears. There has been no wholesale departure of gay Catholics to the Episcopal Church or the Metropolitan Community Church for that matter. Gay Catholics are staying put or not going anywhere. Not even the advent of Gene Robinson has seen a massive flight of pansexual Catholics to New Hampshire or any other Episcopal diocese. The kind of pseudo spirituality Smith is promoting would be laughed at by any prelate in Rome or the Orthodox Church Patriarch for that matter. With the doctrine of inclusion nullifying and eliminating the need for the Cross or the Atonement, why should anyone believe in Smith's "gospel", a Unitarian church might have as much or more to offer. Smith needs to face the fact that he and the Pope have two very different religions and at the end of the day, more Anglican pilgrims will debark at Rome's door than Catholics embarking for Canterbury. END From david at virtueonline.org Fri Nov 6 13:17:55 2009 From: david at virtueonline.org (david at virtueonline.org) Date: 6 Nov 2009 14:17:55 -0500 Subject: Episcopal Dioceses Face Downsizing, Closing Parishes, More Departures Message-ID: <20091106191755.5183.qmail@virtueonline.org> Episcopal Dioceses Face Downsizing, Closing Parishes, More Departures By David W. Virtue www.virtueonline.org November 4, 2009 A number of congregations in the Episcopal Diocese of Maine are on the brink of bankruptcy with over 50% of its parishes receiving grants-in-aid. This has lead to the curtailing of funding for mission programming at the diocesan level and no money left to support the buildings or their budgets. The Rt. Rev. Stephen T. Lane, in an address to his diocese, said that several of his congregations face "literal bankruptcy" and that tweaking the system and the budget will no longer work. He argued that what is needed is something he called "Adaptive Change." "What we're always trying to do is tweak the system, tweak the budget, so it works a little better, a little more efficiently. We're always trying to build a better mouse trap or give ourselves a little more breathing room. We're trying to make the old system work as well as it possibly can work. But what if things have changed so much that the system itself no longer will serve? What if we've squeezed every penny out of every dollar? What if, instead of tweaking the system, we have to adapt to the change? What if we have to build a new system? What if we have to learn a new way to be church? That work is called Adaptive Change." Lane said that every congregation he visited was engaged, to some degree, in Technical Change. He admitted, "I think we've about run out the string. We can't continue for long with over 50% of our congregations receiving grants-in-aid." Lane said that the diocesan budget would be smaller this year than in over in a decade. "Many of our congregations are struggling with buildings that need a great deal of work and cost far too much to heat. The average age in many congregations continues to rise and the average attendance continues to decline. And people ask me every week, why don't my children come to church? How can we get young families back to church? How can we bring teenagers into our church? How can we find a new generation to take the load off our backs? "How can we get our old church back so we can retire in peace with a good conscience? I think the answer to our questions is beyond a technical fix. I think we need to be a new church." Lane admitted that an effort to bring together clergy and lay leaders to a conference to address a plan to rescue the diocese failed. The "wise heads" gathered for the conference weren't fully satisfied with the plan and didn't know if they wanted to volunteer for the work. A number of them decided not to volunteer, he wrote. The bishop said that as a result of the failure to deal with the failing diocese, "it may mean some congregations seeing themselves as ministry sites rather than worship sites. It may mean new ways of calling and paying clergy. It may mean deeper ecumenical and community partnerships - shared facilities and shared clergy. It may mean a return to circuit riders and house churches. It may mean - probably does mean - solutions I can't imagine." Lane described the situation as "urgent" saying that he was in conversation with several congregations who can no longer afford their budgets or their buildings, and who are facing literal bankruptcy. DIOCESE OF WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS >From the Diocese of Western Massachusetts comes word that church building closures are a common theme this year. Bishop Gordon Scruton observed that closing churches is an expensive business, and there is no ready market for such churches. The bishop admitted that the diocese could no longer afford to keep and maintain the diocesan church camp called Bement. "We have also had to face the reality that we are not able to maintain all our church buildings. The Church has far too many buildings that have ceased to serve a useful purpose. In the last century, before the days of the automobile, many churches were built too close to one another, and today they are struggling for survival. Often one would suffice where two or three now exist because they are only a few minutes apart by automobile. We must begin to think in terms of combining such churches, having team ministries, or, in cases where budgets are small, having them staffed by clergy who during much of the week are engaged in secular employment. All of this is going to involve some bold and farsighted re-thinking in the near future. "I would urge all of our people to get over the idea that the Church is a building. It is not a building at all. Instead, a Church is people, and it exists whether they meet in an ecclesiastical structure or in a storefront or in somebody's home. The place of meeting is not all-important and the sooner we accept this the freer we shall be to plan constructively for the future. Small struggling churches located not far from other Episcopal churches, will have to be combined....It is very important that we face this realistically and prepare now for an orderly change instead of drifting planlessly into a future that we are afraid to confront." Scruton admitted that over this past year, the diocese has began to talk more openly about the reality that there are more church buildings than can be supported. The bishop cited the 125-year old St. John's church in Worcester, which closed because the people came to recognize and accept their lack of energy, money and people to carry on the ministry of the congregation. The organ of St. John's will provide music for St. Michael's in Worcester. The Iglesia Cristiana Natanael will continue worshipping at St John's with the bishop tacitly acknowledging that another congregation will soon rent St. John's building with the possibility of purchase. Scruton said that closing a congregation requires an enormous amount of time, energy and money on the part of a congregation and diocesan staff. "It is expensive and time consuming to maintain empty church buildings when there is no congregation there to oversee those responsibilities. The architecture and real estate market make it difficult to sell church buildings. In the future, closing a congregation will impact all the parishes of the diocese through shared expenses in our diocesan budget." The bishop hinted broadly that the closing of Bement and St. John's impacted the diocese financially and "raised strategic questions about the future of our ministry in the Diocese of Western Massachusetts." The bishop said he sent a Pastoral Mission Letter to the whole diocese inviting it to reflect on the "sobering challenges we are facing" and "to explore the creative new opportunities for ministry that God's Spirit is opening for us in our new situation." The letter, he said, generated much discussion across the diocese. "Berkshire County wardens and clergy have gathered for three Summits to explore moving from isolated ministry to cooperative ministries. Churches in the South Berkshires are experimenting with new creative ways of working together. The Adams and North Adams congregations have entered into a covenant to discern how God is calling them to walk together. They worship as one congregation twice a month. In North Worcester, clergy and wardens have also held three Summits to explore possibilities of sharing ministry in that region. Other congregations across the diocese are beginning to initiate conversations about ways of sharing ministry. These conversations are a grass roots movement of the Holy Spirit. We will need to keep nurturing these regional conversations and creative partnerships as the context out of which God will guide us to new configurations of ministry in this new mission situation." DIOCESE OF WESTERN NEW YORK In the Diocese of Western New York, outgoing Bishop Michael Garrison discovered, much to his surprise, that he could not afford to support a church plant meeting in the vacated St. Bartholomew's property. Last year St. Bartholomew's Episcopal Church ceased to exist. The congregation, the largest in the diocese and thoroughly orthodox, bought an old synagogue and became St. Bartholomew's Anglican Church. Of course Garrison could have cut a deal with the departing parish but chose not to. They left the property and now he has to sell it. The community of St. Peter's in Forestville announced that they have left The Episcopal Church denuding the diocese of much needed income. The bishop then admitted that many parishes are in financial difficulty and that the diocese will need to reduce the number of church buildings in the next few years. His retirement will be a blessing in this case. His successor will have the "joy" of closing more parishes. "In the last few months I have met with vestries and leaders of a number of our parishes who are experiencing financial difficulties. The financial crisis we experience in our nation and world exacerbates and highlights this difficulty. In many parishes the trouble has been brought on by an over dependence on endowments. The leadership of our congregations needs to be wise and prudent in these matters. All of us are called upon to live within our means. "We also need to ask ourselves over the next few years, if we can any longer support the number of church buildings in which our community worships." Is juncturing with another diocese in their future? DIOCESE OF NEW JERSEY The Rt. Rev. George Councell, Bishop of the Diocese of New Jersey has carried a particular piece of advice with him throughout his career delivering Masses in New Jersey: Say each as if it were your first, say it as if it were your last, say it as if it were your only Mass. That outlook gave Councell something of an emotional advantage over the rank-and-file parishioners of Fair Haven's Episcopal Church of the Holy Communion recently. That was the day Councell came to preside over the congregation's last-ever Mass. After 125 years of service, the towering River Road landmark was closed for good following the afternoon service. The church and two buildings on the property are owned by the diocese, and will likely be put on the market, according to Councell. http://www.newjersey.anglican.org/ A blogger cynically wrote: "I am very disappointed with the lack of support for one of my Churches. This trend had better stop or I will make life on earth not as enjoyable as it has been for most of you. Go to one of the other local churches this weekend and double your donations so we can collect the funds necessary to reopen this most Holy of Houses. Remember I am watching all of you, so don't disappoint." DIOCESE OF WESTERN LOUISIANA At the Diocese of Western Louisiana's Thirtieth Annual Diocesan Convention, the Rt. Rev. D. Bruce MacPherson publicly admitted that the diocese could lose parishes following GC2009's Resolution actions. In his address to the diocese, the orthodox bishop hinted broadly that the diocese could not serve two masters. "We could well be faced with making a choice of being either provincially oriented or Communion oriented - for it is clear we cannot be both." Describing the situation as "uncertain," he said, "We cannot claim to be part of a catholic body and then seek to exercise 'local option' over crucial issues." He further acknowledged that there were some in the diocese who are taking a more formal step by looking towards separation. New Jersey bishop George Councell, summed it up by saying that there are some things worse than death. "One of them is denial. Resurrection follows death, not denial," he said. The Episcopal Church denial about the direction of the church and its advocacy and passage of a series of pansexual resolutions by general convention has only heightened rebellion amongst the church's rank and file. The rejection of personal faith by Presiding Bishop Jefferts Schori and the go-it-alone mentality by TEC among the Communion's archbishops has resulted in the birth of a new orthodox North American Anglican province. END From david at virtueonline.org Fri Nov 6 13:18:55 2009 From: david at virtueonline.org (david at virtueonline.org) Date: 6 Nov 2009 14:18:55 -0500 Subject: UECNA Presiding Bishop Deposes Bishops Who Moved to REC Message-ID: <20091106191855.5238.qmail@virtueonline.org> UECNA Presiding Bishop Deposes Bishops Who Moved to REC Reformed Episcopal Bishop Royal Grote Denies Irregular Transfers By David W. Virtue www.virtueonline.org November 3, 2009 The Presiding Bishop of the 30-year-old United Episcopal Church of North America (UECNA) has deposed two of his bishops because they joined the Reformed Episcopal Church (REC). Archbishop Stephen Reber wrote a letter to his clergy saying that he had deposed Bishop Wes Nolden, who now serves as a bishop of the REC/ACNA in the Missionary Diocese of the Central States, because he conspired to leave the UECNA before his consecration. He also deposed Nolden's Archdeacon, the Rev. David Straw. Another bishop, Sam Seamans also left the UECNA and was received into the REC. As soon as the vote was taken I called Bishop Reber to inform him of the vote of my parish and I resigned effective immediately. It was the day after I resigned that I was examined and received into the REC. I did everything by the book, as did my parish. Both Nolden and Straw are ministers of Trinity Anglican Church in Evansville, Indiana. Both men have been received into the REC/ACNA. Both men deny any irregularity in their move from the UECNA to the REC. REC Bishop Royal U. Grote also denies any irregularity in their move to the REC. Reber said that given the fact that this event could have (and still might) damage relations with the Anglican Catholic Church (ACC) and the Anglican Province of Christ the King (APCK), he was deposing Nolden. In a letter to Nolden, Reber wrote, "It has come to light that, previous to your so-called consecration as UECNA Bishop in January of 2009, you indicated your intention to leave the ministry of the UECNA for joinder of another Church, using the office of Bishop of UECNA as part of your intention. It is hereby declared, therefore, that your so-called consecration as Bishop of UECNA is invalid, that you did not ever become a Bishop of the UECNA, and any reference to your becoming a Bishop is untrue. You are respectfully requested to make known this fact and to pronounce such fact to any inquirer. "As Presiding Bishop of UECNA, in recognition of Canon 63 of the laws of the UECNA and any other applicable law, having learned of your joinder of the Reformed Episcopal Church and consequent abandonment of communion of the UECNA, I hereby declare that you are deposed from the ministry of the UECNA and the announcement of same has been made." Reber concluded, "Brothers, I hope this may go a small way in healing this breach that occurred. I know that Bishop Robinson attended your (ACC) Synod in Richmond. The text of this letter has been provided to the ACC and APCK Bishops." However, Bishop Royal U. Grote, Bishop Ordinary in the Diocese of Mid-America, paints a different picture of events regarding their departure and joining of the REC saying the deposition of the two men is invalid. "You can't depose someone after they left your jurisdiction. Both Wes Nolden and Sam Seamans are bishops in good standing in the REC," he told VOL. Of the timeline Grote commented, "I had no contact with Wes Nolden or Sam Seamans prior to their consecration in January, 2009. I was contacted in March 2009. They were not received into the REC until April of 2009. Letters were sent to Bishop Reber in April asking for transfers. No response was given. Suddenly, in June, the presiding bishop of UECNA decides that he can depose them after they were made bishops because of their intent not to remain in the UECNA. "Remember you are dealing with an extremely small continuing Church group here with less than a dozen parishes who have little more than 10 people in them. Four of their small parishes and missions chose to leave and join the REC. Their desire was to be a part of something that wasn't run out of someone's home den. I think if you examine the time sequence of events, the so called deposition doesn't add up." Grote went on to say that David Straw is a Presbyter in good standing. "All were properly examined and received according to the constitution and Canons of the REC." "I did not conspire to leave the UECNA prior to Bishop Nolden's consecration. There is no proof of this existing anywhere because it simply did not happen," Straw told VOL. "I have never received notification in writing regarding this at all. I also do not believe that any of the other priests or deacons who left the UECNA for the REC at roughly the same time I did received anything in writing as well. Canon 63 of the Canons of the UECNA clearly states that I was to be notified and given a six month suspension and a chance to respond to these charges. This never happened." Straw said that initially Archbishop Reber gave Trinity and its clergy his "blessing" in regards to their leaving. "However, after we left Archbishop Reber changed his mind and sent out an e-mail condemning the action. It is pretty much a fact of history that the REC and the UECNA have exchanged clergy in the past and have had previously a positive relationship. "The Continuum is acting like TEC. If you leave for the new province we will depose you. I have never received a letter telling me I was deposed. I was never informed that there were proceedings against me of any type." In a "Dear Little Flock" letter that VOL obtained, Reber berates the Reformed Episcopal Church describing them as "non-Continuing- non Episcopal - non Anglican" who left the "Anglican world in 1870 over what they perceived as a Catholic direction among Anglican - Episcopalians at that time. "I cannot help but wonder how this most perplexing agenda could inspire a Suffragan bishop, an Archdeacon, and a Priest and Deacon in Holy Orders, under vows to break, abandon, and deny their most sacred obligation??? But then again, among the apostles there was Judas," wrote Reber. An exasperated Straw wrote back, "Why attack a member of the REC College of Bishops and the House of Bishops in the ACNA? People move back and forth between other denominational bodies all the time and there is not this kind of bitterness. I sincerely do not understand why church bodies carry-on with this sort of thing and take away from time and energy that could be focused on spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ." Straw admitted that in the spring of 2009 there was a movement among the laity and clergy in his parish and in other UECNA parishes regarding the viability of the UECNA and its failure to form a cohesive witness to Jesus Christ along with other Anglican bodies in the. "I cannot tell you the heartbreak I felt as a clergyman when parishioners would run up to me excitedly holding articles clipped out of the newspaper that spoke about the new ACNA that was forming and I would have to tell them..."I am sorry. That's not what we are part of." Then these people would ask what we were part of and I would be left trying to explain the mess that is the Continuing Church movement. It simply broke my heart that I could give these people no hope for a national church home." A total of four parishes have left the UECNA along with the UECNA's National Military Chaplain, Fr. Daniel Sparks. An estimated ten clergyman (including two bishops) have left the UECNA, according to Straw. "I believe that the Continuing Church movement has failed to create a cohesive national church in over thirty years. When TEC imploded there was not a suitable place for Episcopalians to go because of the division and infighting that has been the hallmark of the Continuum. All of the parishes that left the UECNA voted to leave in overwhelming numbers because they wanted to be part of a growing and vibrant national church. The ACNA has allowed this to happen for those of us who left." Bishop Nolden wrote VOL to say he had no plans to leave the UECNA prior to his consecration as bishop. "I have no idea how he arrived at that conclusion and I would be very interested to see any hard evidence he has to support such an unfortunate false statement. In fact, after I advised Bishop Reber of our parish's decision to leave the UECNA for the REC he contacted one of the bishops who was consecrated with me, who eventually also left for the REC, and told this bishop that I left with his (Reber's) blessing. This bishop told me Bishop Reber advised him to pray about the situation and do what was best for his parish and himself." Nolden said Reber sent him a letter advising him that he had been deposed, but that was about three months after he had left and had already been received into the REC House of Bishops. "I received the letter at my home while I was attending the ACNA Inaugural Assembly in Ft. Worth. My wife read it to me over the telephone. Since most of our bishops were at the Assembly I spoke with my (REC) Ordinary, Bishop Dan Morse, as well as Bishops Roy Grote, Ray Sutton, and our Presiding Bishop Leonard Riches immediately after being advised of the letter's contents. All of our lead bishops assured me this has no bearing on my position in the REC. Several of my brother bishops in the ACNA College of Bishops who were deposed by PB Jefferts Schori were fascinated that a continuing church appeared to be using the same tactics as TEC toward those who chose to leave for the new province." Bishop Seamans wrote to VOL and said this, "My parish voted to leave the UECNA for the REC at a parish meeting in April. It was AFTER that point that I traveled to Dallas, Texas to meet with Bishop Grote and Bishop Sutton for a meeting and examination in accordance with the REC canons, said Seamans. "Since that time I have intentionally refrained from disparaging Bishop Reber or making public any criticisms of his office or the UECNA. I wish them well, and there are still many lay folks and clergy in the continuum that I love and care about. "After the news of +Nolden's departure and the three parishes broke I was heartbroken, and I spent many hours on the phone with Bishop Reber. He told me that I needed to meet with my vestry, pray about it, and then do what was best for my parish and myself. That is what I did, and for following his advice I was deposed." Church of the Resurrection Fr. Gregory Mashburn, rector of the Anglican Church of the Resurrection, Shalimar, Florida, is pastor of one of four parishes that left the UECNA this past spring. Over the past few years many members of the parish have expressed a great deal of frustration over the lack of pastoral care and leadership from Archbishop Reber, Mashburn told VOL. "The previous rector had served the parish for 24 years. Owing to health issues and the distance he lived from the parish, he was not able to adequately provide pastoral care to the faithful or surrounding community. There were also serious concerns over the increased number of rather odd, terse, disjointed letters and oral statements from Archbishop Reber on issues ranging from the departure of a previous Suffragan Bishop Leo Michael, to how to say the word "saith", or not to bow too far at the name of Jesus or the "Glory be," to our own departure from the UECNA this past Spring. "Following my call to the parish I began to hear numerous concerns from the majority of the members of the parish about their disappointment of, and frustrations with, Archbishop Reber. It had been two years since he had visited them. They felt neglected and their concerns about the direction of the UECNA and the Continuing Anglican movement were not being addressed. "Discussions about moving to a viable, growing, and mission oriented jurisdiction that was healthy were already under way long before I arrived," he told VOL. Mashburn urged the members to remain faithful and to focus on the mission and calling of the parish within the UECNA. But by March 2009, he could no longer deny the concerns of a majority of members of the parish. Following prayer and research, the parish felt led to talk with leaders of the Reformed Episcopal Church, as a founding member of the province of the Anglican Church in North America. "Our members felt that that was the jurisdiction and province the parish was being called to engage a relationship with." Following a unanimous Vestry vote, the parish moved to the Reformed Episcopal Church. Fr. Mashburn and Deacon Brown (now Fr. Brown) attended a meeting with REC Bishops Grote and Sutton of the Diocese of Mid-America in order to make them aware of the parish's potential move. "On March 30, I spoke with Archbishop Reber to make him aware of all of the details on this possible move. Reber had been made aware of the possible move earlier in the day by the previous rector. I was accused of orchestrating this potential move with a member of the parish, and was also told by Reber that he would have had more respect for me and the parish if we joined with the Unitarian Universalists, rather than the REC. It was very clear that Reber had nothing good to say about the REC, or any other founding part of the ACNA. "We were accused of making this move for our own personal agenda. In actuality, the parish made this move out of a clear desire and move by the Holy Spirit to be where God was and is blessing His work and mission to bring the transforming love of Jesus Christ to a lost and hurting world. Before the end of the day all references to our parish was stricken from the UECNA website which was taken as a sign that we had basically been excommunicated. We had not even voted. On April 5, at a special meeting the parish membership voted overwhelmingly to join the REC." OTHER CONTINUING CHURCH NEWS There are signs of reshuffling within the Continuing movement following the recent announcement by Rome that they will accept traditionalist Anglicans into their church. It might also indicate that the Continuing Church movement is slowly breaking up. VOL received a note saying that Bishop Rocco Florenza was received into the Anglican Catholic Church (ACC) at their Provincial Synod in Richmond, VA, recently following his resignation from the Anglican Church in America (ACA). The bishops of the ACC voted unanimously to receive Bishop Florenza in his episcopal orders. He has been appointed the Episcopal Visitor for the New England Diocese. Two years ago Florenza took all but three parishes from the eastern diocese of the Anglican Province of Christ the King (APCK) to the ACA. On this occasion there were no parishes involved. A source told VOL that his move had everything to do with the recent proclamation from Rome to receive traditionalist Anglicans. "He (Florenza) came from Rome and has apparently vowed never to be associated with them ever again." Another source told VOL that Florenza wants the unity of Anglican-Catholics without the dogmatic accretions of Rome. END From david at virtueonline.org Fri Nov 6 13:19:55 2009 From: david at virtueonline.org (david at virtueonline.org) Date: 6 Nov 2009 14:19:55 -0500 Subject: Cranmer Scholar Weighs Bible in Light of English Reformation & American Culture Message-ID: <20091106191955.5300.qmail@virtueonline.org> Cranmer Scholar Weighs Bible in Light of English Reformation and American Culture By David W. Virtue www.virtueonline.org November 5, 2009 David W. Virtue recently interviewed Cranmer scholar, historian and theologian The Rev. Canon Dr. Ashley Null in the unlikely venue of New York City where neither lives. The occasion was a "Focus on Ministry" conference held at the American Bible Society which included outstanding Bible teacher and expositor Jonathan Juckes, Rector of Kirk Ella in East Yorkshire. He has served at major Anglican evangelical parishes in England (Sevenoaks, St. Helen's, Bishopsgate) and was on the staff of the Proclamation Trust, an organization dedicated to promoting expository preaching. The Rev. Gregory O. Brewer, rector of Calvary St. Georges co-chaired the event with the Rev. John Mason Founding Rector of Christ Church New York City. Mason taught New Testament theology and has been an Anglican minister for over thirty-five years. He is originally from Sydney, Australia. Dr. Null is canon theologian in the Diocese of Western Kansas. He is a fellow of the Royal Historical Society, London, and currently The Episcopal Church's Scaife-Anderson Fellow at St. Vladimir's Orthodox Seminary in New York. He is the author of "Thomas Cranmer's Doctrine of Repentance: Renewing the Power to Love" and a "The Power of Unconditional Love: Thomas Cranmer for Today", forthcoming from Holy Trinity, Brompton, in London. Since I was attending the lectures he was giving here in New York, he agreed to this interview. VOL: Canon Null, what are you doing in New York City? NULL: I have the privilege and pleasure of speaking at the first annual Focus on Ministry Conference in NYC which is a partnership of Christ Church Anglican, Calvary/St George (TEC) and the American Bible Society. VOL: What is the thrust of your message? NULL: I have specially appreciated two things about this conference. First, its wrestling with how to understand the Bible in light of the insights from the English Reformation and, secondly, how those in the Anglican tradition can effectively proclaim the Gospel to those steeped in the assumptions of American popular culture. VOL: So who is taking part in the conference? NULL: The Rev. Jonathan Juckes, is rector of Kirk Ella in East Yorkshire, who is giving expository preaching sessions and workshops during the day on how to exegete the Bible for preaching purposes to area pastors. My brief has been two fold - to discuss the relationship between the Bible and Cranmer's liturgical initiatives as well as the theological principles at the heart of the English Reformation. VOL: What insights from the English Reformation do you think would be helpful for people steeped in American popular culture? NULL: I am so glad you asked. Americans today often confuse unconditional affirmation with unconditional love. Unconditional affirmation is what your dog gives you. He simply affirms you without challenging your innate desire to be the center of your own universe. That's why it feels so good. Unconditional love, however, is not the same as unconditional affirmation. Love creates a crisis. And the greater the love, the greater the crisis. For love reaches out for union. For implicit within the gift of love is a calling of the other into relationship. To accept the gift of love is admit into our heart a power from outside ourselves that tugs at our very self-centredness, seeking to draw us into relationship by stirring up in us a desire to love in return the one who gave us the gift of love. Yet, the price of this relationship is a dent in our self-sufficient autonomy, where our selfish ways have thrived unquestioned. And the greater the love, the greater the loss of the right to live for oneself alone. And perfect, unconditional love seeks to stir up an equally unreserved giving of all of ourselves to the other. In short, true unconditional love does not simply affirm us in our self-satisfied self-centredness. True unconditional love provokes the ultimate crisis where we are called to die completely to our desire for autonomy and wholly give ourselves to the one who has already done the same for us. The true meaning of the Gospel of Grace is this: that God unconditionally calls each of us to seek release from our selfish ways so that we can join the self-giving fellowship of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, and his love is so at work in us to transform us that one day we will enjoy fellowship with God and one another as much as God enjoys fellowship within Himself. VOL: Did the English Reformation address this issue? NULL: What is amazing about the English Reformation is that it understood that unconditional love is at the very heart of the gospel. Christianity has always understood that the only effective way to fight sin is to love God more than selfish self-centeredness. The dilemma, however, has always been how do you help people to actually love like that. The Medieval answer was to use both hope and fear: on the one hand, to give people hope that if they did what they could God would put that love in them and, on the other, to stir up fear in Christians that if they didn't do what they could, they would spend eternity apart from His love. The English reformers understood that fear, shame, and duty do not help people love God. Rather, they promote a sense of worthlessness that actually makes people more susceptible to the lure of sinful self gratification. After all when would you must want to make themselves feel good, if only for a short time? When you feel really bad about yourself. The reformers understood that the ability to love God can only come by knowing He first loved us unconditionally and unchangingly. That was the whole point of teaching Justification by faith. Salvation could not be earned. It had to be received as a free gift. After all, if love is earned, it's not love. Of course, that goes diametrically opposed to the assumptions of American culture. VOL: In what sense is it contrary to American culture? NULL: The American dream, more accurately the American myth, or even more accurately, the American illusion is that everyone has the opportunity and burden to create their own identity, to define their future, to be all that they can be by creating their own sense of self through what they do. In this culture, your worth is specifically determined by your performance. Your success at becoming what you think will give you meaning and purpose is all about the individual defining, shaping, governing, protecting, preserving and financing the universe in which they choose to inhabit. That's why American culture confuses unconditional love with unconditional affirmation. If you are seeking to create your own identity, you want affirmation that you are being successful. This is where religion can actually be a stumbling block in the way of people learning the true Gospel. They can look at religion as just another means of proving to themselves and to others that they are good people because they do good things and better than those who don't. You may have noticed that there are some tensions currently in the Anglican Communion? VOL: Yes, I have. (Laughter) NULL: What is truly ironic and a cause for weeping is that so often all sides in our current inter-Anglican debates slip so easily into competing moralisms, that is, having their own favorite list and activities which show that they are good people and why those who disagree with them are not good people. Whenever you use Christianity to prove you look like God and better than other people you have lost hold of the cross and the insights of the English Reformation. VOL: What do you mean? NULL: The heart of the Anglican Reformation is not what we do for God but what God has done for us. It is not about earning God's love but sharing the love he has so graciously given us. For Cranmer grace produces gratitude, gratitude produces love, love (not shame, fear or duty) produces repentance, repentance then produces good works, and good works produces a better society. VOL: So what is the relationship between unconditional love and repentance? NULL: That's a key point. You remember when we said that the difference between unconditional love and unconditional affirmation is that unconditional love challenges our self-centeredness. To begin to know God is to begin to know how much unlike Him we are. In the words of Cranmer, we need to remember how easily we are led astray by following "too much the devices and desires of our own hearts." A friend of mine pointed out a wonderful bumper sticker, "Don't believe everything you think." The more we spend time in God's presence by reading his Word and in His worship we begin to realize that our hearts and minds are challenged by his unconditional love to grow more like the one who has made known His love for us on the cross. You see the problem is not so much that good works are not important, the problem all too often in contemporary Anglicanism of whatever branch is that we get the cart before the horse. We emphasize the work that we should do, without recognizing whatever we do is the fruit of God working in us. (Phil 2: 12-13) That Scripture makes clear that we are to be active in following Christ and serving others and the only way that is possible is if we remember and rely on Christ to be at work in us first to will and to do what is right. VOL: In a nutshell, what would you say the message of this conference is? NULL: True to his Erasmian training, Thomas Cranmer said it best: the Bible is the "most holy relic that remaineth upon earth." What he meant by that was that the Bible, because it is God's Word, and God's words, it is the living mind of Christ. As we are steeped in it, or better yet, as it is indelibly written on our hearts and minds by the Holy Spirit, we encounter and are united to Christ. That means He dwells in us and we in him through His word and worship. Only then can we can become effective communicators to a performance-driven culture. What is our message: that rest for the soul, hope for present wholeness, vision and energy to make a difference in society today and assurance of dwelling in God's presence in the Age to come is found only in God's unconditional love made uniquely clear in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, our only Savior and Lord. VOL: Thank you Dr. Null From david at virtueonline.org Fri Nov 6 13:20:55 2009 From: david at virtueonline.org (david at virtueonline.org) Date: 6 Nov 2009 14:20:55 -0500 Subject: PORTLAND, Me. Episcopal Bishop Stephen T. Lane responds to Question 1 results Message-ID: <20091106192055.5388.qmail@virtueonline.org> PORTLAND, Me. Episcopal Bishop Stephen T. Lane responds to Question 1 results Episcopal Diocese of Maine Press Release November 4, 2009 Bishop Stephen T. Lane has issued the following statement on the passage of Question 1: "Yesterday, Question 1 provided each of us with the opportunity to exercise our franchise, to express our support for the right of same-gender couples to be afforded the full rights and responsibilities of a civil marriage or to disagree. Yesterday, Mainers chose to disagree. Many faithful Episcopalians are deeply grieved at this decision. They had hoped that they and their families might enjoy the recognition and protections afforded heterosexual couples. The rejection of the law also feels like rejection of them as persons. I join in their grief that the right of same gender couples to enter into a lifelong, monogamous marriage has been denied. At the same time I know there are other faithful Episcopalians who are thankful about the election results. I understand that this matter has been a matter of conscience for them. Although the question of same-gender civil marriage may be settled in Maine for now, I would remind all Episcopalians both here in Maine and across the wider Church that we will continue the conversation about these issues for years to come. The Episcopal Church in Maine will continue to offer a warm welcome to all people including those for whom the results of this referendum are disappointing. Especially in this tender time, I offer our assurances to gay and lesbian Mainers that you, your relationships, and your families have our support and blessing. After Governor Baldacci signed the Marriage Equality law last spring, I began to work on a set of guidelines for our clergy to use with legal same-gender marriage. These guidelines will not be distributed. However, I will continue to work with a small group to consider the ways we may support the faithful, monogamous relationships of faithful gay and lesbian Episcopalians. Yesterday was a set back to be sure, but we will continue to strive for justice and peace among all people. We are in this for the long haul. I welcome your comments and your concerns about this development in our life as Mainers and as Episcopalians. Whether you are saddened or thankful, please know that you remain in my prayers." END From david at virtueonline.org Fri Nov 6 13:21:55 2009 From: david at virtueonline.org (david at virtueonline.org) Date: 6 Nov 2009 14:21:55 -0500 Subject: PITTSBURGH: Bishop Duncan Writes to his Diocese about Appeal Message-ID: <20091106192155.5453.qmail@virtueonline.org> PITTSBURGH: Bishop Duncan Writes to his Diocese about Appeal ANGLICAN DIOCESE OF PITTSBURGH Office of the Bishop 30th October, A.D.2009 TO THE ELECTED LEADERSHIP OF THE DIOCESE: Beloved in the Lord, I am writing to you from Southern California on Friday afternoon. Yesterday was a very important day for us in the Diocese of Pittsburgh. I want to give you some first-hand information on yesterday's announcements, and the decisions leading up to them. As those of you who have been with us in leadership through the first phase of the Calvary lawsuit will recall, the long-established practice in the diocese is to have the Standing Committee serve as the body of direct oversight relating to legal matters. Particularly in times of major decision and legal consultation it is the Standing Committee that we entrust with responsibility for setting the course forward. All in the Diocese have, in recent weeks, been asked to fast and pray as the Standing Committee deliberated about whether to appeal the decision of the Allegheny Court of Common Pleas regarding transfer of all diocesan held assets to the Episcopal Church minority. The Standing Committee has also been wrestling with issues of how to keep our congregations focused on their mission, how to best protect that congregational mission, and how to communicate with the media in the most effective manner possible. Yesterday's press conference and simultaneous distribution to the whole diocesan family were the fruit of all the labor and all the answered prayer. The decision to appeal was a unanimous decision, taken one week and re-visited in the next, allowing for the kind of consideration that such a critical decision demanded. Moreover, the reasons were precisely as stated in the press release: protection of the assets of the parishes (not accepting a diocesan-level precedent that would have immediate and damaging consequences when applied to the parishes) and assuring that the ultimate question of whether a diocese has the right to re-align (affecting not just Pittsburgh) receive its day in court. A blessing of the deliberateness and faithfulness with which the Standing Committee acted was that the decision for re-branding the diocese also emerged. Our people are exasperated by the confusion of being part of an "Episcopal Diocese," and the media shy away from important stories because it has been so hard to make clear which players are which. The lawyers encouraged us to make the change to "whatever best expresses your mission." The "Anglican Diocese of Pittsburgh" fit that bill. Furthermore, the stories of the last ten days in national and international media about the Vatican and the Anglicans have so changed the landscape that the present moment seemed propitious in the extreme. As you may be aware, the Anglican Archbishop in Pittsburgh has been quoted on the front page of the Wall Street Journal, seen in a story of the CBS Evening News, and will be featured in the Sunday New York Times Magazine the weekend of our Diocesan Convention. The Standing Committee was also unanimous about the name change and the timing. At Diocesan Convention we will be able to make a simple canonical addition to Canon 1 that allows us to do business as "The Anglican Diocese of Pittsburgh," while still having the old name appear throughout our official documents. One other item of importance - one of which many of you are already aware - is that our lawyers recommended establishment of a corporation and accounts completely separate from the presently disputed ones. This has been done. The Anglican Diocese of Pittsburgh, Inc., now exists, has its own EIN number, and is receiving assessments and donations. Parish treasurers have been advised. There is now no way funds - given presently or in the future - will be co-mingled with disputed funds. Most will immediately see the wisdom in this. Have we done what is right? One source has come forward and almost completely paid off our existing legal debt. Another source is talking with me about a challenge grant of six figures to encourage significant giving to our Staying Faithful (Legal Defense) Fund. A high-powered marketing executive has come forward and committed to helping us get our message out in a way that builds momentum as we help the public to understand the inherent unfairness of a minority seizing everything. I think these are pretty significant signs that the Standing Committee has done its work in a way that has God's favor. Jonathan Millard, rector of Ascension Church, and then Geoff Chapman, rector of St. Stephen's - both members of Standing Committee - pointed out during our deliberations that St. Paul appealed to Caesar when wronged by a local court. Our brothers also pointed out that, despite the difficulties and losses along the way, Christianity was thus proclaimed at the center of an empire. We do not know where our efforts will end, but we do know that there is Scriptural warrant that can be called on for encouragement. In any case, it is the mission, not our sufferings, that matters. There will time in the meetings of Trustees and Council during the weeks ahead to answer more specific questions, but this letter is an immediate offering to the whole of our elected leadership team. Each one of you matters. The involvement of every one of you is crucial. (It is the same for our clergy, who are being copied on this letter.) Join us for Diocesan Convention next weekend, especially for Friday night if you can. There are great days ahead for the Anglican Diocese of Pittsburgh and for the Anglican Church in North America. Faithfully in Christ, +Bob Pittsburgh From david at virtueonline.org Fri Nov 6 13:22:55 2009 From: david at virtueonline.org (david at virtueonline.org) Date: 6 Nov 2009 14:22:55 -0500 Subject: NEWPORT BEACH, CA: ACNA Bishop is ordained before hundreds Message-ID: <20091106192255.5514.qmail@virtueonline.org> NEWPORT BEACH, CA: ACNA Bishop is ordained before hundreds Pageantry and song accompany Long Beach rector's three-hour welcome to the Diocese of Western Anglicans. The church's first bishop will preside over 22 churches. By Brianna Bailey http://www.dailypilot.com/articles/2009/11/01/religion/dpt-ordination110109.txt November 1, 2009 Anglican clergymen from as far away as Uganda and Newfoundland visited Newport Beach on Saturday to ordain a new bishop in the fledgling Anglican Church of North America. Formed in 2008, the church is made up of congregations in the United States and Canada that have broken away from the Episcopal Church over differing views on homosexuality and the Scriptures. The movement includes Newport's St. James Church on Via Lido. "This is an important, historical day for the whole church," said Archbishop Robert Duncan of the Anglican Church of North America, who presided over the incense-drenched ceremony at St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church on Saturday. "You can see the excitement in the people today." William Thompson was ordained as the first bishop of the of the Diocese of Western Anglicans of the Anglican Church in North America during a three-hour ceremony filled with pageantry and song. The newly formed Diocese of Western Anglicans Thompson will preside over includes 22 churches scattered across California, Arizona, Idaho, Washington and Montana. The few hundred people assembled at the ordination broke into applause as the archbishop placed a red embroidered bishop's hat atop Thompson's head. "Receive the helmet of protection and salvation," Duncan said after placing the pointed hat on Thompson's head. "Be merciful and not remiss, so minister discipline, yet do not forget mercy, that when the chief shepherd shall appear, you man receive the never fading crown of glory." At one point during the ceremony, Thompson began to cry, while kneeling at the front of the church. "I was mostly trying to hold my tears back," Thompson said after the ordination. "There was a sense of unbelief that God had chosen me for this." Thompson, rector at All Saint's Church in Long Beach, never had aspirations to be a become a bishop, he said. But he has become one of the leaders in a growing movement of conservative congregations who have broken away from the Episcopal Church in the past five years over differing views on homosexuality and their interpretation of Holy Scripture. The fledgling bishop hopes to see his diocese grow, building new churches across the Western United States, he said. There are also the ongoing legal battles with the Episcopal Church to attend to. Several churches in the diocese are still embroiled in heated property disputes with the Episcopal Church, including St. James. St. James became one of three conservative Southern California parishes that placed themselves under the jurisdiction of an Anglican Ugandan bishop after the Episcopal Church consecrated a gay bishop in 2003. Other Episcopal bishops began sanctioning gay marriages about the same time. The break led to a highly publicized property dispute over whether the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles or the St. James' congregation owned the white stucco church, which stands across the street from Newport Harbor on the Balboa Peninsula. END From david at virtueonline.org Fri Nov 6 13:23:55 2009 From: david at virtueonline.org (david at virtueonline.org) Date: 6 Nov 2009 14:23:55 -0500 Subject: Anglican Diocese of Pittsburgh to Leave Longtime Office Message-ID: <20091106192355.5574.qmail@virtueonline.org> Anglican Diocese of Pittsburgh to Leave Longtime Office by Douglas LeBlanc The Living Church http://tinyurl.com/y9v3euc October 30, 2009 The Pittsburgh diocese led by the Rt. Rev. Robert W. Duncan will soon leave its longtime office space in the Henry W. Oliver Building, which offers dramatic views of Trinity Cathedral in downtown Pittsburgh. The group announced on Tuesday that it will appeal a church-property ruling by Judge Joseph M. James of the Court of Common Pleas in Allegheny County, and it will now be known as the Anglican Diocese of Pittsburgh. Since leaving the Episcopal Church in October 2008, the group had used the name of the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh (Anglican). Shawn Malarkey of the Anglican Diocese of Pittsburgh said the name change is not related to legal strategy. "Rather than bringing greater clarity to the legal case, it's actually bringing greater clarity to our internal identity, and moving forward," he told The Living Church. He added that the diocese was resolving the awkwardness posed for reporters, who had to write about two entities claiming the name of the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh. The Anglican Diocese of Pittsburgh is not renewing its lease in the Oliver Building, and will move on Dec. 1 to new office space in the Allegheny Center, Mr. Malarkey said. Rich Creehan of the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh reserved comment on whether it would move into the Oliver Building office space being vacated by Bishop Duncan's diocese. "We are waiting for a report from the Special Master regarding what is covered in this agreement," he said. Statements released by the two dioceses indicated that they are both prepared for a long-term legal battle. "Our decision to appeal is for the purpose of protecting the mission of our fifty-one local congregations," said a statement from the Anglican Diocese of Pittsburgh. "Left uncontested, the award of all diocesan assets to the minority party, a group that comprises only a third of the parishes that were a part of our diocese when we withdrew from the Episcopal Church, would establish a precedent that we believe the minority would use to take steps to seize all the assets of all our local parishes." The Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh countered: Judge James found that the 2005 Stipulation and Order - that both sides agreed to before those former leaders left the Episcopal Church - clearly and unambiguously requires that the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh of the Episcopal Church of the United States be the rightful trustee of those assets. "We stand ready to defend our position and the court's ruling on appeal. At the same time, we will continue to cooperate in the orderly transition of diocesan property, and when the time is right, to engage in a dialogue on other issues between us that still need to be resolved." END From david at virtueonline.org Fri Nov 6 13:24:55 2009 From: david at virtueonline.org (david at virtueonline.org) Date: 6 Nov 2009 14:24:55 -0500 Subject: NASHVILLE, TN: Episcopal Diocese of Tennessee sues to reclaim church Message-ID: <20091106192455.5645.qmail@virtueonline.org> NASHVILLE, TN: Episcopal Diocese of Tennessee sues to reclaim church St. Andrew's Parish group won't surrender Woodmont building >From The Tennessean, http://www.tennessean.com/article/2009911010368 November 1, 2009 Bishop John Bauerschmidt of the Episcopal Diocese of Tennessee has been hoping that God would resolve a conflict between the diocese and St. Andrew's Parish in Nashville. But the dispute is now headed to court. The Rev. James Guill, rector of St. Andrew's, says his congregation left the Episcopal Church and joined a breakaway Anglican diocese based in Quincy, Ill. They claim to have taken the deed to their property with them. The bishop disagrees. He says that St. Andrew's is still an Episcopal church. Guill and church members can vacate the building and join any group they want, said Bauerschmidt, as long as they leave the church keys by the door when they go. At issue is the future of St. Andrew's Parish and the church's property at 3700 Woodmont Blvd. in West Nashville. "Parishes don't have the option to leave the diocese," Bauerschmidt said. "People can do whatever they want. But a parish doesn't have that option." For the past three years, the two sides have been at a standstill, with neither willing to budge. The congregation of St. Andrew's continued to worship in the building, while the diocese waited for a change of heart on the part of Guill's congregation. That ended Friday, when the diocese filed suit against St. Andrew's to reclaim the property. "We feel like we have left time for God to work," Bauerschmidt said. "We would like them to participate in the life of the diocese. But leadership at St. Andrew's seems unwilling to do that." Many court cases Bauerschmidt is the latest Episcopal bishop to end up in court with former members of his flock. In recent years, about 60 disputes over Episcopal property have been decided by lawsuits. In almost every case, courts have ruled in favor of dioceses because of an Episcopal church law known as the Dennis Canon. That church law states that local church property is held in trust for the denomination. In St. Andrew's case, the church bought the Woodmont property from the diocese for $10 in 1966, and the deed does not contain any mention of a trust involving the diocese. Bishop John Bauerschmidt of the Episcopal Diocese of Tennessee has been hoping that God would resolve a conflict between the diocese and St. Andrew's Parish in Nashville. But according to the lawsuit, when St. Andrew's became a parish in the 1960s, its leaders agreed to abide by the rules of the diocese. That includes the rules about property ownership. Guill declined to talk about the current dispute. He insisted in several e-mails, however, that the church severed ties with the diocese in 2006. Blakely Matthews, the church's attorney, made the same claim in a letter last week. "As you know, St. Andrew's left the Diocese of Tennessee in 2006, and established a relationship with the Diocese of Quincy," he wrote. In 2006, Quincy remained part of the Episcopal Church. But last year, it left the denomination. The Anglican Church in North America did confirm that St. Andrew's appears on its list of congregations. Like many divorces, the dispute between the diocese and St. Andrew's is messy. It dates at least to 1978, when church members were angered over the ordination of women priests. Things intensified in 2003, when the denomination's General Convention approved the Rev. Gene Robinson, a gay man, as the bishop of New Hampshire. Guill saw that decision as a departure from historic Christianity. He said, at the time, that the New Hampshire situation upset his congregation. "All that I've had expressed to me is dismay and concern and disappointment and anger over the General Convention's leaving the apostolic faith once received," he said in 2003. St. Andrew's is not the first congregation in Tennessee to split from the diocese. In November 2006, the Rev. Ray Kasch and most of the members of All Saints Church in Smyrna left to form St. Patrick's Anglican Church. Two more churches experienced similar splits in 2008. Kasch said his congregation left because of a dispute over doctrine. He argues that the Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori, the presiding bishop in the Episcopal denomination, no longer believes the basics of the faith. "She told Time magazine that she doesn't believe that Jesus is the only way to heaven," he said. "After that, we could not stay. The break was necessary to say we are stepping away from the decisions of the national church." When they left the Episcopal Church, Kasch and his congregation moved out of their building. "It was hard to walk away from the building. We were the one who gave our blood, sweat and tears to build it," he said. Diocese still healthy Despite the difficulties with St. Andrew's and the denomination's national woes, the local diocese remains relatively healthy. Its membership grew slightly last year. For the most part, those parishes that disagree with the denomination have opted to stay. "The truth is that there are many of us who are not enthusiastic about the decisions of the national denomination," said the Rev. Jerry Smith, rector of St. Bartholomew's Episcopal Church in Nashville. "But the church is bigger than us. If you leave, all your credibility is gone." Even if the diocese wins the lawsuit, there appears to be little hope for reconciliation with members of St. Andrew's or other Episcopalians who have left the church. Conservative Anglican blogger David Virtue summed up the dilemma the church faces this way: "At the end of the day, The Episcopal Church may well prevail with the properties, but they will never win the hearts of those who have left," he wrote. "They have gone for good despite Jefferts Schori's plea that 'we'll keep the doors open.' She might just as well close them. They will never return." END From david at virtueonline.org Fri Nov 6 13:25:56 2009 From: david at virtueonline.org (david at virtueonline.org) Date: 6 Nov 2009 14:25:56 -0500 Subject: BELLEVILLE, ILL: Episcopal minister: Former church wants to 'destroy' him Message-ID: <20091106192556.5732.qmail@virtueonline.org> BELLEVILLE, ILL: Episcopal minister: Former church wants to 'destroy' him By Beth Hundsdorfer & Grace Pawlaczyk News-Democrat http://www.bnd.com/homepage/story/995584.html November 05, 2009 The Rev. Dale Coleman, who has quietly led St. George's Episcopal Church in Belleville for two years, believes there are people at his former church in New Mexico "who want to destroy me." He said that a vendetta has followed him to Belleville that started over ideological differences involving homosexuals in the church but escalated into a series of personal attacks that he still faces in court, including that the married minister improperly spent church money on a girlfriend. Coleman opened himself up to scrutiny by his former church by filing a lawsuit to force the church to pay $40,000 left unpaid on a $115,000 severance agreement. Last month, lawyers for the Church of the Holy Faith in Santa Fe, N.M., accused Coleman of financial misconduct, immorality and adultery in legal documents, stating Coleman misled the church's governing body and wasn't entitled to the remaining part of the severance agreement Coleman reached with the church. Coleman filed suit against Holy Faith in August for breach of contact for failing to pay the full severance. Coleman denied any wrongdoing at his previous job and stated that the employee was a close friend but was never his lover. Coleman, in an interview with the News-Democrat, said he became a target because of his position that the church did not have the authority to sanction gay marriage and ordination, but he said, "I had a reputation as being very welcoming. They are God's children." That position, he said, was an underlying issue that helped drive him out of Holy Faith, the oldest Episcopal church in New Mexico. He called the pressure his opponents used to get him to leave the church "psychological warfare." The church answered the lawsuit by accusing Coleman of misappropriation of church funds and getting $60,000 from a church parishioner under false pretenses. It also specifically accuses Coleman of using a church American Express Card to charge $1,000 a month on lunches, including many with a church employee they say was his girlfriend, and other personal expenses, such as prescription medicine and books. An attorney for Holy Faith declined comment for this story. Several audits of his expenses were conducted at the request of Holy Faith officials, Coleman said. "They went through every scrap of paper. I was exonerated," he said. Bishop Peter Beckwith -- who leads the Episcopal Diocese of Springfield, which covers 60 Southern Illinois counties, including the metro-east -- said a selection committee at St. George's investigated the accusations and found no basis for them. And the fact that the former Sante Fe church administrator whom Coleman was accused of having an affair with divorced her husband and moved to Belleville is not evidence of a romantic relationship, Beckwith said. "He has my support. Absolutely," Beckwith said. "There was no evidence. For me, the information that I have seen, there were a lot of rumors but there was nothing to substantiate anything." Beckwith gave his support to a position in Belleville for the embattled minister after a St. George's selection committee asked that he head its congregation of about 350 parishioners. Coleman resigned from Holy Faith in May 2007. Months before he left Holy Faith, Coleman, 55, divorced his wife of 29 years. His ex-wife still resides in New Mexico and remains a Holy Faith member, Coleman said. The former church administrator who followed him to Belleville does not work at St. George's but rather works as an administrator in another denomination's regional office. Holy Faith should not have cut off his former wife's share -- 54 percent -- of the overall $115,000 severance payment, Coleman said. "They should have paid her. I think that what angers me the most," he said. Coleman said he did accept $60,000 from the parishioner, whom he described as a good friend to whom he went for financial advice regarding credit card debts and federal tax obligations. He said the friend instead offered the cash. Holy Faith's lawyers contend in court documents that when the parishioner asked Coleman whether he was having trouble with his marriage, he answered "no." The complaint contends that wasn't truthful because of the alleged affair with the church administrator. But Coleman insists neither was true. "The subject of marriage never came up," he said. While Coleman initially declined to answer questions for reporters about whether he has repaid the $60,000, he eventually said that he repaid $1,500. But, during a second interview, he said the wealthy parishioner would not accept any repayment. Coleman said that the money was a gift and that no federal taxes were due on it. Coleman said he had done nothing wrong, and the rumor of wrongdoing has continued because of jealous former colleagues in New Mexico. He spent Tuesday poring over documents that cluttered his desk, including bills, diaries and computer records, which he must produce to Holy Faith under the rules of discovery in the lawsuit he filed. "They don't really have anything, so they say, 'We'll ask for everything.' It's just a fishing expedition," Coleman said. "If they had anything, I wouldn't be wearing this," he said, pointing to his clerical collar. "I'd be behind bars." END From david at virtueonline.org Fri Nov 6 13:26:56 2009 From: david at virtueonline.org (david at virtueonline.org) Date: 6 Nov 2009 14:26:56 -0500 Subject: Church of England squandered clergy pensions in 'reckless' stock market gamble Message-ID: <20091106192656.5800.qmail@virtueonline.org> Church of England squandered clergy pensions in 'reckless' stock market gamble By Steve Doughty The Daily Mail http://tinyurl.com/yf38njf November 4, 2009 The Church of England was accused today of squandering its clergy pensions through reckless betting on the stock market. Its deepening crisis over how to pay the pensions for retired vicars is 'largely self-inflicted', a leading analyst said. The criticism is an embarrassing new blow to the CofE at a time when it faces divisions over women bishops and homosexuality, a campaign by Roman Catholics to recruit disaffected Anglicans, and the need to ask churchgoers to put more into collection plates to ease its financial worries. Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams has been strongly critical of bankers and financiers over their behaviour during the recession. In September he attacked the City for failing to show 'repentance' for mistakes made during the banking crash and urged its leaders to admit 'we got it wrong'. Today independent pensions analyst John Ralfe published a breakdown of the troubles of the Church of England's pension scheme. Mr Ralfe said the difficulties faced by the CofE were similar to those of all other organisations with defined benefit pension schemes that provide a guaranteed retirement income. But he added: 'The Church's pension problems are largely self-inflicted since, astonishingly, the scheme has an asset allocation of 100 per cent equities - the riskiest allocation of any UK pension scheme.' The exclusive investment in equities - in other words shares on the stock market - was hard to understand, he said. 'Why does the Church take such a reckless approach and bet 100 per cent of contributions from hard-pressed parishes on the stock market?' he asked. He accused the Church of 'adding insult to injury' by drawing up plans to shift investments to safer bonds, but not until 2017. Mr Ralfe put the assets of the pension scheme, which is paid for by contributions from parishioners, at ?560 million, while he estimated its liabilities at ?850 million. The figures mean the pension scheme has no funding for a third of the pensions it must pay - a deficit of ?290 million. 'This is not an academic issue,' he said, warning that the deficit will undercut amounts available to pay for clergy in dioceses and parishes. Church leaders, he said, 'must be hoping this will be made good by betting on equities.' The current pension scheme was set up in 1998 following the CofE's financial disaster of the early 1990s. The Church lost a high proportion of its investments of around ?5 billion in property speculation, and its then pension scheme became unaffordable in the aftermath. However the new pension scheme is now likely to see major cutbacks, with clergy asked to work on possibly to the age of 70 and parishioners asked to make greater contributions. In some areas of southern England, the CofE is now demanding worshippers give up ?1,000 a year to the Church. Church of England Pensions Board chairman Dr Jonathan Spencer said today that since the scheme was new many of its liabilities would not need to be met until long in the future. However, it had now begun to diversify, he said. 'With this in mind, we have acted at all times in accordance with mainstream actuarial and investment advice given by the Board's professional advisors. This advice has consistently been that the Board should place the scheme's investments in equities and equity type investments, which have historically produced the best returns.' He added: 'It is totally incorrect to suggest that our policy in investing in the highest performing long term assets was contrary to widely shared practice in relation to "immature" pension schemes.' Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1225008/Church-England-squandered-clergy-pensions-reckless-stock-market-gamble.html#ixzz0VtUQEhMe ***** Church of England clergy may work until 68 to fight pensions crisis by Ruth Gledhill, Religion Correspondent The Times http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article6902204.ece November 4, 2009 Anglican clergy are to be asked to work until the age of 68 to rescue the Church of England from a multimillion-pound pensions shortfall after the credit crunch left a "huge great hole" in a scheme created in 1998. The increased longevity of the clergy, combined with greater regulation and the credit crunch, has left the Church's new pension scheme with liabilities of ?813 million, nearly almost double the ?461 million market value of its assets. The scheme, created in 1998 and part-funded by churchgoers who are being asked to put more in the collection pot than ever before to pay clergy pensions, has been especially hard hit because all its investments were placed in the stock market at the end of the 1990s. But in putting all its cash into equity, the Church was following established financial norms. Before that, the Church Commissioners, who manage the assets of the Church, had been criticised for losing millions of pounds in speculative property investments. Clergy are in one of the few jobs that still enjoy fixed-benefit schemes. However, they are especially vulnerable to a pensions crisis because they live in tied accommodation owned by the Church and their meagre stipend of ?20,000 leaves little surplus to invest in a retirement home or private pension scheme. Their pension works out at about two thirds of their stipend plus a lump sum, and they are entitled to work until the age of 70, although at present they can retire at 65 if they wish. As the number of stipendiary clergy falls in line with cost-cutting and declining membership, the Church is becoming increasingly dependent on retired and non-stipendiary clergy to maintain its tradition of a ministry in every parish in the land. In February the General Synod will debate a proposal to raise the clergy retirement age and to increase from 40 to 43 the length of service that must be given before a full pension can be claimed. The pensionable element of the clergy stipend will also increase at a lower rate than at present to help to ease the financial pressures on the Church. At the end of last year there were 9,115 members of the new 1998 pension scheme, including most of the 8,700 active stipendiary clergy. There are currently a total of 8,700 active stipendiary clergy plus about 1,500 chaplains, numbering about 1,500. Until 1997 all clergy pensions were funded by the Church Commissioners and so all service accrued by clergy before that point is deemed to be "banked" and cannot be affected. The current proposals related only to future service, although all clergy who are still accruing a pension are part of the new scheme. Moving away from a fixed-benefit scheme could damage clergy morale, according to a briefing note from a task force set up by the Archbishops of Canterbury and York, Dr Rowan Williams and Dr John Sentamu, to examine the problem. The task force said: "For them, a guaranteed pension and access to affordable retirement housing have come to be seen as important ingredients of the compact between the Church and those who devote their working lives to full-time ministry." the task force says. "Setting any defined contribution or hybrid scheme at a relatively generous level would be one way of easing the pain for clergy involved in any change but it would have to be at a significantly lower rate than the existing defined benefit scheme, if an overall cost saving was to be achieved." Even if it puts an end to the present rate of benefit, the Church will still have to fund the present deficit. Dioceses are at present being asked to contribute 45 per cent of clergy stipends into the scheme. In reality it is people in the pews who are paying this. To meet the deficit this would need to increase to nearly 60 per cent, representing a hike in demands for donations from worshippers, many of whom are already giving as much as they can afford. At present, the Church's one million worshippers each give about ?70 a year towards clergy pensions, amounting to ?7,800 a year for each clergyman or woman. To make ends meet, this would have to increase to ?110 per worshipper, or ?11,000 for each stipendiary cleric. A diocesan consultation has concluded that worshippers are already giving as much as they can afford and that any increase along these lines is unsustainable. "The view is that we are at the limit of affordability," a Church pensions insider said. Dr Jonathan Spencer, the chairman of the Church of England pensions board, said that the board's professional advisers had "consistently" recommended placing the scheme's assets in equities, "which have historically produced the best returns". Dr Spencer said: "The scheme concerned is responsible for paying pensions in respect of clergy service after 1 January, 1998. The fact of the matter is that this scheme remains quite "immature" in pensions terms, with approximately ?70 million coming in each year to fund future pensions, and only about ?12 million going out. So the scheme's main liabilities are some way in the future. With this in mind, we have acted at all times in accordance with mainstream actuarial and investment advice given by the board's professional advisers. This advice has consistently been that the board should place the scheme's investments in equities and equity type investments, which have historically produced the best returns. "Even taking into account the sharp fall in share prices as a result of the credit crunch last year, over the 30-year period up to the end of 2008 investments in UK shares returned an average of 7.1 per cent per annum compared with gilts , which returned an average of 5.6 per cent." He said that it was "totally incorrect" to suggest that the policy of investing in the highest-performing long-term assets was contrary to widely shared practice in relation to "immature" pension schemes. Dr Spencer added: "While we are realistic about the challenges facing the clergy pension scheme, we have already taken a range of actions to manage these with a programme of diversifying our investments to include holdings in property unit trusts, corporate bonds and currency management. Other alternative investments are being examined as a way of spreading risk. "The consultation on proposed changes to the clergy pension scheme concluded at the end of October, and in light of that recommendations will come forward to the General Synod in February 2010 so that the wider Church can be involved in discerning how best we handle the consequences of major market downturns, increased longevity of our members and increased regulation. "We have every confidence that all our future commitments can be met." END From david at virtueonline.org Fri Nov 6 13:27:56 2009 From: david at virtueonline.org (david at virtueonline.org) Date: 6 Nov 2009 14:27:56 -0500 Subject: Traditional Anglican Communion in UK accepts Pope's invitation Message-ID: <20091106192756.5868.qmail@virtueonline.org> Traditional Anglican Communion in UK accepts Pope's invitation By Stephen Smuts http://tinyurl.com/ybdlfcb November 5, 2009 The Traditional Anglican Communion in England has accepted Pope Benedict XVI's invitation of a Ordinariate. The following appears on their website: The Resolutions That this Assembly, representing the Traditional Anglican Communion in Great Britain, offers its joyful thanks to Pope Benedict XVI for his forthcoming Apostolic Constitution allowing the corporate reunion of Anglicans with the Holy See, and requests the Primate and College of Bishops of the Traditional Anglican Communion to take the steps necessary to implement this Constitution. That this Assembly is of the respectful opinion that Bishop Robert Mercer CR might be considered for the position of Ordinary in Great Britain. I know Bishop Mercer personally and believe that he makes a wonderful candidate for this position. This information was here. It would appear as if the Holy Father's gracious invitation is already beginning to bear much fruit. The news was reported on the Catholic blog Signum, which is based here in South Africa. ***** Anglican Province Accepts Pope's Offer by EDWARD PENTIN http://www.ncregister.com/daily/anglican_province_accepts_popes_offer/ November 05, 2009 The Traditional Anglican Communion's province in Great Britain has become the first to accept Pope Benedict XVI's Apostolic Constitution for Anglicans. All its members voted unanimously to come into communion with Rome under the terms of the new provision, which allows them to retain their Anglican patrimony. An undated statement on the province's website reads: "That this Assembly, representing the Traditional Anglican Communion in Great Britain, offers its joyful thanks to Pope Benedict XVI for his forthcoming Apostolic Constitution allowing the corporate reunion of Anglicans with the Holy See, and requests the Primate and College of Bishops of the Traditional Anglican Communion to take the steps necessary to implement this Constitution." A statement from Bishop David Moyer of the Traditional Anglican Communion reads: "The well-attended Assembly was a grace-filled gathering where all in attendance became aware of the movement of the Holy Spirit. The bishops, priests, ordinands, and lay representatives were brought to a place of "being in full accord and of one mind," as St. Paul prayed for the Church in Philippi. "The questions and concerns that were expressed in regard to what had been read and heard about the forthcoming Apostolic Constitution were addressed by Archbishop John Hepworth. Bishop Mercer and myself. "The Resolutions unanimously passed by the Assembly were carefully written and clearly reflect TTAC's corporate desire and intention. All present realized that the requirement for the days ahead is patience, charity, and openness to the Holy Spirit." Significantly, this vote took place in the birthplace of the Anglican Communion, and its members voted in favor despite the Apostolic Constitution having not yet been published. Recently, the Traditional Anglican Communion has been looking at establishing a mother house in England, possibly a former monastery which hasn't witnessed the ordination of a Catholic priest since the Reformation. END From david at virtueonline.org Fri Nov 6 13:28:56 2009 From: david at virtueonline.org (david at virtueonline.org) Date: 6 Nov 2009 14:28:56 -0500 Subject: Cardinal: New Vatican move not a reflection on Anglican Communion Message-ID: <20091106192856.5931.qmail@virtueonline.org> Cardinal: New Vatican move not a reflection on Anglican Communion By Simon Caldwell Catholic News Service http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/0904867.htm November 2, 2009 LONDON (CNS) -- An English cardinal said Pope Benedict XVI's decision to receive entire groups of Anglicans into the Catholic Church did not represent a comment on the state of the Anglican Communion. Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, retired archbishop of Westminster, said a forthcoming apostolic constitution to establish "personal ordinariates" should not be seen as an attempt by the Vatican to poach Anglicans disaffected by such issues as the ordination of women and sexually active homosexuals as priests and bishops. The former Catholic co-chairman of the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission made his remarks in the Richard Stewart Memorial Lecture at Worth Abbey, near London, Oct. 29. He said the canonical structures announced in Rome and London Oct. 20 were simply a generous response to requests over a number of years by Anglican communities that wanted to enter full communion with the Catholic Church while preserving elements of distinctive spiritual patrimony. "There is much that has been written and spoken about this matter over the past week but I would just want to emphasize that this response of Pope Benedict is no reflection or comment on the Anglican Communion as a whole or of our ongoing ecumenical relationship with them," said the cardinal, 77, the former president of the Bishops' Conference of England and Wales. He explained that such a provision was first discussed in 1993 and 1994 by the English Catholic leadership with Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, then prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, following a request from an Anglo-Catholic group called Forward in Faith. "After much discussion, it was finally decided that it would not be appropriate to take this initiative," said the cardinal. He said one problem was that the question was then focused solely on clergy of the Church of England and did not refer to those of other Anglican provinces. "It did not seem within our remit to engage in such a response," the cardinal said in the lecture titled "ARCIC: Dead in the Water or Money in the Bank?" "The other reason, however, was even more important," he said. "If the Holy See had offered such personal ordinariates then, and in particular here in England, it might well have been seen as an unecumenical approach by the Holy See, as if wanting to put out the net as far as one could. Both Pope John Paul (II) and the then-Cardinal Ratzinger would have been against such a move. "Matters have moved on since then and the repeated requests by many Anglicans, not only from England but from other provinces of the Anglican Communion, have necessitated a new approach, which is why I think that the personal ordinariates offered by the Holy Father can be seen not in any way unecumenical but rather as a generous response to people who have been knocking at the door for a long time," he said. The cardinal suggested that the ordinariates did not spell the end of dialogue between Catholics and Anglicans but instead should generate "a new ecumenical enthusiasm" based on prayer and the desire for unity. "This does not mean devising unrealistic utopias in the future, but rather a living out of the already real communion that exists between us all" and a commitment to do "what is possible today," he said. In announcing the plan, Vatican officials made it clear that Anglican priests who are married may be ordained Catholic priests, but that married Anglican bishops would not be allowed to function as Catholic bishops. They also indicated that married Anglican seminarians would be allowed to be ordained. The Vatican clarification confirmed that married former Anglican priests would be admitted to priestly ministry, as an exception from canon law on a case-by-case basis. END From david at virtueonline.org Fri Nov 6 13:29:56 2009 From: david at virtueonline.org (david at virtueonline.org) Date: 6 Nov 2009 14:29:56 -0500 Subject: Vatican Clarifies Celibacy Issue in Apostolic Constitution for Anglicans Message-ID: <20091106192956.5994.qmail@virtueonline.org> Vatican Clarifies Celibacy Issue in Apostolic Constitution for Anglicans http://212.77.1.245/news_services/bulletin/news/24594.php?index=24594&po_date=31.10.2009&lang=en 10/31/2009 CLARIFICATION BY THE DIRECTOR OF THE HOLY SEE PRESS OFFICE, FR. FEDERICO LOMBARDI, S.I., ON SPECULATIONS ABOUT THE CELIBACY ISSUE IN THE ANNOUNCED APOSTOLIC CONSTITUTION REGARDING PERSONAL ORDINARIATES FOR ANGLICAN ENTERING INTO FULL COMMUNION WITH THE CATHOLIC CHURCH There has been widespread speculation, based on supposedly knowledgeable remarks by an Italian correspondent Andrea Tornielli, that the delay in publication of the Apostolic Constitution regarding Personal Ordinariates for Anglicans entering into full communion with the Catholic Church, announced on October 20, 2009, by Cardinal William Levada, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, is due to more than "technical" reasons. According to this speculation, there is a serious substantial issue at the basis of the delay, namely, disagreement about whether celibacy will be the norm for the future clergy of the Provision. Cardinal Levada offered the following comments on this speculation: "Had I been asked I would happily have clarified any doubt about my remarks at the press conference. There is no substance to such speculation. No one at the Vatican has mentioned any such issue to me. The delay is purely technical in the sense of ensuring consistency in canonical language and references. The translation issues are secondary; the decision not to delay publication in order to wait for the 'official' Latin text to be published in Acta Apostolicae Sedis was made some time ago. The drafts prepared by the working group, and submitted for study and approval through the usual process followed by the Congregation, have all included the following statement, currently Article VI of the Constitution: ?1 Those who ministered as Anglican deacons, priests, or bishops, and who fulfill the requisites established by canon law and are not impeded by irregularities or other impediments may be accepted by the Ordinary as candidates for Holy Orders in the Catholic Church. In the case of married ministers, the norms established in the Encyclical Letter of Pope Paul VI Sacerdotalis coelibatus, n. 42 and in the Statement "In June" are to be observed. Unmarried ministers must submit to the norm of clerical celibacy of CIC can. 277, ?1. ?2. The Ordinary, in full observance of the discipline of celibate clergy in the Latin Church, as a rule (pro regula) will admit only celibate men to the order of presbyter. He may also petition the Roman Pontiff, as a derogation from can. 277, ?1, for the admission of married men to the order of presbyter on a case by case basis, according to objective criteria approved by the Holy See. This article is to be understood as consistent with the current practice of the Church, in which married former Anglican ministers may be admitted to priestly ministry in the Catholic Church on a case by case basis. With regard to future seminarians, it was considered purely speculative whether there might be some cases in which a dispensation from the celibacy rule might be petitioned. For this reason, objective criteria about any such possibilities (e.g. married seminarians already in preparation) are to be developed jointly by the Personal Ordinariate and the Episcopal Conference, and submitted for approval of the Holy See." Cardinal Levada said he anticipates the technical work on the Constitution and Norms will be completed by the end of the first week of November. END From david at virtueonline.org Fri Nov 6 13:30:56 2009 From: david at virtueonline.org (david at virtueonline.org) Date: 6 Nov 2009 14:30:56 -0500 Subject: Vatican Clarification on Announced Apostolic Constitution Message-ID: <20091106193056.6086.qmail@virtueonline.org> Vatican Clarification on Announced Apostolic Constitution Vatican Press Office Director Fr. Federico Lombardi has issued the following clarification of the announced Apostolic Constitution regarding personal ordinariates for Anglican entering into full communion with the Catholic Church: http://www.oecumene.radiovaticana.org/EN1/Articolo.asp?c=330866 October 31, 2009 "There has been widespread speculation, based on supposedly knowledgeable remarks by an Italian correspondent Andrea Tornielli, that the delay in publication of the Apostolic Constitution regarding Personal Ordinariates for Anglicans entering into full communion with the Catholic Church, announced on October 20, 2009, by Cardinal William Levada, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, is due to more than "technical" reasons. According to this speculation, there is a serious substantial issue at the basis of the delay, namely, disagreement about whether celibacy will be the norm for the future clergy of the Provision. Cardinal Levada offered the following comments on this speculation: "Had I been asked I would happily have clarified any doubt about my remarks at the press conference. There is no substance to such speculation. No one at the Vatican has mentioned any such issue to me. The delay is purely technical in the sense of ensuring consistency in canonical language and references. The translation issues are secondary; the decision not to delay publication in order to wait for the 'official' Latin text to be published in Acta Apostolicae Sedis was made some time ago. The drafts prepared by the working group, and submitted for study and approval through the usual process followed by the Congregation, have all included the following statement, currently Article VI of the Constitution: ?1 Those who ministered as Anglican deacons, priests, or bishops, and who fulfill the requisites established by canon law and are not impeded by irregularities or other impediments may be accepted by the Ordinary as candidates for Holy Orders in the Catholic Church. In the case of married ministers, the norms established in the Encyclical Letter of Pope Paul VI Sacerdotalis coelibatus, n. 42 and in the Statement "In June" are to be observed. Unmarried ministers must submit to the norm of clerical celibacy of CIC can. 277, ?1. ?2. The Ordinary, in full observance of the discipline of celibate clergy in the Latin Church, as a rule (pro regula) will admit only celibate men to the order of presbyter. He may also petition the Roman Pontiff, as a derogation from can. 277, ?1, for the admission of married men to the order of presbyter on a case by case basis, according to objective criteria approved by the Holy See. This article is to be understood as consistent with the current practice of the Church, in which married former Anglican ministers may be admitted to priestly ministry in the Catholic Church on a case by case basis. With regard to future seminarians, it was considered purely speculative whether there might be some cases in which a dispensation from the celibacy rule might be petitioned. For this reason, objective criteria about any such possibilities (e.g. married seminarians already in preparation) are to be developed jointly by the Personal Ordinariate and the Episcopal Conference, and submitted for approval of the Holy See." Cardinal Levada said he anticipates the technical work on the Constitution and Norms will be completed by the end of the first week of November". END From david at virtueonline.org Fri Nov 6 13:31:56 2009 From: david at virtueonline.org (david at virtueonline.org) Date: 6 Nov 2009 14:31:56 -0500 Subject: ANGLICAN REFORMATIONS: ENDINGS AND BEGINNINGS - George Egerton Message-ID: <20091106193156.7174.qmail@virtueonline.org> ANGLICAN REFORMATIONS: ENDINGS AND BEGINNINGS By George Egerton Special to Virtueonline www.virtueonline.org Nov. 1, 2009 In the promised Apostolic Constitution, the Roman Catholic Church has prepared a welcome for dissident Anglo-Catholics in the Anglican Communion who have lost all confidence in the polity and fidelity of Anglicanism within the Church of England, The Episcopal Church (US), and other Anglican Churches of the first world, as the official structures seem determined to depart from traditional Anglican teaching and practice, in the name of inclusion, feminism, and human rights. Other conservative Anglicans under North American revisionist jurisdictions have, in large measure, already departed. Having exhausted the hopes for reform and renewal within their national churches, they have formed new confessional jurisdictions, such as the Anglican Network in Canada, under the broader umbrella of the Anglican Church in North America, and in alignment with the burgeoning Anglican churches of the global south. Anglican evangelicals and charismatics share the concern and alienation of Anglo-Catholics, and they can understand the desire to embrace the terms which the Vatican is offering in allowing continuation of Anglican liturgy, accepting a married priesthood, and providing non-territorial episcopal oversight to be exercised by unmarried Anglican priests or bishops. If it is an occasion of sadness to see the imminent departure of faithful Anglo-Catholics to Rome, we wish them well, even as they will have to abandon much of the heart of classic Anglican theology. But for Anglican evangelicals, like this author, joining the Roman Catholic Church and necessarily accepting its doctrines and papal ecclesiology is not a path that can be followed in good conscience. What can be hoped for now in the deeply-divided world Anglican Communion given the crises precipitated by the revisionists of First World Churches? Does the Vatican initiative signal something broader than the establishment of another concessionary ethnic 'prelature.' The answers to these questions are probably closely associated. We can see the Vatican has proved itself capable, given its long experience with ethnic diversity, of adapting its structures to make reasonable accommodations, while insisting on the preservation of its doctrinal teaching and the authority of its magisterium. By contrast, Anglicanism has proved incapable of maintaining classic Christian teachings on an array of issues, most notably on sexual and marital ethics, while simultaneously refusing to adapt its territorial episcopacy and national structures to allow conservatives extraordinary forms of episcopal oversight with adequate jurisdiction. One of the principal arguments presented by the revisionist Bishops of the Anglican Church of Canada against episcopal innovations to accommodate conservative Anglicans was that such action would violate the traditional status of a territorial episcopacy. Clearly, there were limitations to the revisionists' imagination, and the Vatican's offer illustrates what is possible when there is charity and goodwill. The departure of Anglo-Catholics will not have massive numerical or theological impact in the United States, or Canada, where Anglican demographics are already in free-fall. But in Britain, their reception by Rome will change the nature of the Church of England and profoundly affect Anglican - Roman Catholic relations. The Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, was quick to downplay the significance of the Vatican announcement, denying that it was an aggressive move or was anything other than a continuation of the ecumenical discussions of the two churches. But, equally, it is clear he was blind-sided by the Catholic overture, which was generated wholly apart from the ecumenical bureaucracy, and drove the Anglican Archbishop to his default mode of denial and positive spinning. The Vatican's abrupt initiative (Williams had but a week's notice), represents the inferred abandonment by Rome of the long-term ecumenical dialogue with Anglicanism. They will now turn to the much more hopeful ecumenical rapprochement with Eastern Orthodoxy, where both sides have increasing desire for unity. Without its Anglo-Catholics, the Church of England will be left with an already dominant liberal hierarchy much more entrenched and determined to extend its revisionist agenda. This will compound Archbishop Williams' problems, as he struggles to steer the world wide Anglican Communion 'through many dangers, toils and snares.' If the Anglo-Catholics have been offered refuge in Roman Catholicism, the Anglican evangelicals and charismatics have found rescue in the missions mounted by two-thirds world African, Asian, and Latin American Anglican Primates, and their provision of extraordinary Episcopal protection to faithful Anglicans who have become victims of hostile revisionist Bishops and church bureaucracies. The rescue of alienated North American conservative Anglicans by global south Anglicans, who constitute the overwhelming majority of the Anglican Communion, has generated a new reformation in the international polity of Anglicanism, with the conservatives convening the Global Anglican Future Conference in Jerusalem in the summer of 2008, issuing a confessional statement in the Jerusalem Declaration, and proceeding to organize a world-wide Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans. The Archbishop of Canterbury, with the ground shifting under his feet, has attempted, with winsome and artful determination, to re-establish Anglican identity and discipline, through a conciliar process which produced the Windsor Report of 2004 and then presented a draft Anglican Covenant of proposed norms and procedures. The Archbishop has faced resistance from revisionists on any moves to reassert confessionality and discipline, while evangelicals have endorsed the Windsor Report and the draft Covenant with enthusiasm. With the departure to Rome of most of the Anglo-Catholics, the increasing institutional entrenchment of the revisionists within the Church of England, and the spreading momentum of the Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans, Archbishop Williams' leadership seems stressed beyond capacity. Anglicanism, in Canada and globally, seems at a tipping point. Perhaps next summer's General Synod of the Anglican Church of Canada will serve as a microcosm of things to come for first world Anglicanism, as the global Anglican Communion is facing both the end of the old Reformation for Anglo-Catholics, and a new reformation for confessing Anglicans. ----Dr. George Egerton is Associate Professor Emeritus, History Department at the University of British Columbia. He is a member, St. John's Anglican Church, Vancouver From david at virtueonline.org Fri Nov 6 13:32:56 2009 From: david at virtueonline.org (david at virtueonline.org) Date: 6 Nov 2009 14:32:56 -0500 Subject: UK Kool-Aid - Robert Hart Message-ID: <20091106193256.7227.qmail@virtueonline.org> UK Kool-Aid by Robert Hart http://anglicancontinuum.blogspot.com/2009/11/uk-kool-aid.html November 5, 2009 The Resolutions "That this Assembly, representing the Traditional Anglican Communion in Great Britain, offers its joyful thanks to Pope Benedict XVI for his forthcoming Apostolic Constitution allowing the corporate reunion of Anglicans with the Holy See, and requests the Primate and College of Bishops of the Traditional Anglican Communion to take the steps necessary to implement this Constitution." --From the website of the Traditional Anglican Church in the United Kingdom. Here we go. Some have lectured us that we ought not to criticize the impending constitution from Rome, and that therefore we should pretend we know nothing despite Cardinal Levada's official detailed announcement on October 20. Nonetheless, the Synod of the Traditional Anglican Church in England, the national UK church of the Traditional Anglican Communion (TAC), has voted to accept it sight unseen-whatever it may say. Upon what does this one TAC body base such absolute trust? The obvious answer can be ascertained easily with some logic: If they so trust Rome now, that must mean that whatever Rome comes up with will be acceptable. This means that they may believe that Rome cannot err, not only in matters of Faith, but even in establishing a polity; furthermore, establishing a polity with no input from those who will be allowed to submit to it. In law this is called a unilateral contract. Every insurance policy is a unilateral contract, written strictly by the insurer. The policy holder may enter into this contract for a premium, but only as written with all of its details firmly established. At least most unilateral contracts may be read ahead of time; not so with what Rome "offers." We, on The Continuum blog, have already gone into matters of doctrine, and why any positive response from Anglicans to Rome's offer is impossible without abandoning principles of the Catholic Faith that Anglicanism adheres to with more fidelity than does Rome. In matters of polity, how has the See of Rome earned such absolute blind trust? Did they earn it by their treatment of "Eastern Rite" or "Uniat" churches? Ask the Byzantine Catholics in America why their priests, in contradiction to Rome's guarantees and promises before the merger, cannot be married. For anyone who wants to make that act of betrayal into simply a historical matter, I ask why this violation of promise continues to this day? Is that not an abuse of power, or at least serious neglect? How has Rome earned our trust in matters of polity regarding the sexual abuse of children by their clergy? The fact that they send Cardinal Levada as their spokesman to the invited Anglicans, a man who was as notorious as Cardinal Law in shielding and reassigning known predators, demonstrates how much the See of Rome does not even care to put on a good face. Are they naive? That Rome cares to respond to an emergency created by Canterburian heresy is laudable. The intention seems to be from charity, a truly pastoral motivation. That we do not deny. But, like everyone, they have a record. Their recent history has demonstrated that their reach exceeds their grasp, and they are incapable of performing even the best of what they offer. Nonetheless, the English TAC has demonstrated something worse than blind trust. With all of the facts that show Rome's weaknesses, and with the obvious flaws already evident in the October 20, description of the constitution, the TAC in England are blind by choice. ----Robert Hart is Priest in Charge of St. Benedict's Anglican Catholic Church in Chapel Hill North Carolina, and a Contributing Editor of Touchstone, A Journal of Mere Christianity. He contributes regularly to the blog, The Continuum. From david at virtueonline.org Fri Nov 6 13:33:56 2009 From: david at virtueonline.org (david at virtueonline.org) Date: 6 Nov 2009 14:33:56 -0500 Subject: Thou shalt not steal - Edward Fulford Message-ID: <20091106193356.7299.qmail@virtueonline.org> Thou shalt not steal By Edward Fulford Savannah Morning News http://savannahnow.com/ October 31, 2009 Imagine 50 years after the inception of the fictional Cape Charles Reporter in the mid-1800s, the paper joined an association of like-minded journalists. This American Journalists Association, through support of a sister group, the European Newspaper Guild, founds a series of newspapers across the country. Strong local support enables the Reporter to act as a donor member of the AJA, fostering the creation of still more newspapers and subsidizing less financially stable ones. While the founders of the Cape Charles paper retain ownership of the building and press, and the local community funds the staff payroll, the coastal town's journalists so believe in the value of an informed public, they are willing to share of their excess. Now flash forward a century. Over time, the Cape Charles leaders and a majority of the staff come to differ with the AJA on ethical standards and operational goals. Remember, all this time, money has never flowed from the AJA to the Reporter. The Reporter has always financially supported the national organization. But a basic rift occurs. The local paper clings to the ideal of an unbiased newsroom staff. The AJA decides there is nothing wrong with its news stories advocating a political agenda. The Reporter's publisher, editors and half the staff decide to break away from the AJA in order to preserve their understanding of the journalist's role. Others of the staff adhere to the policy of the national organization. One might think the national organization would then start a new paper for its faithful Cape Charles members, or shift them to existing papers it had started over the years. What would be inconceivable would be for the AJA - who through a series of decisions had separated itself from its own long-held tradition and the policy of the Reporter - to suddenly claim ownership of the local paper's valuable, historic building and press. Most would think an attempt to oust the newspaper's operators from the property they held before even the formation of the AJA to be a greedy, spiteful action in light of a century of outgoing support the local paper granted the national group. So here's the question: How can the actions of the Episcopal Church be seen any differently? Christ Church in Savannah has always been locally owned. The church has never received financial support from the national organization. Savannahians paid for the construction of the church and the payment of its clergy. A vote of the church membership - in the wake of serious doctrinal issues reaching even the unequivocal divinity of Christ - resulted in the separation of the local congregation from the national group. The Episcopal Church, with the help of Superior Court Judge Michael Karpf, has seized property it neither paid for nor maintained in more than 275 years. In any other circumstance, such an abrogation of the local congregation's property rights would not be tolerated. That the seizure was carried out by religious leaders who have strayed from ironclad biblical teaching makes the heavy-handed action by both church and state that much harder to countenance. The local leaders who have clung to their longtime beliefs have decided to appeal. I wish them strength in their fight toward ultimate success. ----Edward Fulford is an editorial writer for the Savannah Morning News From david at virtueonline.org Fri Nov 6 13:34:56 2009 From: david at virtueonline.org (david at virtueonline.org) Date: 6 Nov 2009 14:34:56 -0500 Subject: A Sober View of the Anglican-Roman Kerfuffle - William Wheatley Message-ID: <20091106193456.7360.qmail@virtueonline.org> A Sober View of the Anglican-Roman Kerfuffle By William A. Wheatley Special to Virtueonline www.virtueonline.org November 2, 2008 After Cardinal Levada announced the impending release of a new Constitution that will offer groups of the Anglican tradition a vehicle for corporate and sacramental union with Rome, there has been a flurry of speculation in the press, some of it joyously positive, but much of it bitterly negative. Entrenched Anglicans of the "Affirming" Catholic mindset (most of whom are Anglo-Catholic in style) are upset. Evangelical Anglicans are amused at the battles in the Anglican Communion between the two camps of their traditional foes, the Anglo-Catholics. Traditional Roman Catholics are (a) happy that their conservative allies on the Anglican side of the schism may join them, bolstering the numbers of traditional Catholics in the Roman Catholic Church; and (b) worried that the influx of married clergy may undo the tradition of a celibate clergy. Liberal Roman Catholics are (a) angry that there will be an influx of theologically conservative Anglo-Catholics; and (b) happy that the influx of married clergy may undo the tradition of a celibate clergy. Almost all of the articles offer speculation on what the Constitution will - or won't do. I note in passing that traditional Anglo-Catholics and Evangelicals have more in common with each other and with Rome than do "affirming" Catholics (both those in the Anglican Communion and those in the Roman Catholic Church). We should sort out the facts from fiction in this grand kerfuffle. The most bitter criticism I have gathered from the commentary by those who are upset about the new initiative can be summarized as follows: 1. The conservative Pope Benedict xvi is making the move to steal conservative Anglicans to bolster the numbers of conservatives in the Roman Catholic Church. This is seen as a blatantly political move by the Pontiff in the political games being played by the conservatives to try to stop and undo Vatican II's reforms. 2. The hinted-at promise that Anglicans crossing the Tiber will be allowed to keep their married clergy is illusory. While they will be allowed to do so initially, married clergy will not be ordained in the future, and the Anglicans will cease to lose their "identity," being absorbed into the masses of Roman Catholics. 3. Like its predecessor, the Pastoral Provision promulgated by Pope John Paul ii in 1980, this new provision will attract only a handful of Anglicans and will then die on the vine. 4. Those Anglicans who initially will take advantage of the new provision are upset with their own communion about the ordination of women, the consecration of women as bishops, and the embracing of homosexual sexual activity as valid for Christians. They have other differences with Roman Catholic teaching that eventually will drive them back to the Anglican Communion. I believe that all of these are false, and I think it is time for a more serious and sober review of what is known about what the new Constitution. The Vatican has made this move not to "steal" disaffected Anglicans, but in direct response to three groups of disaffected Anglicans who have been begging the Roman Catholic Church for several years to let them in. Bear in mind that the married clergy issue is a non-issue. For decades, the Roman Catholic Church has been receiving and re-ordaining married Anglican clergy to the Roman Catholic Priesthood, including married bishops. The Pastoral Provision set up by Pope John Paul II to facilitate this hasn't worked very well because certain local "liberal" Roman Catholic Bishops have fought it and made life miserable for those they were forced to accept into their ranks. The new provision is more likely to work because it removes such power from the local Roman Catholic bishops. The only Anglicans who are expected to cross the Tiber in the near future as a result of this new provision are those who have already left the Anglican Communion, and those who will leave the Anglican Communion when their Provinces start consecrating women as bishops. The two primary issues that are driving this move by traditional Anglo-Catholics to Rome are (1) female ordination/consecration and (b) acceptance of homosexual sexual acts as acceptable for Christians. Neither of these will ever happen within the Roman Catholic Church, and both have already happened in the Anglican Communion. Those in the Anglican Communion who disagree with their Communion on these issues will certainly leave the Anglican Communion, unless the Anglican Communion changes, which is almost certainly not going to happen. Rome is allowing these pilgrims a home, and it is a generous, pastoral thing to do. It will not "change" the Roman Catholic Church in any way, nor will it "hasten" the departure of Anglicans from the Anglican Communion. As best I can tell, from the information the Vatican has released so far, the provisions of the new Constitution will be implemented as follows: (1) Groups of people from the Anglican tradition, together with their clergy, can apply for full organic and sacramental communion with Rome while retaining their Anglican traditional liturgical forms, married clergy, spirituality and theology, to the extent they do not conflict with Catholic Doctrine. The applications will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis, and the individual clergy will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Those coming into communion under this new provision will have to be in accord with Catholic Doctrine. (2) Ordinariates similar to non-geographical dioceses will be established to receive them, with an Ordinary in charge of each, usually drawn from the clergy of that group. Ordinaries may be unmarried bishops, or married or unmarried priests. Episcopal oversight by a suitable bishop will be provided for those not headed by a bishop. This is just about as close to "Uniate Rite" status as can be achieved without calling it "Uniate Rite." (3) Anglican clergy (deacons, priests and bishops), both married and unmarried, will be eligible to apply to be clergy under the new Constitution. Each will be evaluated on an individual basis to ascertain that the individual is suitable, as viewed by Rome, to continue as a member of the clergy. This is partly due to recent publicity about a former Roman Catholic priest who was installed as an Anglican priest by an Anglican bishop who did not know that the priest left the Roman Catholic Church because he was a paedophile. The Roman Catholic Church has always considered applicants for the clergy individually. (4) In most cases, Anglican clergy will be re-ordained. Those who can prove by documentary evidence that their orders derive from a bishop after the Reformation whose orders are recognized by the Roman Catholic Church may be conditionally re-ordained. In some cases, where the evidence is especially strong, I believe certain clergy may be simply received as clergy. There is precedent for all three modes of reception. (5) Unmarried Anglican clergy who are accepted into Roman Catholic Orders may be considered for the Episcopacy. Married Anglican clergy will not be considered for the Episcopacy (at least for now). (6) Those currently preparing for Anglican Orders, both married and unmarried, will be considered individually. If selected to continue preparation for ordination, they may continue in their present seminaries, but with supervision from a Roman Catholic seminary, or may be transferred to Roman Catholic seminaries, depending on circumstances. There is a provision in the Constitution under which the Ordinariates in the future might be permitted to set up their own houses of worship for the training of future clergy. (7) There is nothing in the Constitution (at the moment) that would prevent in the future candidates for the priesthood within the Ordinariates to enter seminaries, to be married and continue through ordination. As Cardinal Levada stated, every candidate for Orders will be considered on an individual basis, as is the case in the Roman Catholic Church for its own clergy. I know of at least one case under the existing Pastoral Provision ("Anglican Use" community in the U.S.) in which a parishioner of an Anglican Use Roman Catholic Church entered seminary, then got married, then was accepted for ordination. It is already happening, so there is no reason to suspect that Rome will shut that down. (8) There have been more than 150 Episcopalian priests and bishops who have come into the Roman Catholic Communion through the Pastoral Provision. About eight to ten of these are running Anglican Use parishes. The rest are serving as priests alongside celibate Roman Catholic priests in Roman Catholic parishes. This has caused not even a ripple of adverse publicity. All the speculation about the problems the influx of married priests will cause the Roman Catholic Church is just that - speculation - and without merit. Rome has also received married ministers from Protestant churches, and allowed them to be re-ordained as Roman Catholic priests. These include Methodists, Baptists, and Presbyterians. One Black Baptist congregation in the Midwest and its minister were received, the minister was re-ordained, and the former Baptist church is now a Roman Catholic parish. (9) While there are statements to the effect that married Anglican bishops may not become married bishops under the Ordinariate scheme, bear in mind that Rome always considers individuals on a case-by-case basis and can make exceptions to the rule when it sees fit. In 1945, the Roman Catholic Bishop of Botucatu in Brazil, Bishop Don Carlos Duarte Costa, left the Roman Catholic Church over several issues, one of which was celibacy, and formed the Brazilian Catholic Apostolic Church. It has grown now to encompass 58 dioceses in several countries. Rome recognizes the validity of the orders of its bishops, because all were consecrated by bishops whose Apostolic Succession was unquestionable, and whose consecrations were performed using the Roman Catholic ritual. In 1945 Costa consecrated as one of his bishops in the new church Salom?o Barbosa Ferraz. In 1958, Bishop Ferraz reconciled with the Roman Catholic Church under Pope John xxiii. He was accepted by Rome as validly a bishop, even though he was married, and was neither re-ordained nor conditionally re-ordained. He was at first assigned pastoral work in Brazil, and then was appointed titular bishop of Eleutherna by Pope John xxiii. He sat as a bishop in all four sessions of Vatican Council II, and was appointed to a Vatican working commission by Pope Paul vi. So, there is precedent for Rome to allow married bishops under the present canon laws that forbid bishops from being married. Remember, canon law is merely a set of regulations and subject to change, and a Pope can override (by Papal dispensation) any canon law if he sees reason to do so. I believe that the issue of celibacy/married clergy is a non-issue, and is being played up as an issue by those both within the Roman Catholic Church and in the Anglican world who do not want to see this initiative by Benedict xvi succeed. I further believe that this is the most significant ecumenical event since the Great Schism of East and West. It provides a model under which any church body that can reconcile with Rome over doctrine can come into full corporate and sacramental union with Rome without losing their cultural and spiritual heritage. Because it is established as a Constitution, a future Pope may not undo it. A Constitution, like a Papal Bull, is not retractable. One pundit (I do not remember who or I would give him credit) said that heretofore Anglicans who entered communion with Rome did so with difficulty and were said to have "swum the Tiber." Pope Benedict xvi is making it much easier with this Constitution. No more do they need to "swim the Tiber." Benedict xvi is building a permanent bridge. There may not be a massive influx as soon as the gates are opened, but I believe that the flow of pilgrims will continue for some time. We are witnessing, if not the completion of the Counter Reformation, a grand re-formation of the Church that was splintered by the Reformation. ----William A. Wheatley is an architect in the Philadelphia area who manages a consulting firm. He is an Anglo-Catholic at The Church of The Good Shepherd in Rosemont, Pennsylvania, and was formerly a student for the Roman Catholic priesthood at St. Mary's Seminary in Houston. From webmaster at virtueonline.org Fri Nov 13 20:03:23 2009 From: webmaster at virtueonline.org (Robert Turner) Date: Fri, 13 Nov 2009 21:03:23 -0500 Subject: Table of Contents Message-ID: <27f978580911131803k474a5f5dm70f6fb3f9f4a315b@mail.gmail.com> 1. VIEWPOINTS Pope's Constitution Published*San Diego Parish loses to TEC*Gay Blessings Climb http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=11563 2. Episcopal Church Dioceses All over the Map on Rites for Same-Sex Blessings http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=11551 3. Rome Rescues Anglo-Catholics. Who will Rescue Anglican's Evangelicals? http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=11542 4. SAN DIEGO: Superior Court Rules in Favor of Episcopal Diocese http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=11561 5. SCRANTON: Closed churches to be taxed http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=11556 6. ST. CATHARINES, ON: Invite from Rome 'offensive,' says Anglican bishop http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=11552 7. Archbishop Rowan Williams: "God knows what the future holds." http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=11549 8. A cautionary tale from a once flourishing Evangelical parish in a CofE Diocese http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=11541 9. PITTSBURGH: Anglican Diocese to expand, cut costs http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=11525 10. Is This Bishop catholic? http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=11527 11. ARLINGTON, TX: Diocese of Fort Worth Resolves For Church Unity http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=11524 12. ARLINGTON, TX: Bishop Iker Urges Delegates to be Steadfast For The Faith http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=11523 13. The Church of Uganda and the "Anti-Homosexuality Bill" http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=11522 14. Bishop Schofield to Inaugurate New Anglican Religious Society in San Diego http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=11520 15. Pope's historic offer creates an Anglican tradition within the Catholic Church http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=11544 16. LONDON: GAFCON Primates statement on Vatican offer http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=11540 17. ANGLICAN PERSPECTIVE: Vatican's Apostolic Constitution explained http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=11533 18. VATICAN: Papal document on former Anglicans maintains some Anglican traditions http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=11532 19. "Conversion is not necessary and absorption is not appropriate" - ACC Archbishop http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=11534 20. ROME: Official Text of Apostolic Constitution Anglicanorum Coetibus http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=11531 21. UK: Church Society Responds to proposals from Rome http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=11529 22. The Difference between Evangelicals and Fundamentalists - John Stott http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=11558 23. Pittsburgh Convention. A Catholic and Reformed Perspective - Jeremy Bonner http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=11526 The following stories are available at VirtueOnline.org via the hyperlink below the article title: 1. FT. WORTH: Bishop Iker Offers Upbeat Assessment of recent Diocesan Convention http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=11539 2. Former clinic director: Church chilly to my pro-life turn http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=11559 3. PARIS: Rise of French evangelicals puts secularism in a spin http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=11535 4. Charles Simeon: Evangelical Mentor and Model http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=11555 5. LONDON: Archbishop Williams warns aid agencies over faith groups http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=11553 6. American Muslim Terrorists - Mike McManus http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=11550 7. Free Speech Clause in U.K. Gay Hate Crimes Bill Defeated in House of Commons http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=11548 8. I won't say I told you so - Robert Hart http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=11546 9. VATICAN: Pope 'is not trying to lure Anglicans into the Catholic Church' http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=11547 10. LOS ANGELES: First Pakistani woman priest ordained http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=11545 11. FT. WORTH, Tx: Church Schism Paves Way for Female Priests http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=11543 12. NIGERIA: Anglican Archbishop Tells How we take care of tribal interests http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=11538 13. Anglicans focus on home, and Rome http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=11554 14. Vatican Commentary on New Norms for Anglicans http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=11536 15. TEXAS: Thousands attend Fort Hood vigil for the dead, wounded http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=11528 16. The Cost of an Incoherent Strategy Just Went Up - A.S. Haley http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=11557 17. Former Gay Youth Leader Re-Emerges to Tell His Dramatic Conversion Story http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=11560 18. Former clinic director: Church chilly to my pro-life turn http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=11559 19. ST. CATHARINES, Ont: Three new Bishops consecrated http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=11562 20. Forward in Faith UK offers first reaction to publication of Anglicanorum Coetibu http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=11530 21. Devotional: ACCOUNTABILITY http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=11537 END From david at virtueonline.org Fri Nov 13 20:05:12 2009 From: david at virtueonline.org (david at virtueonline.org) Date: 13 Nov 2009 21:05:12 -0500 Subject: VirtueOnline Viewpoints - November 13, 2009 Message-ID: <20091114020512.27681.qmail@virtueonline.org> The offence of the cross. The 'stumbling block of the cross' remains. Sinners hate it because it tells them that they cannot save themselves. Preachers are tempted to avoid it because of its offensiveness to the proud. It is easier to preach man's merits than Christ's, because men greatly prefer it that way. --- From "Our Guilty Silence" John R.W. Stott One of the laments I hear most often is about numbers of Episcopalians. When asked by a reporter about the small numbers of Episcopalians in his diocese, one Western bishop was heard to reply, "Well, look at who those Episcopalians are. They include many of the judges, the leaders in local government and the school principals. We may not be many, but we have a remarkable part in caring for the whole community." --- Katharine Jefferts Schori, TEC Presiding Bishop "Robinson 'is not the only gay-partnered bishop. He's the only one who's open about it." ---Katharine Jefferts Schori, TEC Presiding Bishop Preaching the law. Before we preach the gospel we must preach the law. Indeed this has never been more necessary than it is today when we are witnessing a widespread revolt against authority. The gospel can only justify those the law condemns. These are the respective functions of law and gospel; as Luther puts it, it is the work of the law to 'terrify', and the work of the gospel to 'justify'(1). Thus every man's spiritual history becomes a microcosm of God's dealings with the human race. God did not immediately send his Son; nor can we immediately preach him. A long programme of education and preparation came first, in particular the giving of the law to expose the fact and gravity of sin. And the law still performs the same function. 'It is only when one submits to the law', wrote Dietrich Bonhoeffer in prison, 'that one can speak of grace ... I don't think it is Christian to want to get to the New Testament too soon or too directly.'(2) To bypass the law is to cheapen the gospel. We must meet Moses before we are ready to meet Christ. ---- "Commentary on the Epistle to the Galatians" John R.W. Stott Evangelism and Social Action. An unbiblical dualism. The recent debate about the rival merits of evangelism and social responsibility was never necessary. It expressed an unbiblical dualism between body and soul, this world and the next. In any case we are called both to witness and to serve; both are part of our Christian ministry and mission. --- From "Your Confirmation" by John R. W. Stott Dear Brothers and Sisters www.virtueonline.org November 13, 2009 Pope Benedict XVI's Apostolic Constitution for Anglicans wishing to convert was published this week. The scope of its ambitions and its extraordinary tributes to Anglican spirituality, elements of which the Pope believes will greatly enrich the Catholic Church, surprised everyone. There is a sense that Rome is recognizing, for the first time, that you can be Anglican and Roman Catholic, wrote Damian Thompson of the Telegraph. But are there that many takers? Well, not really. So far, no one in the U.S. or Canada has publicly stepped forward in either The Episcopal Church or the Anglican Church of Canada to take up the Pope's offer. Only one congregation outside Philadelphia is ready to move and this congregation is with the Traditional Anglican Communion. The parish is also divided with not everyone ready and willing to proceed to Rome. This offer is not all it is cracked up to be. Stay tuned. Details of the "Personal Ordinariate", Anglicanorum Coetibus ("Towards a Congregation of Anglicans"), can be found in today's digest. One or two difficulties lie ahead. The Catechism of the Catholic Church is the authoritative expression of the Catholic faith professed by members of the Ordinariate. In other words, members of the Ordinariate will have to accept every detail of the Catechism, just as do ordinary Roman Catholics. That being the case, why not just become a Roman Catholic? Indeed. Furthermore, what liturgical celebrations according to the liturgical books proper to the Anglican tradition have been approved by the Holy See? We do not know at this point in time. Will it include the 1662 Book of Common Prayer? Doubtful. One is left wondering which books will be approved and if there will be enough left to give an Anglican identity to what remains. The fundamental question which must be asked is why anyone who wanted to be adopted into the Ordinariate would not, on these conditions, simply go the whole way. But the Vatican on Monday confirmed that opening the door to married Anglican priests doesn't mean the Roman Catholic Church is easing the requirement for celibacy for its clergy. Under the Vatican's initiative, Anglicans, turned off by their own church's embrace of openly gay clerics, women priests and blessing of same-sex unions, can join new parishes, called "personal ordinariates" that are headed by former Anglican prelates Vatican officials had previously stressed that married Anglican priests would be allowed to remain in the priesthood on a case-by-case basis as they join the Roman Catholic fold. Still, the Vatican's decision to allow Anglicans to keep some aspects of their liturgy and identity has raised questions over whether the Roman Catholic requirement for celibacy might change. On Monday, the Vatican reaffirmed its resolve to leave the celibacy requirement unchanged. So, where does this leave Evangelical Anglicans in this ecclesiastical shuffle? The answer is that it leaves them right where they are - staying in the Anglican Communion and fighting for the gospel. I have written extensively about this in today's digest. http://tinyurl.com/yeyogyr The chairman of the GAFCON Council of Primates, Peter Akinola put it succinctly enough when he wrote, "We are convinced that this is not the time to abandon the Anglican Communion. Our Anglican identity of reformed catholicity, that gives supreme authority to the Holy Scriptures and acknowledgement that our sole representative and advocate before God is the Lord Jesus Christ, stands as a beacon of hope for millions of people. We remain proud inheritors of the Anglican Reformation. This is a time for all Christians to persevere confident of our Lord's promise that nothing, not even the gates of hell, will prevail against His Church." ***** The 27th annual convention of the Episcopal DIOCESE OF FT. WORTH, meeting at St. Peter and St. Paul's church in Arlington this past week passed two resolutions pledging continued affiliation with the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA), the Anglican Province of the Southern Cone, and the broader Anglican Communion. A further two resolutions committed the diocese to ecumenical dialogue with the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church in North America (OCA). The diocese, acknowledging a desire for "the highest degree of communion possible with other Anglicans in North America and throughout the world," resolved to maintain its "status as a member diocese" in the Province of the Southern Cone. VOL correspondent Fr. Michael Heidt covered the event. You can read two stories by him in today's digest. ***** The DIOCESE OF SOUTHERN OHIO announced that they will begin blessing gay relationships next year. The Right Rev. Thomas Breidenthal told delegates to the diocesan convention Friday they should not be surprised since he had written in support of same-sex unions before he was elected bishop in 2006, "The Cincinnati Enquirer" reported. He said the blessings would begin after Easter in 2010. VOL took a look at all 100 dioceses of The Episcopal Church and you can read the surprising results in today's digest. ***** This week a San Diego Superior Court ruled in favor of the Episcopal DIOCESE OF SAN DIEGO in a property dispute involving the congregations of two churches that have left the Episcopal Church, taking church property with them. The dissenting congregations in the San Diego Diocese were members of St. Anne's in Oceanside and Holy Trinity in Ocean Beach. In January 2006 and September 2006 respectively, leaders of these congregations renounced their membership in the Episcopal Church and aligned themselves instead with a foreign diocese. The Rev Joe Rees, rector of the parish told VOL, "We are of course disappointed but in faithfulness to our Lord Jesus Christ we are moving forward in preparation for the growth that this will give our parish. "It's amazing what happens when the Lord liberates His people from the oppression of the Evil One. We are a community of believers in Jesus Christ, and His Word and its authority over our lives. We are not buildings and grounds. We are the living Body of Christ and we represent Him to the world to bring them His salvation." The diocese has lost more than 25% of its congregants in disputes over doctrinal and moral matters. While Bishop Mathes has been able to keep the properties he had lost, the diocese continues to lose parishioners. All told some 10 parishes out of 40 have fled TEC. ***** To tax or not to tax closed churches and religious schools. There is a growing consensus that it should happen. Churches and religious schools will likely be taxed in Luzerne County in Scranton, PA next year, says the county Assessment Director Tony Alu. Although this applies to any religion, the impact would essentially be felt by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Scranton, which has already started implementing a plan to close some schools and half of the 90 churches in Luzerne County. A long time VOL reader waded into this story. Stephen James, an Anglo-Catholic said he personally had a walk-through of 12-15 RC churches in the counties. "I was looking to purchase a site for the 1st Anglo-Catholic church in this region. The inside and outside of ALL of those churches were in deplorable condition. There was roof leaking, plaster falling, broken windows, mold everywhere, stench, rotted floors. In some the pews had been ripped out and taken to saw mills to see the value of the wood planks they may get out of them. Light fixtures ripped out of the walls with electrical wires hanging out everywhere. I was told by the parish members who joined the walk-through with the realtor that the bishop ordered NO repairs were to be done on these churches without any further explanation until the shock of hearing about their closure several years later. "I was never so repulsed to see what people of faith had loved so much slowly become a rat's nest and not know why this was happening to them. I know that these are only external problems and the TEC is faced with internal problems of faith, but I witnessed the faces of these RC parishioners shocked to the core. Many have not heeded the command to be herded to another church and I was told if I bought such and such a church that the people would flow to me. I walked away from this mess praying for them and their broken hearts and having much different feelings for their bishops and administration. Tax them. YES.... They should be taxed and not at the deflated value," he said ***** EPISCOPAL LIFE ONLINE published an article regarding the poll results generated by an Executive Council subcommittee on strategic planning. The poll which saw 6,700 respondents included 5,200 laity. As with any statistical exercise conducted by polling, the manner of framing the context and the questions had much to do with the outcome. This poll began with the following assumption: "imagine the year as 2019, and the Episcopal Church is even more vital and thriving than it is today". Respondents were then asked to arrange, in order of importance, a series of eleven actions toward achieving that goal. According to ELO, "The five areas called 'very important' by a clear majority of respondents were, in descending order: reaching youth and young adults; evangelism/proclaiming the good news of Christ; worship, music and liturgy; leadership; and strengthening congregations. The six least important areas, in descending order were: multicultural inclusion; advocacy and social justice; stewardship; clarity of denominational mission; planting new churches and communities of faith; and church administration, coordination and structure." The report of the results also includes a sampling of what the Committee called "revealing, frank, and informative comments", such as: * "Remember that the Episcopal Church historically has been tolerant of a broad range of opinion within the faith, conservative and liberal, and any strategic plan should ensure that all remain welcome." * "Find ways to articulate the uniqueness of the Episcopal Church as one Christian denomination that is truly welcoming to all and truly motivated to strive for justice and peace among all people and to respect the dignity of every human being." * "Our future is with the young people, people who don't have the baggage of the last 30 years of inter-Anglican fights, and who are post-modern enough to understand post-liberal and post-conservative." Several things should be noted here. By 2019 it is highly doubtful, based on the present rate of decline, whether there will be a significant Episcopal Church left in the U.S. except in those orthodox dioceses where there is some growth like Dallas and South Carolina. Juncturing of dioceses looks to be in the future. Young people are not packing Episcopal churches. The Bishop of Maine, the Rt. Rev. Stephen Lane recently noted that. Unless you have a different message from that of the surrounding culture, then no one will come to your church. The world is far more attractive in what it has to offer than the church if the church has nothing unique to say or offer. Endorsing sodomy and legalizing marriage between persons of the same sex is hardly a party hailer. ***** The ANGLICAN CHURCH OF CANADA is desperate for anybody who will darken their church doors. They recently had a Back to Church Sunday where some 2,429 newcomers came to Anglican churches in the Diocese of Toronto. Organizers described it as "stunning". Nearly 80 per cent of all the churches in the diocese took part in the event, which saw regular church-goers ask their friends and family members back to church. Those numbers could go even higher as four deaneries still have not reported. "This is beyond our wildest predictions," says Bishop Philip Poole, who headed up efforts in the diocese. "It's thrilling to see that many people accepting our invitation." The College of Bishops is committed to Back to Church Sunday for the next five years. The next one will be held on Sept. 26, 2010. Back to Church Sunday started in the U.K. in 2004 and has spread to thousands of churches in 15 countries around the world. The total worldwide figures for 2009 will be published when they are available. ***** In the DIOCESE OF OTTAWA, Anglican Bishop John Chapman said he will allow an Ottawa church to offer blessings for same-sex couples who are already civilly married. "My intention is to embrace a liturgical process that will not discriminate between members of the church on the basis of sexual orientation. This will be Ottawa's offering to the ongoing discernment that is happening throughout the Anglican Church of Canada. For me it's an issue of inclusion," Chapman said in an interview with the Sun. Chapman called the blessings "experimental" saying nothing at this point is carved in stone. ***** The Rt. Rev. William L. Murdoch, Bishop of the ANGLICAN DIOCESE IN NEW ENGLAND, will preside and preach at a service of ordination on Saturday, Nov. 14, at 2 p.m. at the First Baptist Church in Norwood, Mass. Alan Bouffard, pastor of the Anglican Church of the Redeemer in Norwood, will be ordained to the priesthood of the Anglican Church in North America. The parish conducts weekly services at the First Baptist Church on Sundays at 8 a.m. Bouffard is a long-time Norwood resident who has been the leader of the Norwood House Church Fellowship since 2003. Information about the Church of the Redeemer is available by contacting Rev. Alan Bouffard at 781-769-7940, alan.bouffard at redeemeranglicanchurch.org, or by looking at the parish website, www.redeemeranglicanchurch.org. This parish is a growing sign that orthodox Anglicanism is quietly on the march throughout the U.S. and Canada. ACNA Archbishop Robert Duncan recently announced in the New York Times that the number of ACNA parishes had risen from 705 to 755 in recent months. Meanwhile TEC dioceses continue to close parish doors across the country. ***** The Bishop of the Anglican Catholic Diocese of Aweil, SUDAN, is in the United States to attend a provincial synod of the Anglican Catholic Church in Richmond, Virginia. Bishop Wilson Garang who oversees more than 180 churches in Southern Sudan is also here to raise awareness about the plight of the people in Southern Sudan. Garang was a refugee and part of the "Lost Boys," a group of thousands of Sudanese children orphaned by the country's civil war in the 1980s. He ended up living in refugee camps in Ethiopia where he was converted, and became the Christian.Bishop of Aweil, Southern Sudan. Southern Sudan is not in the news, he said, "It is only Darfur that people are talking about but the war in the south lasted a long time." Bishop Garang said there is a good relationship between the church and the government of Southern Sudan. "There is freedom of worship." But he lamented the lack of basic services, "it is very hard because when you are leading people they expect some services. When people have a problem they expect the church to help them." It is very challenging, Bishop Garang said. "when you see people starving or dying and there is nothing you can do. It is a big challenge." He stated that many people in Southern Sudan have embraced the faith. "Many people who fled the fighting were able to go to school and go to church and they became believers." Bishop Garang opined that despite the difficulties people face, the church in Southern Sudan is growing. "We have a lot of people coming to Christ on a daily basis." ***** KAMPALA. Anglicans in the Province of Uganda (Kampala) will have a new place of worship within the next three-to-five years following the completion of plans to build a picturesque 5,000-seater All Saints Cathedral on Nakasero Hill to replace the existing structure. The Project Coordinator, Rev. Emmanuel Mwesigwa, told the "Daily Monitor" that construction of the new cathedral will be officially flagged off on Sunday, November 15, with a ground breaking ceremony to be presided over by the Archbishop of the Church of Uganda, the most Rev. Henry Luke Orombi. "The new cathedral will be seven times the size of the current one, and will house more than twice the largest congregation currently," he said. Rev. Mwesigwa added that the cathedral is expected to cost $5 million (about Shs10 billion), with the only envisaged source of funds being contributions from its parishioners. Mwesigwa said the growth of the church's congregation from 1972 when All Saints became a cathedral to today when part of it worships from adjacent tents made it necessary to construct a larger place of worship. "The envisaged 5,000-seater cathedral will additionally house parking in two basements, parish offices and meeting rooms, a restaurant and a shopping centre next to Hilton Hotel on Nakasero Hill." ***** In the DIOCESE OF PENNSYLVANIA comes word that interim Bishop Rodney Michel is planning on restoring the Druid, Bill Melnyk, to the priesthood. A source told VOL that this is being kept hush-hush with the goal that it will be a fait accompli when done. Evidently it relates to the pension that he wants to maintain. In other news, a deal is close on the sale of Camp Wapiti. A figure of $8.6 million is apparently on the table. If the deal closes the loss will run to the millions of dollars. Another in the legacy of Charles E. Bennison. Dying liberal parishes continue to close. ***** For the Book of Divine Worship go here: http://www.atonementonline.com/bodw.php ***** Episcopal Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori visited the DIOCESE OF BETHLEHEM recently where, among other things, she lead a discussion on gay clergy and other topics of dispute. At the Cathedral Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, she expostulated about traditionalist Episcopalians and Anglicans going to Rome. "The move makes it easier for traditionalist Anglicans unhappy with the church's embrace of gay and female clergy to enter communion with Rome while retaining certain liturgical traditions. It's a bigger issue in England than the United States, where traditional Episcopalians have already formed conservative structures and are thus unlikely to seek communion with Rome," said Jefferts Schori. She also stated that provisions allowing Anglicans to join the Roman Catholic Church already exist with four "Anglican Use" congregations operating in the United States. "The two churches have a long history of losing members to each other. The road between Rome and Canterbury is pretty well-traveled." The Presiding Bishop then dropped a bombshell. She said on the public debate on homosexuality that as Bishop of Nevada that she supported the Diocese of New Hampshire when it elected Gene Robinson -- a gay man in a long-term relationship -- as bishop. Then she stated, "Robinson is not the only gay-partnered bishop. He's the only one who's open about it." ***** The ANGLICAN CHURCH OF KENYA created its 31st diocese, raising its Chaplaincy to the Armed Forces to the status of a "Military Episcopate". At a service at St Paul's Garrison Church at the Kahawa army barracks outside Nairobi, the Protestant Suffragan Bishop for the Armed Forces, Colonel the Rt Rev Peter Wanyonyi Simiyu was enthroned as Bishop-in-Ordinary for the Armed Forces. A former British Army Garrison chapel, St Paul's will serve as the pro-Cathedral of the new diocese, the ACK reports. In 2007 Bishop Simiyu was appointed the first Protestant suffragan bishop to the armed forces. Born in 1956 in the Bungoma District, Bishop Simiyu was ordained in 1978 in the Diocese of Butere and served as a parish priest before being commissioned as an army chaplain in 1985. His duty stations have included assignments as garrison chaplain at the Isiolo Barracks, Kenyatta Barracks, Lanet Barracks and Moi Barracks. In 2000, he served with the UN's peacekeeping mission in Sierra Leone, and in 2004 was appointed Principal Chaplain (Protestant) to the Army. ***** The Episcopal Church Foundation (ECF), the Episcopal Church Building Fund (ECBF), and the DIOCESE OF NORTHWESTERN PENNSYLVANIA are teaming up to develop what they say will be "a thoughtful and spiritually grounded process to assist congregations with the discernment of the ministry of buildings." Like other Episcopal dioceses in the Northeast and Midwest, many of the parishes in Northwestern Pennsylvania are in buildings that are too large for the size of their congregation, and have significant maintenance, repair, and restoration costs that are beyond their financial capacity, according to an ECF-ECBF news release. INTERPRETATION. Episcopal churches are emptying, none of the hoped for homosexuals in America are pouring in through its red doors. No evangelism is taking place. Ditto for discipleship. ALPHA is eschewed in most liberal Episcopal dioceses, so the buildings are being closed down. The only upside is the money bishops will get from the sale of churches that they can use to pay bills, pensions and medical for full-time priests. The Diocese of Long Island has made a fortune selling off schools, a nunnery, a hospital and closed churches. Bishop Orris Walker has left the diocese financially healthy but a spiritual wasteland. PS. Trust funds are also drying up. VOL was told that Fr. Matt Kennedy's former parish in the Diocese of Central New York is up for sale. The diocese won the property in a lawsuit. He and his congregation moved on. Now the diocese can't find a buyer. A diocesan spokesman said they are looking for the appropriate organization to buy it, which might be hard in this depression driven industrial town of Binghamton. ***** The process for building a closer relationship between the Episcopal and MORAVIAN churches is taking place in the denominations' decision-making bodies, but the realities of that work will bear fruit in their congregations and beyond. Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, the Rev. Thomas Ferguson, associate deputy to the Presiding Bishop for ecumenical and interreligious relations, and the Rev. David Bennett, president of the Moravian Church's Eastern District Executive Board, talked with a group of about 50 Episcopalians, Moravians and seminary students of other denominations recently. After a conversation that ranged from envisioning mission partnerships to how members of both churches could get to know each other, Jefferts Schori said, "We have only scratched the surface of the riches of this possibility." The nature of a full communion relationship "will play out in different ways," Ferguson said. The possibilities range from specific outreach opportunities in the parts of the country where Moravians and Episcopalians are concentrated to other places where, he suggested, the partnership may center on sharing resources such as theological education. ***** SOME HIERARCHY. Allan S. Haley of Curmudgeon writes, "Now, THIS Is a Hierarchical Church. The Vatican's publication of the much-awaited Apostolic Constitution creating personal ordinariates for Anglicans wishing to realign with Rome shows how things are done in a truly hierarchical Church. No folderol about Cardinals, Congregations, etc., or even concerns about how this might affect the decrees issued by previous Popes -- or even this Pope. (Check out the last clause -- "even those requiring special mention or derogation".) "No, there is a definitive bull, issued by just one person, which immediately is recognized by everyone throughout the entire Catholic Church. Rather makes a mockery of the supposed "hierarchy" of ECUSA, doesn't it?" Note: the reference to "the society structured with hierarchical organs" in the third paragraph. (When the Pope says it, everyone knows he means it, and has the authority to back it up; but when the Presiding Bishop and her Chancellor say it, they have to go to a secular court to obtain a judgment first, and borrow its authority to enforce their claim. And in doing so, they have to misrepresent the history and polity of ECUSA. That's some hierarchy.) For more from his blog go here: http://accurmudgeon.blogspot.com/2009/11/now-this-is-hierarchical-church.html ***** PERSECUTION might actually be good for the church. Consider the following. The Church is growing rapidly in troubled areas of the world: Viet Nam; China; Africa; even in places like Colombia and Mexico, where the Church stands up against the drug lords, proof that where the Church stands up, despite persecution, it thrives. Where it does not (Europe, etc.), it does not. Consider the country of Vietnam where its Dominican "diocese" recently hit 100,000 professed lay people. Vietnam's Dominican community has reached "the population of a diocese", according to Provincial Fr Joseph Ngo Si Dinh. And this is the same country we killed 1.25 million of their people while losing 56,000 Americans and where many Americans are still dying from the effects of Agent Orange. The church grows despite it all. This shows the power of Christ in the world, despite Satan's control of the world. ***** TRADITIONAL ANGLICAN COMMUNION (TAC) Archbishop John Hepworth wants people to chill out about what he will do with his Continuing Anglican church re Rome's offer. In a note he wrote, "This Constitution has a life span into the indefinite future. Speculators and detractors should take a Bex and a good lie down until all the detail is worked out." He said he will publish a statement today (Friday) on the Anglicanorum Coetibus - The Apostolic Constitution offered up by the Vatican. "This is a complex and detailed Constitution and Provision, and precisely responds to our Petition of two years ago. Since this matter was largely set in train by the Traditional Anglican Communion, our response will be pastoral and intended to lead to implementation. The Traditional Anglican Communion is also waiting for a specific response from the CDF giving that is understood to give guidance on applying the Constitution (which is deliberately generic and applies to all Anglicans) to our specific situation. This is anticipated from three to six weeks from the publication of the Constitution." ***** I had the privilege of attending a conference of lay Anglicans this past week in northern Maryland hosted by Episcopal layman David Bickel. It was an excellent occasion that saw presentations on the legal state of TEC property grabs and the future of Episcopal Communion Partners and much more. I hope to publish some of the papers coming out of this conference in the coming days. ***** Reporters and those who write for VOL are working longer hours with their time and talent to bring you the stories you read. We believe that reporters should be paid for their services. Please consider a tax-deductible donation to keep the stories coming and so they can pay their bills. We are totally dependent on our readers to keep us in business. Please help a little. VOL stories can be read in 34 languages. Just go to the website www.virtueonline.org and click on the link GOOGLE TRANSLATE and select the language of your choice. Wait a few seconds and the entire website will come up in the language of your choice. www.virtueonline.org You can send a tax-deductible check to: VIRTUEONLINE 1236 Waterford Rd., West Chester, PA 19380 You can also make a donation through PAYPAL. by going to www.virtueonline.org and hitting the PAYPAL link. We will respond immediately. Thank you for your support. In Christ, David From david at virtueonline.org Fri Nov 13 20:06:12 2009 From: david at virtueonline.org (david at virtueonline.org) Date: 13 Nov 2009 21:06:12 -0500 Subject: Episcopal Church Dioceses All over the Map on Rites for Same-Sex Blessings Message-ID: <20091114020612.27694.qmail@virtueonline.org> Episcopal Church Dioceses All over the Map on Rites for Same-Sex Blessings News Analysis By David W. Virtue www.virtueonline.org November 12, 2009 The Episcopal Church's 100 domestic dioceses are unevenly divided over whether or not they will allow rites for same-sex blessings to occur in their dioceses following the passage of Resolution C056 at General Convention last summer. In 2003 General Convention passed resolution C051 which recognizes that "local faith communities are operating within the bounds of our common life as they explore and experience liturgies celebrating and blessing same-sex unions." The 2006 General Convention defeated a resolution that would have implemented a moratorium on rites for blessing same-sex unions. By GC2009 the moral landscape had shifted even further to the left. Bishops and deputies passed Resolution C056 which called for collecting and developing theological and liturgical resources and design liturgies and to report to the 77th General Convention for further action. Dean Robert Munday, President of Nashotah House, noted the word games being played by the Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music. They struck "and design liturgies" from the final form of the resolution, he said. "Even if only the word 'collect' had been used, it would have been sufficient to allow for the development of liturgies for same sex unions, because you can't collect something that does not exist." Only gullible bishops would be willing to bet that other bishops will not interpret these words as support for allowing the blessing of same sex unions in their dioceses, given that such "generous pastoral responses" have already occurred even without such a resolution. The GLBT organization, Integrity, and some of the more realistic bishops have already said that this is exactly how they interpret C056, said Munday. The action of General Convention caused two Episcopal bishops of orthodox dioceses to say the actions of General Convention 2009 had pushed The Episcopal Church over the edge and will accelerate splitting the Anglican Communion. Albany Bishop William Love described it as the final straw. "The wider Anglican Communion will now say we have gone too far." He was right. But it has not stopped the stampede by liberal and revisionist bishops to leap into the pansexual stream offering rites for same-sex blessings and, in some cases, marriages that will only further polarize the Anglican Communion. The dioceses listed below have unofficial, but in some cases official policies, allowing the blessing of same-sex relationships. The Navajoland Mission and the "reconstituted diocese of Quincy" could not be reached for comment. The Diocese of Rochester has a Committee of Gay and Lesbian Ministry. Blessings of same sex couples are permitted on an individual basis depending on the parish. The Diocese of Arizona has no official policy at this time, but some individual churches may perform same-gender blessings as a pastoral response on the part of the individual priest. The Diocese of Maine has no Prayer Book service, but it is possible within the life of a parish to have a same gender blessing, but it is not a marriage. The Diocese of Massachusetts recently passed a resolution to allow same-sex blessings. Currently a priest cannot marry or sign wedding certificates, but a Justice of the Peace can come to the church and marry a same-sex couple and the priest may offer a blessing. The Diocese of Bethlehem has no formal policy, but priests may bless same-sex couples on an individual basis. The Diocese of Newark says it will allow rites for same-sex blessings. The Diocese of New York has said yes to same-sex blessings. The Diocese of Vermont says it will bless same-sex marriages as well as civil unions. Bishop Tom Ely said that he has put in place policies to support his clergy and provide accountability as they offer blessings of same-sex unions. This diocese has a Task Force on the Blessing of Persons living in same-gender relationships. The Diocese of Spokane will recognize and allow same-sex blessings. The Diocese of Pennsylvania has said yes to same sex blessings. One took place recently at Trinity Church, Philadelphia. The Diocese of Southern Ohio recently approved same-gender blessings. They will not occur until after 2010 said Bishop Thomas E. Breidenthal. The Diocese of Washington, DC has said yes to rites for same-sex blessings. The Diocese of Missouri said a priest would need to clear it with the bishop to see if something could be arranged. The Diocese of Iowa has said yes to blessing same-sex unions. The Diocese of Northern California has said yes to blessing same-sex unions The Diocese of El Camino Real has said yes to blessing same-sex unions. The Diocese of Colorado has said yes to blessing same-sex unions. The Diocese of Oregon has said yes (from an unofficial church source). The Diocese of Arkansas allowed it under Bishop Larry Maze. Now there is a moratorium under Bishop Larry Benfield. The Diocese of California endorses rites for same-sex blessings. The Diocese of Los Angeles endorses rites for same-sex blessings. The Diocese of Olympia has no stated diocesan policy, but that doesn't mean it is not happening, said a diocesan spokesman. The Diocese of New Mexico: Yes, but on a church by church basis The Diocese of Nebraska: Yes. The Diocese of Kentucky: Yes, but on a parish by parish basis. Reconstituted Diocese San Joaquin: Yes, but on a church by church basis. Diocese of the Rio Grande: Yes, but on a church by church basis. Diocese of Nevada: Yes. Diocese of Indianapolis: Yes, but on a church by church basis. Diocese of Utah: Yes. Diocese of West Virginia: There is no policy. The bishop is very clear, however that there is no authority to perform them. Diocese of Southwest Virginia: There is no policy. It is something that has to be taken up with the bishop, but it appears to be happening on a church by church basis. Diocese of Delaware: Yes. Not official. It has been done in the past, according to a woman priest. Diocese of New Hampshire: Yes. Diocese of Connecticut: Yes. Diocese of Central New York: Yes, but on an individual clergy basis Diocese of New Jersey: Yes. Diocese of Maryland: Yes. Diocese of Chicago: Yes. Diocese of Lexington: Yes, but on church by church basis. Diocese of Wyoming: Yes, but on a church by church basis. Diocese of Idaho: Yes, but on a church by church basis. Diocese of North Texas: (Fort Worth under Bishop Gulick). No at this time. They are still being governed by the canons put into place by Bishop Jack Iker. The new reconstituted diocese is working towards changing the canons. Diocese of Eastern Oregon: Not at this time. There is a new provisional bishop in place. Diocese of Western Michigan: Yes, but on a church by church case, according to a woman priest. The Diocese of Long Island said no, but they have undergone a changing of the guard so it is unknown at this time how the diocese will eventually go. Diocese of Northern Michigan: There is no stated policy. It could be possible with permission of the Standing Committee and Episcopal Ministry support team in place of the bishop. Diocese of Central Gulf Coast: Not allowed yet, "not that we don't want to" --- woman priest. The Diocese of Minnesota currently says no, but will wait till a new bishop comes in. All could change then. The Diocese of Alaska said no, indicating that they are waiting for a new bishop. The following dioceses have signaled that they will not permit blessings for same-sex unions nor will they allow rites for same, though several could change their minds in the coming months at their diocesan conventions. They include: Albany, Alabama, Central Florida, Dallas, Springfield, San Joaquin, Western Louisiana, Western Kansas, South Dakota, West Texas, Oklahoma, Central Pennsylvania, East Carolina, Nth. Carolina, Western North Carolina, Georgia, Western New York, Milwaukee, Eau Claire, Northwest Pennsylvania, Atlanta, Florida, Southeast Florida, Southwest Florida, Western Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Texas, Upper South Carolina, Easton, Southern Virginia, Mississippi, Eastern Michigan, Michigan, Louisiana, Tennessee, East Tennessee, West Tennessee, Virginia Southern Virginia, Fond du Lac, Kansas, North Indiana, Reconstituted Diocese of Pittsburgh, San Diego, Hawaii and Montana. ---Virtueonline correspondent Mary Ann Mueller contributed to this article. From david at virtueonline.org Fri Nov 13 20:07:12 2009 From: david at virtueonline.org (david at virtueonline.org) Date: 13 Nov 2009 21:07:12 -0500 Subject: Rome Rescues Anglo-Catholics. Who will Rescue Anglican's Evangelicals? Message-ID: <20091114020712.27714.qmail@virtueonline.org> Rome Rescues Anglo-Catholics. Who will Rescue Anglican's Evangelicals? Commentary By David W. Virtue www.virtueonline.org November 11, 2009 By all accounts it was a brilliant move. The Vatican suddenly announced that a personal ordinariate would be made available to traditionalist Anglicans in the Anglican Communion, offering them a place of refuge and catching off guard the Archbishop of Canterbury. For the first time there is a sense in which Rome is recognizing that you can be Anglican and Roman Catholic. It was a shrewd move that angered liberal Catholics like Hans Kung and threw into doubt the long standing history of Roman Catholic Anglican unity talks known as ARCIC. The ball game has changed forever. ARCIC may well be dead. At least that's the view of Rochester Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali. He may well be right. The Church of England's toleration of gay clerics, ordained women and the future prospect of women bishops and The Episcopal Church's further and further drift from the historic Christian Faith while preferring to engage the culture by merging with it brought a sharp response from the Pontiff. Pope Benedict XVI moved quickly to stem the hemorrhaging of both Anglican churches. Rather than tolerating the excesses of the culture, he engaged it by condemning those things he saw as fatally flawed from a faith-based perspective. Even as The Episcopal Church applauded pansexuality, the Pope condemned it. Even as the Pope condemned abortion, Episcopal leaders applauded it. Even as women moved into ecclesiastical places of power, the Pope disapproved of it. The rift was a mile wide and growing deeper by the day. A wall of ice had descended between the two church super powers. As Rowan Williams continued to dither, the Pope heard the cry of Anglo-Catholics around the world and finally acted. Reflecting on this, Bishop John Broadhurst, leader of Forward in Faith UK, said he was increasingly "horrified" that the Church of England was prepared to accommodate those who believed in the ordination of women bishops, but rejected any notion that traditionalists cannot have a Third Province - a jurisdiction of their own and an interdependent life within the Church of England. Instead the Church of England has offered and honored the requests to consecrate women dashing its own ecumenical hopes as well as those of traditionalists in her bosom. "This situation must not be used to damage the Church of England but I do believe we have a valid claim on our own heritage in history. The doctrinal standard demanded by Rome is the New Catechism which most of us use any way," concluded Broadhurst. Will hoards of disenchanted Anglo-Catholics now rush to accept Rome's offer? The answer seems to be no. Few in England will become Roman Catholic, said the Bishop of Leicester, the Rt. Rev. Tim Stevens, to a BBC presenter. Is it significant or over-hyped? It has been said that as many as half a million Anglicans and 50 of their bishops world-wide could take advantage of this invitation. But the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams is playing the situation down. Whatever the outcome of this unprecedented move it will only become apparent in the fullness of time. The bigger and unasked question is this: What lays hence for Evangelicals within the Church of England and those abroad? Church of England commentator Peter Ould, an evangelical, noted the fine print in the Pope's offer and found this. 1.5 The Catechism of the Catholic Church is the authoritative expression of the Catholic faith professed by members of the Ordinariate. "There you have it. This little line means not only that there is no place for Evangelicals in the Ordinariate (but then I wasn't expecting any), but that also it might cause many members of Forward in Faith a few problems," he wrote. Reform issued a press release which says, "It is illusory to pretend that this development is an outcome of ecumenical dialogue." Rather, it suggests that this "illustrates the difficulties the C of E faces. Anglicans concerned about protecting the basic Christian faith need not go to Rome, because we now have the Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans (FCA-UK) which holds together those who want to stop the orthodox faith being eroded." In North America, a new province, the Anglican Church of North America (AC-NA), has formed offering a place of refuge from the apostasies and heresies of TEC. To date they are 100, 000 strong and growing. According to Archbishop Robert Duncan they now have 755 parishes up from 705 just a few months ago. The majority ownership of AC-NA is clearly evangelical with a sizeable sprinkling of Anglo-Catholics. These Anglo-Catholics have shown no interest in leaving AC-NA to accept the Pope's offer. One wonders what would have happened if the Pope's offer had come several months before the formation of AC-NA. Would dioceses like Ft. Worth, San Joaquin and Quincy have gone for the siren call of Rome? Apparently not, if you read their statements now. Theirs is a polite "thank you, but no thank you". None of these dioceses apparently have any desire to embrace Rome. The four former Episcopal bishops who have gone over to Rome have not, to date, been joined by bishops Jack Iker, John-David Schofield, Keith Ackerman or William Wantland. These men all want to remain faithful and loyal Anglicans. So apparently does Forward in Faith U.S. who now has their own bishop firmly ensconced in AC-NA. The Anglican Catholic Church (ACC) under its leader, Archbishop Mark Haverland has also declined the offer to go to Rome as has the Anglican Province in America (APA) who through Presiding Bishop Walter Grundorff has weighed in that they will not accept Rome's offer. Otherwise, forgetting all the one accord jurisdictions (as in "they were all in one accord" because they fit into one Accord), others who have rejected the offer include: in the U.S. The Anglican Province of Christ the King (APCK), The United Episcopal Church and internationally the Anglican Catholic Church. The Episcopal Missionary Church has given no indication that they are Romeward bound either. The Episcopal Church's Communion Partner bishops have also shown no inclination towards accepting Rome's offer. In fact they are more committed to staying in TEC and working for change from within than ever. A group of them flew to London recently to affirm their allegiance to the Archbishop of Canterbury while keeping a wary eye on Mother Jefferts Schori and Sister Bonnie Anderson. Furthermore, none of the mega-evangelical Anglican provinces like Nigeria, Uganda, Kenya or Rwanda have shown any interest in leaving the Anglican Communion or accepting Rome's offer. They are all solidly evangelical. They are going nowhere. GAFCON was born out of frustration at the direction the Anglican Communion was taking, but even they have said they are not leaving the communion. Nigerian Archbishop Peter Akinola Chairman of the GAFCON/FCA Primates Council issued this statement: "We are convinced that this is not the time to abandon the Anglican Communion. Our Anglican identity of reformed catholicity, that gives supreme authority to the Holy Scriptures and acknowledgement that our sole representative and advocate before God is the Lord Jesus Christ, stands as a beacon of hope for millions of people. We remain proud inheritors of the Anglican Reformation. This is a time for all Christians to persevere confident of our Lord's promise that nothing, not even the gates of hell, will prevail against His Church." GAFCON was born just prior to the last Lambeth Conference offering a safe haven for global Anglican evangelicals. The Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans, like branches from the main bough are springing up across the world affirming the faith, but showing no interest or inclination to leave the Anglican Communion. On the contrary, they affirm over and over again that they are staying and pushing for change - a return to the faith. The Council of Church Society in its commentary on the plans by the Church of Rome to receive disaffected Anglicans commented, "The Church of England's true nature is that of a Protestant, Reformed, Evangelical and catholic (in other words, universal) church. Orthodox Anglicanism is therefore defined by reference to these characteristics only, which are set out in the Thirty-nine Articles and the Church of England's submission to the over-arching authority of Scripture alone. Church Society seeks to defend and promote these defining characteristics, especially the Gospel of salvation by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone which is at the heart of the message and mission of the Church of England." Nothing could be more simple and stark than this. "While acknowledging the correct stand taken by Anglo-Catholics against theological liberalism (the features of which do not represent true, Biblical Anglicanism), it should also be noted that the true doctrine of the Church of England does not embrace any of the teachings or practices which characterise the Church of Rome. For instance, the Church of Rome is fundamentally flawed in its claims about its own nature and authority and in its teaching about the means of salvation. "A proper rejection of theological liberalism should therefore not be accompanied by a turning to the Church of Rome and its unbiblical teachings and practices. Rather, both theological liberalism and the unscriptural teachings and practices of the Church of Rome are contrary to the Bible and to the historic doctrines of the Church of England as a Protestant, Reformed, Evangelical and catholic church. "We grieve that the Church of England, along with our nation, has fallen so low in its spiritual and moral condition. We pray that God would pour out His Spirit on both church and nation, leaders concluded." The situation in the Church of England is far from lost despite the dithering by Rowan Williams. A source in London told VOL that within five years there will be a strengthening alliance between orthodox Evangelicals and Catholics in the Church of England. It will make the C of E a very different animal. The facts are these. Women bishops are at least 10 years away. More and more women are being ordained but confined to the house of clergy. They can only vote as clergy in the synodical structures, but the laity represents the broad mass of the C of E which is strongly conservative. The point is women priests will not swamp the church and will not ultimately make or break it. All the major seminaries and theological colleges are filled with next generation evangelicals, the product of seeds sown by faithful Anglican evangelicals like John Stott, Jim Packer, Michael Green, Alistair McGrath et al some of whom are now octogenarians. The Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans in England is strengthening the hand of Evangelicals and Catholics in the C of E, forging links and hoping to steer the C of E in an orthodox direction. The Pope's offer is largely irrelevant as far as the Church of England is concerned. Only about a dozen or so priests and one or two retiring or about to retire bishops will accept the Pope's offer. The papal initiative is irrelevant the source told VOL. Evangelicals do not want to be rescued either in England or the U.S. by Rome. One way or another, they will find their way through the revisionist impasse and they will come out the other side stronger and braver. Time is on their side. It is not on the side of the liberals who have no life-changing gospel to proclaim. Revisionism is ultimately death, so is pansexuality. It is morally bankrupt and is slowly but steadily eroding and emptying churches. The churches will not be filled by women priests or women bishops either. There is simply no evidence for it. Bending to the culture will only make churches orphans in time. Confronting the culture with the Good News of Jesus, as difficult as that might be, is England's only hope. As feminist Gloria Steinem might have humorously noted had she entered the fray, "Evangelicals need the Pope like a goldfish needs a bicycle." END From david at virtueonline.org Fri Nov 13 20:08:12 2009 From: david at virtueonline.org (david at virtueonline.org) Date: 13 Nov 2009 21:08:12 -0500 Subject: SAN DIEGO: Superior Court Rules in Favor of Episcopal Diocese Message-ID: <20091114020812.27732.qmail@virtueonline.org> SAN DIEGO: Superior Court Rules in Favor of Episcopal Diocese Diocesan Release and Response Submitted by David W. Virtue www.virtueonline.org November 13, 2009 The San Diego Superior Court ruled in favor of the Episcopal Diocese of San Diego on Tuesday, November 10 in a property dispute involving the congregations of two churches that claimed to leave the Episcopal Church, taking church property with them. The dissenting congregations in the San Diego Diocese were members of St. Anne's in Oceanside and Holy Trinity in Ocean Beach. In January 2006 and September 2006 respectively, leaders of these congregations renounced their membership in the Episcopal Church and aligned themselves instead with a foreign diocese. Since then, the breakaway congregations have been engaged in a dispute with the Diocese of San Diego about who is the rightful owner of church property. Tuesday's ruling follows recent appellate opinions and confirms the Right Reverend James R. Mathes' conviction that parish property cannot be taken away from the larger church by departing members. "While I know this comes as a hard decision for the members of these dissenting congregations, this is also an opportunity for reconciliation and renewal" said the Bishop Mathes. "We are eager to welcome these individuals back into the Episcopal Church. There is no need for anyone to change their place of worship. We will celebrate the same service from the same prayer book at the same altar." "This decision follows all other major decisions regarding property in a hierarchical church," added Bishop Mathes. "The Diocese of San Diego is grateful to conclude this necessary but painful season." "This decision reaffirms the principle that the property of an Episcopal congregation must be used to further the mission and ministry of the Episcopal Church," said Baker & McKenzie partner, Charles H. Dick, Chancellor of the Diocese and its attorney in the property litigations. "People should be free to leave the Episcopal Church if they wish, but they cannot take the property of the Episcopal Church with them when they depart." The Rev Joe Rees, rector of the parish told VOL, "We are of course disappointed but in faithfulness to our Lord Jesus Christ we are moving forward in preparation for the growth that this will give our parish. "It's amazing what happens when the Lord liberates His people from the oppression of the Evil One. We are a community of believers in Jesus Christ, and His Word and its authority over our lives. We are not buildings and grounds. We are the living Body of Christ and we represent Him to the world to bring them His salvation." END From david at virtueonline.org Fri Nov 13 20:09:12 2009 From: david at virtueonline.org (david at virtueonline.org) Date: 13 Nov 2009 21:09:12 -0500 Subject: SCRANTON: Closed churches to be taxed Message-ID: <20091114020912.27751.qmail@virtueonline.org> SCRANTON: Closed churches to be taxed Diocese of Scranton will feel most impact by plan to take effect next year. By Jennifer Learn-Andes Luzerne County Reporter http://www.timesleader.com/news/Closed_churchs_to_be_taxed_11-07-2009.html November 7, 2009 Closed churches and religious schools will likely be taxed in Luzerne County next year, county Assessment Director Tony Alu said Friday. Although this applies to any religion, the impact would essentially be felt by the Diocese of Scranton, which has already started implementing a plan to close some schools and half of the 90 churches in Luzerne County. Alu said he recently learned that several other counties already started taxing closed churches and religious schools, maintaining that their closure no longer qualifies them for tax-exempt status. Luzerne County's Board of Assessment Appeals gave Alu the green light to proceed with the taxation plan, he said. The law says all churches or "actual places of regularly stated religious worship" should be exempt, but Alu said this condition isn't met when there is no regular worship. "We're trying to follow the letter of the law," Alu said. Scranton Diocese spokesman William Genello could not be reached for comment for this story. The Diocese of Allentown has filed court challenges contesting the taxation of shuttered churches and schools in Northampton and Carbon counties. The diocese argues that the buildings should be exempt under a different part of the law forgiving taxes on public charities. The Allentown Diocese resorted to court challenges after its requests for continued tax exemption were denied by assessment appeals boards in both counties. The diocese also argues that the assessments are too high. Taxation of Luzerne County's closed churches and schools will likely prompt a debate over the appropriate values of these buildings, Alu said. The amount of taxes that would have to be paid has not been calculated, Alu said. He instructed his staff to start identifying impacted properties. The Transfiguration School in West Hazleton is one example of a building that would now be taxed by the county. The school, which closed in the summer of 2006, is assessed at $1.166 million, county assessment records show. School, county and local taxes would be $17,589 based on this year's tax rates. The Sacred Heart Church in Plains Township, which closed in July, was originally assessed at $543,500, but the value was reduced to $85,500 after an assessment appeal. Property taxes would be about $1,807. The Ss. Peter and Paul Church in Hazleton, which recently closed, is assessed at $689,600, which would equate to $10,401 in property taxes. Alu said the Scranton Diocese will have ample opportunity to argue why properties should remain exempt during assessment appeal hearings. County appeal board rulings would still take effect if the diocese went to the next level of filing a court challenge, but the taxing bodies must refund overpayments if an assessment reduction or tax-exempt status is granted in court. Carbon County Chief Assessor Kim Steigerwalt said she was surprised that the taxation of closed religious buildings did not create a stir in her county. A total 24 church properties in five municipalities were added to the rolls - 11 churches, six vacant lots, a social hall, two schools and four rectories. Alu said vacant lots or parking lots may also be taxed in Luzerne County if the churches are closed. Parking lots are not currently taxed because the county historically considered them part of the church, Alu said. Church-owned living quarters for a reverend are already partially taxed, Alu said. The land is taxed in full, but only 10 percent of the building portion of the assessment is taxed, he said. Full taxation will be considered if the church is closed and a reverend no longer lives there, he said. "We're trying to be fair. Others have to pay more when we don't tax something that should be put on the tax rolls," Alu said. END From david at virtueonline.org Fri Nov 13 20:10:12 2009 From: david at virtueonline.org (david at virtueonline.org) Date: 13 Nov 2009 21:10:12 -0500 Subject: ST. CATHARINES, ON: Invite from Rome 'offensive, ' says Anglican bishop Message-ID: <20091114021012.27782.qmail@virtueonline.org> ST. CATHARINES, ON: Invite from Rome 'offensive,' says Anglican bishop Head of conservative Anglican group critical of Pope's message, but some lay members warm to the idea By Stuart Laidlaw Faith and Ethics Reporter The Star http://tinyurl.com/yl4kf4j November 12, 2009 An invitation from Rome to join the Catholic Church is "offensive in the extreme," the head of a breakaway group of Canadian Anglicans says. "Apart from being an intrusion at the very highest levels of one major church into the internal affairs of another, under the guise of being ecumenical, this invitation offers very little that is new," Bishop Don Harvey, moderator of the Anglican Network in Canada, told the group's annual synod Thursday morning. The Network left the Anglican Church of Canada last year to join the conservative Anglican Church in North America in a dispute over liberal versus conservative interpretations of the Bible that came to a head over gay marriage and clergy. Then, last month, Pope Benedict XVI invited dissatisfied Anglicans to join the Catholic church, but keep their Anglican rituals. Details of the invitation, which allows Anglican clergy to remain married, but not become bishops, were released this week. In his official charge to the synod this morning, Harvey took offence to the invitation, saying it overstates the overlap between the two churches' beliefs. He also took a swipe at the media. "I find the words in the official joint communique referring to 'the Catholic Church and the Anglican Tradition' offensive in the extreme and reporters who suggested that this may be a solution to the Network's needs are not really aware of what we truly profess," he said. The Network has long maintained that the disputes over gay marriage and clergy were a symptom of a larger disagreement over a perceived liberal drift by mainstream Anglicanism. Harvey said the Pope's invitation was neither helpful nor welcome. "This is not the way to foster good ecumenical dialogue," he said in his charge. Both Harvey and Archbishop Fred Hiltz, primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, have said they do not expect many to take up the Pope's offer. Despite Harvey's misgivings, several lay members of the Network at the synod told the Star on Monday they took comfort from the invitation. "I was absolutely elated," Phillip Wiebe of Vancouver said Monday. Wiebe saw the Pope's move as evidence that the Network has support for its conservative interpretation of the Bible. David Jenkins of Oakville said he likes the Catholic Church's opposition to abortion and homosexual rights. "From that point of view, being Catholic is pretty tempting to me," he said. He would not switch, however, if it meant agreeing to Catholic tenets of the infallibility of the pope, the role of the Virgin Mary and transubstantiation, or the Catholic belief that the bread and wine of communion become the body and blood of Jesus. Joyce Lee of Vancouver said she hopes that all orthodox Christian churches will one day join together, and that the Pope's invitation is a first step toward that. "It's a sign and encouragement that there's a home for you if you need one," she said. Jessica Stilwell, 18, who hopes to study English and religion at McGill University next year, said that after years of division in the Anglican church, it is heartening to be invited to join another church - even if the invitation is not taken up. Harvey did not agree. "It would be nice to be invited to the party, but on equal terms." END From david at virtueonline.org Fri Nov 13 20:11:13 2009 From: david at virtueonline.org (david at virtueonline.org) Date: 13 Nov 2009 21:11:13 -0500 Subject: Archbishop Rowan Williams: "God knows what the future holds." Message-ID: <20091114021113.27793.qmail@virtueonline.org> Archbishop Rowan Williams: "God knows what the future holds" by Ruth Gledhill http://timescolumns.typepad.com/gledhill/2009/11/archbishop-rowan-god-knows-what-the-future-holds.html November 12, 2009 The Archbishop of Canterbury has pleaded with the Church of England's Catholic Anglicans to remain in communion with Canterbury and resist joining the Pope's new Anglican Ordinariate. He referred to the 'chaotic and uncertain' future of the Anglican Communion but insisted that it was still possible to be holy, Catholic and Anglican. Preaching at All Saints Margaret Street on All Saints' Day in a sermon just released to me today, Dr Rowan Williams made reverent reference to the relics of St Therese. He said it was possible 'to lead lives of Catholic holiness even in the Communion of the See of Canterbury.' He continued: 'God knows what the future holds for any of us for any of our ecclesiastical institutions, but we can at least begin with what we can be sure of; that God has graced us with the lives of Saints; that God has been credible in this fellowship with these people.' He said: 'This church with its very particular place in the history of the Church of England is one small but significant facet of that great mystery and that great gift. And at times when the future seems more than usually chaotic and uncertain, it doesn't hurt simply to give thanks.' The service marked the 150th anniversary of the consecration of All Saints, one of London's most noted centres of Catholic Anglican devotion. ***** Rowan Williams: Anglican future looks 'chaotic and uncertain' Ruth Gledhill, Religion Correspondent The Times http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article6914223.ece November 13, 2009 The future of the Anglican Communion looks "more than usually chaotic and uncertain", the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, has admitted. In what amounted to a plea to the Church of England's Anglo-Catholics to resist the temptation to convert to Roman Catholicism over the issue of women bishops, he said: "God knows what the future holds for any of us . . ." He insisted, however, that it remained possible to be at once holy, Catholic and Anglican. Dr Williams did not refer directly to the Pope's response to requests from some Church of England bishops and traditional Anglicans around the world for a means of admission to the Catholic Church. He said that it was still possible "to lead lives of Catholic holiness even in the Communion of the See of Canterbury". The Catholic Church's Holy See published the Apostolic Constitution or Papal decree this week, setting out the norms for the new Anglican Ordinariate, which will allow Anglo-Catholics to become Roman Catholics while still retaining their liturgies and other aspects of their Anglican heritage. The new ordinariate is likely to be named after Cardinal John Henry Newman, the Catholic convert from Anglicanism who is to be beatified next year when the Pope visits Britain. Dozens of members of the traditionalist group Forward in Faith could opt to move to the ordinariate if the Church of England General Synod proceeds with the consecration of women bishops without making some kind of statutory provision. Dr Williams was preaching on All Saints' Day at All Saints, Central London, at a service to mark the 150th anniversary of the church's consecration. All Saints is a prominent centre of Catholic Anglican worship in Britain. In the sermon, published yesterday on his website, Dr Williams, whose own background is from the Church of England's catholic wing, paid tribute to the Catholics and Anglicans who went to see the relics of St Th?r?se of Lisieux during their recent tour of Britain. He added: "God knows what the future holds for any of us, for any of our ecclesiastical institutions, but we can at least begin with what we can be sure of - that God has graced us with the lives of saints, that God has been credible in this fellowship with these people." He added: "This church with its very particular place in the history of the Church of England is one small but significant facet of that great mystery and that great gift. And at times when the future seems more than usually chaotic and uncertain, it doesn't hurt simply to give thanks." Dr Williams will go to Rome next week, when he will have an audience with the Pope and deliver a public address at an ecumenical conference at the Gregorian University. Last night, delivering the final Tony Blair Faith Foundation seminar on faith and development at the Royal Society of the Arts, he said that those coming from a faith perspective needed to develop "literacy in the discourse of human rights". The Bishop of Southwark, Dr Tom Butler, has also spoken out on the Pope's offer to receive the Anglican Communion's disaffected traditionalists. Dr Butler said that the initiative had "put the cat among the pigeons". Addressing his diocesan synod, he said that he had sought legal advice, and warned those thinking of going: "No priest or group of laity has the right to take church property with them when they change denominations, for a diocese holds such property in trust for the mission and ministry of the Church of England to all the people of its parishes and this duty of care would continue. I don't myself see how a parish could legally take the parish church and other assets without specific statutory authority." The issue was brought to a head by the decision by the Church of England's General Synod last year to consecrate women bishops with no statutory provision for opponents. This week, in a debate at Westminster Hall at the House of Commons, the Tory MP Robert Key, a member of the Synod and of Parliament's Ecclesiastical Committee, said: "The fact is that most Anglicans who go to church want to see women ordained as bishops." He added: "Most Christians believe that God is above gender. Jesus surrounded himself with both women and men as his disciples." END From david at virtueonline.org Fri Nov 13 20:12:13 2009 From: david at virtueonline.org (david at virtueonline.org) Date: 13 Nov 2009 21:12:13 -0500 Subject: A cautionary tale from a once flourishing Evangelical parish in a CofE Diocese Message-ID: <20091114021213.27804.qmail@virtueonline.org> UK: A cautionary tale from a once flourishing Evangelical parish in an English Diocese www.anglican-mainstream.net November 11th, 2009 In this parish there is deep unhappiness at the way in which their new incumbent - a member of a pro-gay campaigning group - has been appointed. This personal account sent to Anglican Mainstream by a senior parishioner has been anonymised. Let it serve as a warning to us all and an encouragement to vigilance in defence of Biblical values As you have asked I will let you have an account of what has happened at in our parish lately . . . The new vicar was inducted by the Bishop of . . . on Sunday. The representative of the patrons did not attend and had informed the new vicar that he was unhappy with his appointment. Our church has become divided and very unhappy. About members have left and there are more people who are deeply upset and want to leave but do not feel ready to do so. A great deal of the unhappiness is due to the fact that the Diocese, the new vicar, and one of the churchwardens had in effect "gagged " us and completely refused to allow the issues to be aired and discussed in an open manner. Our Diocesan Bishop showed hardly any interest or concern about the issues we raised. We have learnt of lies, manipulations and cover-ups, and it is seems clear that the Diocese were solely interested in getting the person appointed to be our new vicar inducted with the minimum of fuss. They completely closed ranks around him. It felt all political, and not very Christian - yet we had tried our best to respect the authority of the Archdeacon and the Bishop. There seems to have been no care at all about the unhappiness and division in our church, the issues surrounding the appointment, about the fact that lifelong Anglicans such as . . . . have, in effect, been forced to leave. Two Sundays ago, Rev X and his wife publicly resigned from the parish. The Archdeacon took the service (as he had been invited to do a month or so back) and he allowed X to speak for about 5 minutes only from a pre-vetted written statement. I understand that the Diocesan Bishop was behind this. The Archdeacon tried to forbid X's wife from saying anything in the service, but she said a few words nevertheless. Most of the congregation were aghast at X's departure, many were in tears, as X and his wife have served the served for many years, and are very much loved and respected members of the congregation. In some ways, upon reflection, some of us who oppose the new vicar's appointment feel partly to blame for this situation arising. The parish, when I first joined it 23 years ago, was a thriving, bible-based, truly evangelical church with a wonderful sense of fellowship in its multicultural congregation and a good sense of mission and service. Over the years, however, after left, many of us grew complacent and fell back on our tradition as an evangelical church. We now wish we had taken more of an active interest: in perhaps joining the PCC or even putting ourselves forward as a candidates for churchwarden, etc. We should have been more vigilant, more clued up. One of the founding members of Accepting Evangelicals . . . was on the leadership team - yet we did not really see the direction our Church was drifting in. It is horrifying to realise now that Z has been churchwarden for 37 years, and at AGM after AGM this appears never to have been questioned because we all trusted him and thought he was doing a great job. Please would you, if you feel it is right, use our church as an example of how things have gone wrong for a previously thriving, truly evangelical church, which has become part of the 'gayification' of a diocese. Perhaps our story can be an example of how clergy (and congregations) need to be so vigilant in ensuring that their PCC and churchwardens exercise great care and sharpness in these matters, particularly when issues of succession are looming, and also the need to do as much research as possible about prospective candidates, and to ask the right questions at interview. I am astounded that a simple Google search revealed all there was to know about the new vicar's links with Accepting Evangelicals and Courage, and his record at his previous parish (dramatic congregation drop etc). Also, looking back I can see how little Scriptural teaching (virtually non existent) we had on issues of, for example, human sexuality and relationships, leaving many in the congregation at best confused about these issues and at worst completely in agreement with the new vicar's stance. I did ask several weeks ago to ensure that for future appointments they amend their application forms and interview forms to ask relevant questions to candidates, so that no other church under their patronage will go through what we have been through. I have also asked him to do better research on candidates as part of the selection process. Although we are sad to be leaving, we do feel that we have been rescued from a church that seems to have lost direction and appears to be imploding. My husband and I are so thankful to God for the way He blessed us at and allowed us to serve Him there and we trust Him for our future. We pray His mercy on this church. END From david at virtueonline.org Fri Nov 13 20:13:13 2009 From: david at virtueonline.org (david at virtueonline.org) Date: 13 Nov 2009 21:13:13 -0500 Subject: PITTSBURGH: Anglican Diocese to expand, cut costs Message-ID: <20091114021313.27821.qmail@virtueonline.org> PITTSBURGH: Anglican Diocese to expand, cut costs By Ann Rodgers Pittsburgh Post-Gazette http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09312/1011753-455.stm November 08, 2009 Due to at least a temporary loss of endowment, the Anglican Diocese of Pittsburgh has slashed its budget, but still plans to launch 70 new churches over five years. It received five mission congregations at its convention yesterday in Sewickley. It also received four parishes from outside its original boundaries. All nine were already counted among its 58 churches. The Anglican diocese is appealing a Common Pleas Court decision awarding its endowment to the 28-parish Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh. The two split last year when a majority at the diocesan convention voted to secede from the Episcopal Church, which they believed had failed to uphold biblical doctrine on matters from salvation to sexuality. The Anglican diocese billed this as its 144th convention, and there were references to the Episcopalians as "the rogue diocese." But others can't be blamed for any past failure of missionary initiative, said the Rev. Mary Hays, canon to the ordinary, as she urged the diocese to start 70 new churches. "There's a reason we're in this mess and it isn't just the rogue diocese," she said. "We have to take responsibility for not reaching the people around us with the love and power of the Lord Jesus." The diocese left the Episcopal Church for the Anglican Province of the Southern Cone in South America. Both the Southern Cone and the Episcopal Church belong to the global Anglican Communion. In June the diocese joined the new Anglican Church in North America, which hopes to join the Anglican Communion. Yesterday it voted for sole affiliation with the Anglican Church in North America, while its bishops and clergy hold dual credentials with the Southern Cone. It adopted a flexible 2010 budget of $919,163 to $987,416. That's down from $1.7 million for 2009. Rent will be slashed by moving from Downtown to the North Side. Archbishop Robert Duncan's pay package was reduced from $192,700 to $89,356 but he will receive $75,000 from the Anglican Church in North America for serving as its archbishop. The convention overwhelmingly passed a resolution opposing abortion, except to save the mother's life, and called for aid to women with crisis pregnancies. There were questions about a clause against teaching that "divorces the sexual act from ... the possibility of procreation." Some asked if that was a criticism of contraceptive use. Co-author Deacon Tara Jernigan of Butler replied that "the intent here is not to legislate with regard to birth control" but to counteract a world view "that has divorced sex from babies." END From david at virtueonline.org Fri Nov 13 20:14:13 2009 From: david at virtueonline.org (david at virtueonline.org) Date: 13 Nov 2009 21:14:13 -0500 Subject: Is This Bishop catholic? Message-ID: <20091114021413.27843.qmail@virtueonline.org> Is This Bishop catholic? The head of the Anglican Church in North American talks about the pope's overture by Deborah Solomon New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/08/magazine/08fob-q4-t.html November 8, 2009 As the archbishop of the Anglican Church in North America, you are known as the leader of a conservative - and even ultraright - movement that was founded last year in a break from the Episcopal Church. Do you plan to convert to Catholicism now that Pope Benedict has opened his doors to Anglicans? I wouldn't characterize us as ultraright. We don't beat up folks. We are sort of mainstream right. I am very pleased that the Vatican has done this, but my call now is to lead all those Anglicans who stand where Anglicans have always stood. Have you had any contact with the pope? I corresponded with him as Cardinal Ratzinger in 2003, when we had the first national gathering of Episcopalians and Canadian Anglicans who realized they couldn't go on with the Episcopal Church or the Anglican Church of Canada. Was this at the time that the Rev. Gene Robinson was being consecrated by the Episcopal Church as the first openly gay bishop? It was between the time he was confirmed and ordained. He's a likable enough guy, but the problem is he's leading a whole generation astray. I don't believehe should be a bishop. You and Robinson were fellow students at the General Theological Seminary in New York. Yes. That was in the early '70s. He was living a heterosexual lifestyle at the time. He was married. Then he left his wife and later committed himself to a male partner. I don't wish him ill. We should point out that you were deposed from ministry of the Episcopal Church by the presiding bishop, Katharine Jefferts Schori, after you threatened to have your diocese of Pittsburgh secede. That was a year ago, but what's interesting is that virtually no one in the Anglican world accepted that sentence. Within two weeks of being deposed, I was received at Lambeth Palace in London by the archbishop of Canterbury, who continues to consider me a bishop. Bishop Schori heads the Episcopal Church in this country, and you opposed her election in 2006? She was the least qualified, the least experienced, of the candidates, but I hoped that what she would bring if she were elected was the kind of grace that women often bring. She turned out to be far harder, far less willing to bend or compromise, than any of the men. Where are you from? I was raised in Bordentown, N.J., at Christ Episcopal Church in Bordentown. It's a very special place. It's where I was married, where I met my wife. It's just a great parish church. What was your childhood like? My family knew a lot of turmoil, and there were a lot of things that happened in the house that were very unhappy. My mother was emotionally disturbed. She was a very difficult person. There were times when I was not sure I'd wake up in the morning because of her violence. And your father? He just died last week. I'm sorry. Were you close to him? Again, not greatly close to him. I tried to be a faithful son. He didn't know how to handle my mother. How large is this new denomination of yours? In June, when the Anglican Church in North America was constituted, there were 702 congregations. Right now there are 755. Is there any truth to the popular notion that the Anglican Church was created by Henry VIII just so he could annul his marriage? He wanted to ditch Catherine of Aragon and marry Anne Boleyn. There's no question that the Anglican Church, the Church of England, was created as an aspect of state policy. It had a very bad beginning. It had a very secular, very political beginning. God used it for good. I see a lawsuit was filed by the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh to take away both money and property in your control as the longtime bishop there. There is an ongoing lawsuit. They may get the stuff, but we'll get the souls. They may get the past, but we've got the future. END From david at virtueonline.org Fri Nov 13 20:15:13 2009 From: david at virtueonline.org (david at virtueonline.org) Date: 13 Nov 2009 21:15:13 -0500 Subject: ARLINGTON, TX: Diocese of Fort Worth Resolves For Church Unity Message-ID: <20091114021513.27880.qmail@virtueonline.org> ARLINGTON, TX: Diocese of Fort Worth Resolves For Church Unity By Michael Heidt Virtueonline Correspondent www.Virtueonline.org November 7, 2009 The 27th annual convention of the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth, meeting at St. Peter and St. Paul's church in Arlington on November 7, 2009, passed two resolutions pledging continued affiliation with the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA), the Anglican Province of the Southern Cone, and the broader Anglican Communion. A further two resolutions committed the diocese to ecumenical dialogue with the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church in North America (OCA). While recognizing that "certain theological differences exist among the constituent membership of the newly constituted Anglican Church in North America, as well as in the wider Anglican Communion," Resolution One affirmed, "continued participation in the development of the Anglican Church in North America..." Also, acknowledging a desire for "the highest degree of communion possible with other Anglicans in North America and throughout the world," the Diocese of Fort Worth resolved to maintain its "status as a member diocese" in the Province of the Southern Cone. Resolution Two continued the theme of Anglican unity, expressing "readiness" to adopt the Ridley/Cambridge Draft of the Anglican Covenant, and expressing "solidarity" with the Provincial Council of the Anglican Church in North America and the Communion Partner Bishops in North America." The Communion Partner Bishops include the Rt. Rev. Love of Albany and James Stanton of Dallas, along with others working to recall The Episcopal Church (TEC) to orthodoxy. Resolution Three focused on Anglican-Orthodox relations and was proposed as an answer to OCA leader Metropolitan Jonah's invitation to work towards unity given at the ACNA inaugural Assembly in June 2009. In three resolves the Diocese confirmed its desire to work towards 'full, visible, and sacramental unity" with the OCA. Responding to Pope Benedict's recent announcement of an Apostolic Constitution for Anglicans, Resolution Five expressed "deep gratitude" for the initiative and "commended" Bishop Iker's response to it. The Resolution called for the Diocese to "work and pray together for the unity of Christ's holy catholic church throughout the world." All four resolutions were passed unanimously by the one hundred and seventy three registered delegates to the convention, committing the traditional Diocese of Fort Worth to Anglican, Roman and Eastern Orthodox unity. In doing so, Bishop Iker's diocese looks set to play its part in reversing the damage done to ecclesial relations by the pansexual agenda of The Episcopal Church. ----Fr. Michael Heidt is a priest in the Diocese of Ft. Worth. He writes for Virtueonline ***** Elections: Standing Committee, Clerical member: Dean Ryan Reed Standing Committee, Lay member: Julia Smead Ecclesiastical Trial Court, Clerical member: Fr. David Klein* Ecclesiastical Trial Court, Lay member: Thom Murrell Univ. of the South, Trustee (full term) Walter Virden IV Univ. of the South, Trustee (one-year appointment) Voting on the Proposed Resolutions all passed unanimously by voice vote Resolution 1 The Anglican Church in North America passed Resolution 2 Anglican Communion Covenant passed Resolution 3 Anglican-Orthodox Ecumenical Relations passed Resolution 4 Dissolution of Parishes & Congregations passed Resolution 5 Anglican-Roman Catholic Ecumenical Relations passed Resolution 6 Affiliating Parishes passed END From david at virtueonline.org Fri Nov 13 20:16:13 2009 From: david at virtueonline.org (david at virtueonline.org) Date: 13 Nov 2009 21:16:13 -0500 Subject: ARLINGTON, TX: Bishop Iker Urges Delegates to be Steadfast For The Faith Message-ID: <20091114021613.27897.qmail@virtueonline.org> ARLINGTON, TX: Bishop Iker Urges Delegates to be Steadfast For The Faith Diocese Gains Five Churches By Michael Heidt Virtueonline Correspondent www.virtueonline.org November 7, 2009 In characteristically measured tones, Bishop Iker told delegates to the Diocese of Fort Worth's 27th Annual Convention on Saturday, November 7, 2009, to stand against "all that is evil and false," and for "the revealed truth of the Christian Faith." The Bishop went on to welcome five new parishes into the Diocese of Fort Worth. Speaking to the Convention's theme, "Standing Firm in the Faith," Bishop Iker reiterated St. Paul's exhortation to the Ephesians to "put on the whole armor of God," and stand "firm in the faith they had received." Iker was clear that this meant being against "the powers of evil" and for "the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ." For the Bishop of Fort Worth, this means "being on the offense," not least against the "power of the evil one" and "continuing to stand boldly in the face of whatever opposition or challenges may confront us... without compromise or surrender." Iker outlined the nature of this, reminding the Convention of the need to stay focused on the mission and growth of the Church in the face of litigation by the pansexual advocates of Jefferts Schori's Episcopal denomination. Iker ripped this group of heterodox litigants stating, "As you know, the small minority who separated from us in order to remain in the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America has not been content with our willingness to give them their buildings and property - they want ours as well." He went on to say that legal proceedings would take "years, not months" and gave thanks to an anonymous benefactor who has made legal defense possible. But, as the Bishop reminded his listeners, this is only part of a larger spiritual battle in which the Diocese of Fort Worth is to "work and pray for a deeper unity in Christ for all believers, for the sake of mission, that the world may believe." Unlike the empty gospel of sexual liberation, lawsuits and Millennium Development Goals, Iker's stand for traditional Christianity is producing growth, with five new churches joining the Diocese of Fort Worth. These were welcomed at the Convention by the Bishop, "One of the big highlights of this Convention is our great joy in welcoming into our diocese five new congregations. This is unprecedented in the history of the diocese. So let us greet with joy and thanksgiving those churches joining our diocese today: St. Francis in Dallas, St. Matthias in Dallas, the Church of the Holy Spirit in Tulsa, Oklahoma, St. Gabriel's in Springdale, Arkansas, and our newly founded mission church here in Fort Worth - Christ the Redeemer." On being invited to applaud these new arrivals to the Diocese, delegates rose to give a standing ovation, only to be assured that they could look forward to more of the same next year and in the years ahead. As increasing numbers of Christians walk away from an ever dwindling TEC, Iker's prophecy looks set to be fulfilled. Stay tuned for more parishes and people joining the unashamedly orthodox Diocese of Fort Worth, which is firmly committed to standing fast to the Gospel received from Christ Himself. Bishop Iker's address can be read here: http://www.fwepiscopal.org/diocesanconvention/09convention/address.html ----Fr. Michael Heidt is a priest in the Diocese of Ft. Worth and a correspondent for VirtueOnline From david at virtueonline.org Fri Nov 13 20:17:13 2009 From: david at virtueonline.org (david at virtueonline.org) Date: 13 Nov 2009 21:17:13 -0500 Subject: The Church of Uganda and the "Anti-Homosexuality Bill" Message-ID: <20091114021713.27909.qmail@virtueonline.org> The Church of Uganda and the "Anti-Homosexuality Bill" >From the Rev. Canon Aaron Mwesigye Anglican Province of Uganda November 6, 2009 The Church of Uganda is studying the proposed "Anti-homosexuality bill" and, therefore, does not yet have an official position on the bill. In the meantime, we can restate our position on a number of related issues. 1. Our deepest conviction as the Church of Uganda is that, in Christ, people and their sexual desires are redeemed, and restored to God's original intent. Repentance and obedience to Scripture are the gateway to the redemption of marriage and family and the transformation of society. (Position Paper on Scripture, Authority, and Human Sexuality, May 2005) 2. The House of Bishops resolved in August 2008 that "The Church of Uganda is committed at all levels to offer counseling, healing and prayer for people with homosexual disorientation, especially in our schools and other institutions of learning. The Church is a safe place for individuals, who are confused about their sexuality or struggling with sexual brokenness, to seek help and healing." 3. The Church of Uganda upholds the sanctity of life and cannot support the death penalty. 4. In April 2009, Archbishop Henry Luke Orombi said, "I am appalled to learn that the rumours we have heard for a long time about homosexual recruiting in our schools and amongst our youth are true. I am even more concerned that the practice is more widespread than we originally thought. It is the duty of the church and the government to be watchmen on the wall and to warn and protect our people from harmful and deceitful agendas." 5. "Homosexual practice is incompatible with Scripture." (Resolution of the 1998 Lambeth Conference of Bishops.) Homosexual behaviour is immoral and should not be promoted, supported, or condoned in any way as an "alternative lifestyle." This position has been repeatedly reaffirmed by the House of Bishops and the Provincial Assembly of the Church of Uganda. 6. We cannot support the blessing of same-sex unions or the ordination of homosexuals (Resolution of the 1998 Lambeth Conference of Bishops), and we will oppose efforts to import such practices into Uganda. Again, this position has been repeatedly reaffirmed by the House of Bishops and the Provincial Assembly of the Church of Uganda. ---The Rev. Canon Aaron Mwesigye is Provincial Secretary Church of Uganda. He is based in Kampala From david at virtueonline.org Fri Nov 13 20:18:13 2009 From: david at virtueonline.org (david at virtueonline.org) Date: 13 Nov 2009 21:18:13 -0500 Subject: Bishop Schofield to Inaugurate New Anglican Religious Society in San Diego Message-ID: <20091114021813.27926.qmail@virtueonline.org> Bishop Schofield to Inaugurate New Anglican Religious Society in San Diego by David Turney http://tinyurl.com/yl3sed4 November 5, 2009 New Society Forming Dear Christian Brothers and Sisters, There is a vision being birthed at the Anglican Church of the Resurrection ("ACR") in San Marcos, California. Read on. A new Community (Society) is arising in your midst. This is to invite Christians to consider becoming a part of it . . . as the Lord leads. The Society (Community) forming will be a group of persons who especially intend to walk in the joy of serving our Servant King, the Lord Jesus Christ. Our coming together will be for the express purpose of mutual encouragement and accountability with a special focus on growth in Christ through serving. The life of the Society will include a formal commitment to prayer (including some form of the Divine Offices) as well as spiritual reading. As mentioned, our mandate will include availability to serve others as God leads. We anticipate that there would be a meeting of the Society once or twice a month. On January 3, 2010 Bishop John-David Schofield who, with the Rev. Dr. Eric Menees, Senior Pastor at ACR, has given his blessing to the formation of this Society, will formally inaugurate the Society and hear the promises of those who wish to belong to it. The previous day, January 2, 2010, Bishop Schofield will lead a Quiet Day at ACR (open to all) on the subject of "Intercessory Prayer." Those intending to become part of the Society will see this Quiet Day as an opportunity for preparation for their commitment. All of this will take place at ACR. Stay tuned for more details. So . . . this is a call to Christians who might feel the tug of the Lord Jesus Christ to join in this opportunity. If you are interested, please join us to learn more and to discuss/pray for the discernment of God's will in this matter. God willing, we will meet together for this purpose on Monday evening, November 16, 2009 at 7:00 P.M. in our home at 952 Knoll Vista Dr., Lake San Marcos, CA 92078. Please RSVP, if you can, however just showing up would be fine. Sincerely in Christ, Fr. Dennis & Elizabeth Kelly Phone 760-304-4473 E-mail: ihs.ekelly at yahoo.com From david at virtueonline.org Fri Nov 13 20:19:13 2009 From: david at virtueonline.org (david at virtueonline.org) Date: 13 Nov 2009 21:19:13 -0500 Subject: Pope's historic offer creates an Anglican tradition within the Catholic Church Message-ID: <20091114021913.27942.qmail@virtueonline.org> Pope's historic offer creates an Anglican tradition within the Catholic Church By Damian Thompson http://tinyurl.com/yjzxpz3 November 9th, 2009 Pope Benedict XVI's Apostolic Constitution for Anglicans wishing to convert, published today, has surprised everyone by the scope of its ambitions and its extraordinary tributes to Anglican spirituality, elements of which the Pope believes will greatly enrich the Catholic Church. There is a sense in which Rome is recognising, for the first time, that you can be Anglican and Roman Catholic. The immediate reaction from Forward in Faith has been very positive indeed. Bishop John Broadhurst of Fulham said this morning: "I had thought the original notice from Rome was extremely generous. Today all the accompanying papers have been published and they are extremely impressive." The opening words of the Constitution show that the Pope regards this as a historic moment for Western Christianity. The Holy Spirit has driven Anglicans to seek full communion with Rome "repeatedly and insistently", he says. So he clearly believes it is his God-given mission to make special arrangements for those who are bringing with them "the liturgical, spiritual and pastoral traditions of the Anglican Communion ... as a precious gift". The broad outline we already know: the former Anglicans will be given quasi-dioceses called Ordinariates, presided over by Ordinaries who may be ex-Anglican married bishops. The surprise, as I noted earlier, is just how much status these Ordinaries will be granted: they will sit on Bishops' Conferences and may even use their episcopal insignia. "Married bishops in all but name", is how Ruth Gledhill describes them. That's overdoing it, I think, since the married ones will not be in bishops' orders. She also says that this is "everything that Catholic Anglicans hoped for and more". Fair enough: it's more than many Anglo-Catholics were expecting, though I see there's a ban on Catholic clergy who converted to Anglicanism joining the Ordinariate (and quite right, too, in my opinion). In addition to a structure of parishes, the Ordinariate will be allowed "houses of formation" for seminarians, though these will be incorporated in wider seminary training. The door is not closed on "case by case" ordination of married lay men, though it will be very much the exception rather than the rule. But here's a surprise: according to Article 7 of the Norms, "When necessary, priests, with the permission of the Ordinary, may engage in a secular profession compatible with the exercise of priestly ministry". In other words, Ordinariate priests may work as (for example) teachers, doctors or social workers, just as Anglican non-stipendiary ministers may. Whether permission would extend to the private sector I don't know, but this is a clever solution to the problem of some ex-Anglican priests who would urgently need to support their families after leaving their previous ministry. (The Catholic Church can't afford to pay for many new full-time priests, that's for sure.) Also, Anglican priests already in secular jobs would be eligible to become Ordinariate priests. (I'm wondering if I dare point out that the Rev George Pitcher could "come over" and be the Telegraph's first Catholic priest religion editor - but that's about as likely as me defecting to Canterbury.) Another notable feature of the Constitution: it makes provision for what are effectively new orders within the Ordinariate structure: "The Ordinary, with the approval of the Holy See, can erect new Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, with the right to call their members to Holy Orders, according to the norms of canon law." So the Pope clearly envisages the Ordinariate as a living and growing entity within the Catholic Church worldwide, not just England and Wales. Ruth Gledhill thinks the problem of church buildings can and should be overcome (and it's nice to be able to praise one of her posts for a change): This leaves the delicate problem of where these congregations will worship. Many are already talking of local ecumenical sharing agreements. In other words, congregations would divide into two - but still use the one church. Would the Church of England be generous about that? After all, the requests to The Episcopal Church for generosity in the case of its own departing flocks, and with all the local ecumenical projects embracing everything from Methodist to Orthodox up and down the land, it would look a tad hypocritical if dioceses began expelling priests and congregations whose only crime was to espouse the 'One Holy Catholic Apostolic Faith' in deed as well as Word. However, don't expect any decisions about parishes, buildings or appointments for some time. The practical hurdles remain formidable - but my initial impression is that quite a few have been surmounted today. ----Damian Thompson is Blogs Editor of the Telegraph Media Group. From david at virtueonline.org Fri Nov 13 20:20:13 2009 From: david at virtueonline.org (david at virtueonline.org) Date: 13 Nov 2009 21:20:13 -0500 Subject: LONDON: GAFCON Primates statement on Vatican offer Message-ID: <20091114022013.27987.qmail@virtueonline.org> LONDON: GAFCON Primates statement on Vatican offer A Statement from GAFCON/FCA Primates Council November 10, 2009 RESPONSE TO OFFER OF AN APOSTOLIC CONSTITUTION TO ANGLICANS We have received the Archbishop of Canterbury's letter informing us of the Pope's offer of an 'Apostolic Constitution' for those Anglicans who wish to be received into the Roman Catholic Church. We believe that this offer is a gracious one and reflects the same commitment to the historic apostolic faith, moral teaching and global mission that we proclaimed in the Jerusalem Declaration on the Global Anglican Future and for this we are profoundly grateful. We are, however, grieved that the current crisis within our beloved Anglican Communion has made necessary such an unprecedented offer. It represents a grave indictment of the Instruments of Communion whose very purpose is to strengthen and protect our unity in obedience to our Lord's clear command. Their failure to fully address the abandonment of biblical faith and practice by The Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church of Canada has now brought shame to the name of Christ and seriously impedes the cause of the Gospel. The Primates Council of the Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans (GAFCON/FCA) is convinced, however, that Anglicanism has a bright future as long as we remain grounded in the Holy Scriptures and obedient to our Lord Jesus Christ's call to reach the lost and make disciples of all nations teaching them to observe the whole Gospel. We also believe that there is room within our Anglican family for all those who hold true to the 'faith once delivered to the saints'. We would like to encourage those Anglicans who are considering this invitation from the Roman Catholic Church to recognize that Anglican churches are growing throughout the world in strength and offering a vibrant testimony to the transforming work of Christ. We are convinced that this is not the time to abandon the Anglican Communion. Our Anglican identity of reformed catholicity, that gives supreme authority to the Holy Scriptures and acknowledgement that our sole representative and advocate before God is the Lord Jesus Christ, stands as a beacon of hope for millions of people. We remain proud inheritors of the Anglican Reformation. This is a time for all Christians to persevere confident of our Lord's promise that nothing, not even the gates of hell, will prevail against His Church. +Peter Abuja, Chairman, GAFCON/FCA Primates Council From david at virtueonline.org Fri Nov 13 20:21:13 2009 From: david at virtueonline.org (david at virtueonline.org) Date: 13 Nov 2009 21:21:13 -0500 Subject: ANGLICAN PERSPECTIVE: Vatican's Apostolic Constitution explained Message-ID: <20091114022113.27997.qmail@virtueonline.org> ANGLICAN PERSPECTIVE: Vatican's Apostolic Constitution explained By Bill Franklin Episcopal News Service November 9, 2009 The text of the new Apostolic Constitution for former Anglicans entering into full communion with the Roman Catholic Church has now been released. Pope Benedict announces a new path of unity for Christians separated from the Roman Catholic Church in his letter. He says: "This Apostolic Constitution opens a new avenue for the promotion of Christian unity." But the future of Christian unity foreseen in this text is found by returning to the past. The document, "On the Groups of Anglicans," seems to be a return to the philosophy of the 1928 papal encyclical Mortalium Animos of 1928, "On Fostering True Religious Unity." While the new Apostolic Constitution maintains that "the provision of this new structure is consistent with the commitment to ecumenical dialogue, which continues to be a priority for the Catholic Church," the new constitution recalls the 1928 encyclical which argued that the only road to Christian unity is for all to admit their errors and return to Rome. This is the revival of a long-standing understanding of Christian unity articulated by the Holy See at the time of the Gregorian reform of the 11th century, articulated again by pre-Renaissance and post-Renaissance popes, and formulated once more in the apostolic letter Apostolicae curae of 1896 which declares Anglican orders "absolutely null and utterly void." 1. What is to be established? Personal Ordinariates, similar to a small diocese made up of parishes and religious communities, are being established for "Anglicans entering into full communion with the Catholic Church." The Ordinariates are composed of laity, deacons, priests, bishops, members of religious orders, "or those who receive the Sacraments of Initiation within the jurisdiction of the Ordinariate." The Ordinary, or leader of the Ordinariate, may be a bishop or a presbyter appointed by the Roman pontiff, from a list presented to the Holy See by the Governing Council of the Ordinariate. 2. What is new about the "Ordinariates"? This provision is considerably different from the "pastoral provision" set up in the United States in 1980 for former Episcopalians who wanted to enter the Roman Catholic Church. The constitution says, "The Pastoral Provision was not suitable for the new situation to which the Holy See was called upon to respond." The "pastoral provision" was about parishes. The "Ordinariate" will form something like separate dioceses within Roman Catholic dioceses. The constitution provides means to establish full communion corporately for former Anglicans. It envisions bishops, priests, deacons, laity, and members of religious orders entering into the full communion of the Roman Catholic Church. It envisions new Christians joining the Ordinariates, "individuals who come to the Catholic faith through the pastoral or missionary work of the Ordinariate and who receive the sacraments of initiation within the Ordinariate." Individuals baptized in the Roman Catholic Church may not be members of Ordinariates. 3. What about the ordination of former Anglican clergy? "The ordination of ministers coming from Anglicanism will be absolute, on the basis of the bull Apostolicae curae of Leo XIII of September 13, 1896," the constitution says. "Given the entire Catholic Latin tradition and the tradition of the Oriental Catholic churches, including the Orthodox tradition, the admission of married men to the episcopate is absolutely excluded." 4. What is the role of former Anglican bishops? A married former Anglican bishop is eligible to be appointed Ordinary. In such a case he is to be ordained a priest in the Catholic Church and then exercises pastoral and sacramental ministry within the Ordinariate with full jurisdictional authority. A former Anglican bishop who belongs to the Ordinariate may be invited to participate in the meetings of the Bishops' Conference of the respective territory, with the equivalent statutes of a retired bishop. A former Anglican bishop who belongs to the Ordinariate and who has not been ordained in the Catholic Church, may request permission from the Holy See to use the insignia of the episcopal office. 5. What is the role of former Anglican priests? Former Anglican priests who are married may be re-ordained to the priesthood in the Roman Catholic Church. "Those who have been previously ordained in the Catholic Church and subsequently have become Anglicans, may not exercise sacred ministry in the Ordinariate," the constitution says. "Anglican clergy who are in irregular marriage situations may not be accepted for Holy Orders in the Ordinariate." 6. What aspects of the Anglican tradition will be preserved within the new structure? * Worship: "he Ordinariate has the faculty to celebrate the Holy Eucharist and the other Sacraments ... according to the liturgical books proper to the Anglican tradition, which have been approved by the Holy See." * Synods: "The Ordinary is aided in his governance by a Governing Council ... presided over by the Ordinary, composed of at least six priests ... In order to provide for the consultation of the faithful, a Pastoral Council is to be constituted in the Ordinariate." 7. What about celibacy? There is the possibility that married men, not previously ordained, may be admitted to an ordination process "by the possibility that, following a process of discernment based on objective criteria and the needs of the Ordinariate, the Ordinary may also petition the Roman Pontiff, on a case-by-case basis, to admit married men to the priesthood." 8. What is the relationship to the Bishop of Rome? Every five years the Ordinary is required to come to Rome for an ad limina Apostolorum visit and present to the Pope, through the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith and the Congregation for Bishops, a report on the status of the Ordinariate. A paragraph issued today by Bishop Christopher Hill of the Church of England captures succinctly the response of Anglicans in Rome to this text, and I suspect it will encapsulate the thinking, in their own contexts, of most throughout the Anglican Communion. Bishop Christopher said: "We note the publication of the text of the Apostolic Constitution and its complementary norms today. It will now be for those who have requested and at this point feel impelled to see full communion with the Roman Catholic Church to study the Apostolic Constitution carefully in the near future and to consider their options." I agree substantially with Bishop Christopher. These are only our initial responses to a major text that will require much further detailed analysis. But from the perspective of an American Episcopalian living and working in Rome, the Vatican text does not deflect us as Anglicans and Episcopalians in Europe from our continuing mission, or our longstanding commitment to seeking the unity of all the churches, including the Roman Catholic Church. ---- The Rev. Dr. R. William Franklin is academic fellow of the Anglican Centre in Rome and the associate director of the American Academy in Rome. From david at virtueonline.org Fri Nov 13 20:22:13 2009 From: david at virtueonline.org (david at virtueonline.org) Date: 13 Nov 2009 21:22:13 -0500 Subject: VATICAN: Papal document on former Anglicans maintains some Anglican traditions Message-ID: <20091114022213.28014.qmail@virtueonline.org> VATICAN CITY: Papal document on former Anglicans maintains some Anglican traditions By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/0904970.htm November 10, 2009 Former Anglicans entering the Catholic Church can preserve their liturgical traditions, married priests in some circumstances and even a shade of their consultative decision-making processes, according to Pope Benedict XVI's document on new structures for welcoming the former Anglicans. The pope's apostolic constitution "Anglicanorum Coetibus" ("Groups of Anglicans") was published Nov. 9 at the Vatican along with specific norms governing the establishment and governance of "personal ordinariates," structures similar to dioceses, for former Anglicans who become Catholic. As previously announced by the Vatican, the text said there could be exemptions to the church's celibacy rule to allow married former Anglican priests to be ordained as Catholic priests. However, it emphasized that this would be done on a "case-by-case basis." An accompanying Vatican statement said the possibility of having some married clergy under this special arrangement "does not signify any change in the church's discipline of clerical celibacy." The ordinariates will be established by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in consultation with the national bishops' conference where the ordinariate is to be based, the constitution said. The pope will appoint the head of each ordinariate, although he will choose from a list of three candidates nominated by the jurisdiction's governing council, the norms said. The council will be made up of at least six priests belonging to the ordinariate. A commentary published by the Vatican with the constitution and norms said the role of the governing council in choosing an ordinary, giving consent for a candidate to be ordained to the priesthood and establishing parishes and seminaries is a sign of "respect for the synodal tradition of Anglicanism." Within the Anglican Communion, synods are made up of clergy and laypeople and they directly elect bishops and set policy. The ordinary, even if he is not a bishop, is automatically a member of the national bishops' conference and is required to make an "ad limina" visit to the Vatican every five years to report on the status of the ordinariate, the constitution said. The pope's apostolic constitution and the norms for implementing it repeatedly state a preference for celibacy for priests in the Latin rite of the Catholic Church. "The ordinary, in full observance of the discipline of celibate clergy in the Latin Church, as a rule will admit only celibate men to the order of presbyter" or priest, the constitution said. The ordinary may petition the pope for an exemption to allow married men to be ordained Catholic priests, it said. The norms explicitly exclude the possibility of ordaining married Anglican priests who previously were ordained as Catholic priests as well as excluding Anglican priests who are in "irregular marriage situations," such as those who have been divorced and remarried. Only celibate former Anglican bishops may be ordained Catholic bishops in keeping with the tradition of both the Catholic Church and the Orthodox churches, the new norms said. Unmarried men who want to be ordained "must submit to the norm of clerical celibacy," the constitution said. According to the norms, new seminarians must be part of the personal ordinariate or be former Anglicans who have established full communion with the Catholic Church. They may not be originally baptized Catholics who later became Anglicans or joined the personal ordinariate. In fact, the norms said, "Those baptized previously as Catholics outside the ordinariate are not ordinarily eligible for membership" in the ordinariate itself "unless they are members of a family belonging to the ordinariate." The norms called for the new personal ordinariates to provide an adequate salary, pension and insurance for their priests, but the rules also recognize that may be a challenge with priests who are married and have children. The norms allow for priests, with the permission of their ordinary, to "engage in a secular profession compatible with the exercise of priestly ministry." In the apostolic constitution, dated Nov. 4, Pope Benedict reaffirmed his commitment to promoting Christian unity and said that as the one chosen "to preside over and safeguard the universal communion of all the churches," he had to find a way to accept the request of Anglican individuals and groups who wanted "to be received into full Catholic communion." While the former Anglicans will be able to celebrate the Latin-rite Mass like any other Catholic, he said, members of the ordinariate also will be able "to celebrate the holy Eucharist and the other sacraments, the Liturgy of the Hours and other liturgical celebrations according to the liturgical books proper to the Anglican tradition, which have been approved by the Holy See." In order to join the personal ordinariate, he said, former Anglican laypeople and religious "must manifest this desire in writing," while former Anglican priests are admitted by the ordinary according to the rules in canon law for being incardinated into a diocese or other church jurisdiction. The Vatican commentary, written by Jesuit Father Gianfranco Ghirlanda, a canon lawyer and rector of the Pontifical Gregorian University, said the constitution and norms respond to two needs: maintaining the spiritual and liturgical traditions of the former Anglicans while integrating them fully into the Latin rite of the Catholic Church. Father Ghirlanda said, "These personal ordinariates cannot be considered as particular ritual churches" -- like the Ukrainian, Maronite or Coptic Catholic churches -- "since the Anglican liturgical, spiritual and pastoral tradition is a particular reality within the Latin Church" while the Eastern churches developed separately. Establishing the ordinariates and allowing former Anglicans to maintain some of their traditions, he said, ensures that they "are not simply assimilated into the local dioceses in a way which would lead to the loss of the richness of their Anglican tradition, which would be an impoverishment of the entire church." END From david at virtueonline.org Fri Nov 13 20:23:13 2009 From: david at virtueonline.org (david at virtueonline.org) Date: 13 Nov 2009 21:23:13 -0500 Subject: "Conversion is not necessary and absorption is not appropriate" - ACC Archbishop Message-ID: <20091114022313.28040.qmail@virtueonline.org> "Conversion is not necessary and absorption is not appropriate" By Archbishop Mark Haverland November 9, 2009 A response from the Anglican Catholic Church to Rome's Offer to Former Anglicans 1. Rome's Offer The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) on October 20th issued a widely publicized Note that summarizes a forthcoming Apostolic Constitution concerning former Anglicans seeking to be received into full union with the Roman Catholic Church.. This Constitution, as best one can judge from the Note, mainly will do two new things: First, it will extend internationally terms offered already to some in North America by the Pastoral Provision and by the Book of Divine Worship. The Pastoral Provision permits ordination as Roman Catholic priests for some married, formerly Anglican clergy who join the Roman Catholic Church, and this despite the general Roman demand for clerical celibacy. The Book of Divine Worship contains some liturgical forms which have sources in the Anglican tradition: the so-called Anglican Use. At present these forms may be permitted by the local Roman bishop when both a group of former Anglicans desiring the Use and also a competent priest are present. The Pastoral Provision has permitted many dozens of former Anglican clergymen to become Roman Catholic priests. The Anglican Use, in contrast, has had little success, with fewer than ten congregations. In any case, the Apostolic Constitution will extend beyond North America permission both for the Roman Catholic ordination of married, former Anglicans and also for some Anglican liturgical usages within the Roman Church. The second and more innovative development promised by the Note is the establishment of Ordinariates composed of former Anglicans and led by former Anglicans ordained as Roman clergy and then appointed by Rome as Ordinaries. The new Ordinariates would, it seems, have jurisdiction over such former Anglicans even while those former Anglicans live within the boundaries of existing Roman Catholic dioceses. This development may give a somewhat higher status to an "Anglican Use" within the Roman Church and may signal its development into something more than a short-lived, transitional arrangement in the rare cases of joint conversion to Rome by a suitable Anglican clergyman and by a congregation interested in retaining elements of the Anglican patrimony. The Note, in brief, offers terms for conversion by Anglicans to the Roman Catholic Church. These terms are, from Rome's point of view, fairly generous and innovative. For persons who already believe that the doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church is superior to classical Anglican or Orthodox theology, such terms are significant.. We have nothing to say against the pleasure such former Anglicans will feel in evidence of a benevolent interest from the Vatican. And we are certain that Pope Benedict by this Constitution intends to be generous, kind, and welcoming and even, in a sense, subjectively intends to be respectful towards and appreciative of some aspects of our Anglican heritage. II. Our Response The Note, however, does not mark in any respect an ecumenical advance. The Note assumes the fullest and highest claims for the Petrine Office which emanate from Vatican I and Vatican II. The Note assumes the essential correctness of Pope Leo XIII's condemnation of Anglican Orders and practically implies that for all effective purposes that condemnation has not been reconsidered or superceded in any degree by subsequent events. The Note assumes that Anglican confirmations and ordinations are utterly null and absolutely void. The Note does not imply the union of ecclesial bodies, but rather the conversion of former Anglicans to Roman Catholicism with what amounts to the prior, effective, and complete dissolution of their former ecclesial structures. This conversion by absorption is the case even if some of the leaders of those former structures may eventually gain office in new subdivisions of the Roman Catholic Church. We assume that local or congregational ownership of property will be entirely extinguished in accordance with normal Roman Catholic practice. Insofar as the Note and subsequent Constitution provide for relatively one-sided conversions of former Anglicans with minimal concessions, we fear that the Note and Constitution in fact will harm and retard genuine ecumenical progress. By genuine ecumenical progress we mean, for instance, joint consideration of the Petrine Office of the sort some hoped for after promulgation by John Paul II of his encyclical Ut Unum Sint. While Pope John Paul repeated a description of the modern Petrine Office and noted the need for 'the power and authority without which such an office would be illusory' (94), he also seemed to speak of a joint exploration of the manner in which that office is exercised which might, it seems, help to reconcile classical Anglicans, as well as Orthodox and Oriental Christians, to the Roman Catholic Church. Pope John Paul wrote, "I am convinced that I have a particular responsibility in this regard, above all in acknowledging the ecumenical aspirations of the majority of the Christian Communities and in heeding the request made of me to find a way of exercising the primacy which, while in no way renouncing what is essential to its mission, is nonetheless open to a new situation. For a whole millennium Christians were united in 'a brotherly fraternal communion of faith and sacramental life ... If disagreements in belief and discipline arose among them, the Roman See acted by common consent as moderator.'" (95) Anglican and Orthodox Christians look for union and full communion without "conversion," submission, and effective absorption and for an exercise of the Petrine Office that is compatible with the actual situation of the Church of the first millennium. The new Constitution will do nothing to forward that goal. The forthcoming Constitution is in effect addressed to those who are already essentially Roman Catholic. We are not. We wish nothing but the best to Roman Catholic converts when they act in good conscience. But persons already convinced of the truth of Roman Catholic teaching in its fulness should become Roman Catholics promptly with or without the Pastoral Provision, with or without a liturgical "Anglican Use," and with or without the new Ordinariates. We see in this Note an offer which is merely prudential and practical in its nature and effect, and we do not see anything to attract persons who are not already essentially Roman Catholic in faith. We believe that classical Anglicanism, as presented clearly in The Affirmation of Saint Louis and in our liturgies and other authoritative formularies, is already faithful to Scripture and the Fathers and is already fully Catholic and Orthodox. Conversion is not necessary and absorption is not appropriate. We believe that our Anglican patrimony is, moreover, by God's grace and Providence, also most appropriate for the English-speaking peoples and probably is essential for the successful evangelization or re-evangelization of the English-speaking lands. We hope eventually for a genuine dialogue concerning the Petrine Office and long for the day when we, with our Orthodox and Oriental Christian friends, may again find in the successor of Saint Peter a patriarch with the primacy of honor and with high authority both as an organ for strengthening the Church's unity and also as an instrument for the articulation of the Church's teaching. We regret that the forthcoming Constitution, while kindly meant, seems set to delay that happy day. ----The Most Reverend Mark Haverland, Ph.D. is Archbishop and Metropolitan of the Anglican Catholic Church From david at virtueonline.org Fri Nov 13 20:24:14 2009 From: david at virtueonline.org (david at virtueonline.org) Date: 13 Nov 2009 21:24:14 -0500 Subject: ROME: Official Text of Apostolic Constitution Anglicanorum Coetibus Message-ID: <20091114022414.28063.qmail@virtueonline.org> OFFICIAL TEXT: APOSTOLIC CONSTITUTION ANGLICANORUM COETIBUS PROVIDING FOR PERSONAL ORDINARIATES FOR ANGLICANS ENTERING INTO FULL COMMUNION WITH THE CATHOLIC CHURCH 9.11.2009 APOSTOLIC CONSTITUTION ANGLICANORUM COETIBUS PROVIDING FOR PERSONAL ORDINARIATES FOR ANGLICANS ENTERING INTO FULL COMMUNION WITH THE CATHOLIC CHURCH # PRESS RELEASE # APOSTOLIC CONSTITUTION ANGLICANORUM COETIBUS # COMPLEMENTARY NORMS FOR THE APOSTOLIC CONSTITUTION ANGLICANORUM COETIBUS # THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE APOSTOLIC CONSTITUTION ANGLICANORUM COETIBUS (FR. GIANFRANCO GHIRLANDA, S.J., RECTOR OF THE PONTIFICAL GREGORIAN UNIVERSITY) # PRESS RELEASE On October 20, 2009, Cardinal William Levada, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, announced a new provision responding to the many requests that have been submitted to the Holy See from groups of Anglican clergy and faithful in different parts of the world who wish to enter into full visible communion with the Catholic Church. The Apostolic Constitution Anglicanorum coetibus which is published today introduces a canonical structure that provides for such corporate reunion by establishing Personal Ordinariates, which will allow the above mentioned groups to enter full communion with the Catholic Church while preserving elements of the distinctive Anglican spiritual and liturgical patrimony. At the same time, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith is publishing a set of Complementary Norms which will guide the implementation of this provision. This Apostolic Constitution opens a new avenue for the promotion of Christian unity while, at the same time, granting legitimate diversity in the expression of our common faith. It represents not an initiative on the part of the Holy See, but a generous response from the Holy Father to the legitimate aspirations of these Anglican groups. The provision of this new structure is consistent with the commitment to ecumenical dialogue, which continues to be a priority for the Catholic Church. The possibility envisioned by the Apostolic Constitution for some married clergy within the Personal Ordinariates does not signify any change in the Church's discipline of clerical celibacy. According to the Second Vatican Council, priestly celibacy is a sign and a stimulus for pastoral charity and radiantly proclaims the reign of God (Cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1579). # APOSTOLIC CONSTITUTION ANGLICANORUM COETIBUS In recent times the Holy Spirit has moved groups of Anglicans to petition repeatedly and insistently to be received into full Catholic communion individually as well as corporately. The Apostolic See has responded favorably to such petitions. Indeed, the successor of Peter, mandated by the Lord Jesus to guarantee the unity of the episcopate and to preside over and safeguard the universal communion of all the Churches,1 could not fail to make available the means necessary to bring this holy desire to realization. The Church, a people gathered into the unity of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit,2 was instituted by our Lord Jesus Christ, as "a sacrament - a sign and instrument, that is, of communion with God and of unity among all people."3 Every division among the baptized in Jesus Christ wounds that which the Church is and that for which the Church exists; in fact, "such division openly contradicts the will of Christ, scandalizes the world, and damages that most holy cause, the preaching the Gospel to every creature."4 Precisely for this reason, before shedding his blood for the salvation of the world, the Lord Jesus prayed to the Father for the unity of his disciples.5 It is the Holy Spirit, the principle of unity, which establishes the Church as a communion.6 He is the principle of the unity of the faithful in the teaching of the Apostles, in the breaking of the bread and in prayer.7 The Church, however, analogous to the mystery of the Incarnate Word, is not only an invisible spiritual communion, but is also visible;8 in fact, "the society structured with hierarchical organs and the Mystical Body of Christ, the visible society and the spiritual community, the earthly Church and the Church endowed with heavenly riches, are not to be thought of as two realities. On the contrary, they form one complex reality formed from a two-fold element, human and divine."9 The communion of the baptized in the teaching of the Apostles and in the breaking of the eucharistic bread is visibly manifested in the bonds of the profession of the faith in its entirety, of the celebration of all of the sacraments instituted by Christ, and of the governance of the College of Bishops united with its head, the Roman Pontiff.10 This single Church of Christ, which we profess in the Creed as one, holy, catholic and apostolic "subsists in the Catholic Church, which is governed by the successor of Peter and by the Bishops in communion with him. Nevertheless, many elements of sanctification and of truth are found outside her visible confines. Since these are gifts properly belonging to the Church of Christ, they are forces impelling towards Catholic unity."11 In the light of these ecclesiological principles, this Apostolic Constitution provides the general normative structure for regulating the institution and life of Personal Ordinariates for those Anglican faithful who desire to enter into the full communion of the Catholic Church in a corporate manner. This Constitution is completed by Complementary Norms issued by the Apostolic See. I. ?1 Personal Ordinariates for Anglicans entering into full communion with the Catholic Church are erected by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith within the confines of the territorial boundaries of a particular Conference of Bishops in consultation with that same Conference. ?2 Within the territory of a particular Conference of Bishops, one or more Ordinariates may be erected as needed. ?3 Each Ordinariate possesses public juridic personality by the law itself (ipso iure); it is juridically comparable to a diocese.12 ?4 The Ordinariate is composed of lay faithful, clerics and members of Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, originally belonging to the Anglican Communion and now in full communion with the Catholic Church, or those who receive the Sacraments of Initiation within the jurisdiction of the Ordinariate. ?5 The Catechism of the Catholic Church is the authoritative expression of the Catholic faith professed by members of the Ordinariate. II. The Personal Ordinariate is governed according to the norms of universal law and the present Apostolic Constitution and is subject to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and the other Dicasteries of the Roman Curia in accordance with their competencies. It is also governed by the Complementary Norms as well as any other specific Norms given for each Ordinariate. III. Without excluding liturgical celebrations according to the Roman Rite, the Ordinariate has the faculty to celebrate the Holy Eucharist and the other Sacraments, the Liturgy of the Hours and other liturgical celebrations according to the liturgical books proper to the Anglican tradition, which have been approved by the Holy See, so as to maintain the liturgical, spiritual and pastoral traditions of the Anglican Communion within the Catholic Church, as a precious gift nourishing the faith of the members of the Ordinariate and as a treasure to be shared. IV. A Personal Ordinariate is entrusted to the pastoral care of an Ordinary appointed by the Roman Pontiff. V. The power (potestas) of the Ordinary is: a. ordinary: connected by the law itself to the office entrusted to him by the Roman Pontiff, for both the internal forum and external forum; b. vicarious: exercised in the name of the Roman Pontiff; c. personal: exercised over all who belong to the Ordinariate; This power is to be exercised jointly with that of the local Diocesan Bishop, in those cases provided for in the Complementary Norms. VI. ?1 Those who ministered as Anglican deacons, priests, or bishops, and who fulfill the requisites established by canon law13 and are not impeded by irregularities or other impediments14 may be accepted by the Ordinary as candidates for Holy Orders in the Catholic Church. In the case of married ministers, the norms established in the Encyclical Letter of Pope Paul VI Sacerdotalis coelibatus, n. 4215 and in the Statement In June16 are to be observed. Unmarried ministers must submit to the norm of clerical celibacy of CIC can. 277, ?1. ?2. The Ordinary, in full observance of the discipline of celibate clergy in the Latin Church, as a rule (pro regula) will admit only celibate men to the order of presbyter. He may also petition the Roman Pontiff, as a derogation from can. 277, ?1, for the admission of married men to the order of presbyter on a case by case basis, according to objective criteria approved by the Holy See. ?3. Incardination of clerics will be regulated according to the norms of canon law. ?4. Priests incardinated into an Ordinariate, who constitute the presbyterate of the Ordinariate, are also to cultivate bonds of unity with the presbyterate of the Diocese in which they exercise their ministry. They should promote common pastoral and charitable initiatives and activities, which can be the object of agreements between the Ordinary and the local Diocesan Bishop. ?5. Candidates for Holy Orders in an Ordinariate should be prepared alongside other seminarians, especially in the areas of doctrinal and pastoral formation. In order to address the particular needs of seminarians of the Ordinariate and formation in Anglican patrimony, the Ordinary may also establish seminary programs or houses of formation which would relate to existing Catholic faculties of theology. VII. The Ordinary, with the approval of the Holy See, can erect new Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, with the right to call their members to Holy Orders, according to the norms of canon law. Institutes of Consecrated Life originating in the Anglican Communion and entering into full communion with the Catholic Church may also be placed under his jurisdiction by mutual consent. VIII. ?1. The Ordinary, according to the norm of law, after having heard the opinion of the Diocesan Bishop of the place, may erect, with the consent of the Holy See, personal parishes for the faithful who belong to the Ordinariate. ?2. Pastors of the Ordinariate enjoy all the rights and are held to all the obligations established in the Code of Canon Law and, in cases established by the Complementary Norms, such rights and obligations are to be exercised in mutual pastoral assistance together with the pastors of the local Diocese where the personal parish of the Ordinariate has been established. IX. Both the lay faithful as well as members of Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, originally part of the Anglican Communion, who wish to enter the Personal Ordinariate, must manifest this desire in writing. X. ?1. The Ordinary is aided in his governance by a Governing Council with its own statutes approved by the Ordinary and confirmed by the Holy See.17 ?2. The Governing Council, presided over by the Ordinary, is composed of at least six priests. It exercises the functions specified in the Code of Canon Law for the Presbyteral Council and the College of Consultors, as well as those areas specified in the Complementary Norms. ?3. The Ordinary is to establish a Finance Council according to the norms established by the Code of Canon Law which will exercise the duties specified therein.18 ?4. In order to provide for the consultation of the faithful, a Pastoral Council is to be constituted in the Ordinariate.19 XI. Every five years the Ordinary is required to come to Rome for an ad limina Apostolorum visit and present to the Roman Pontiff, through the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and in consultation with the Congregation for Bishops and the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, a report on the status of the Ordinariate. XII. For judicial cases, the competent tribunal is that of the Diocese in which one of the parties is domiciled, unless the Ordinariate has constituted its own tribunal, in which case the tribunal of second instance is the one designated by the Ordinariate and approved by the Holy See. XIII. The Decree establishing an Ordinariate will determine the location of the See and, if appropriate, the principal church. We desire that our dispositions and norms be valid and effective now and in the future, notwithstanding, should it be necessary, the Apostolic Constitutions and ordinances issued by our predecessors, or any other prescriptions, even those requiring special mention or derogation. Given in Rome, at St. Peter's, on November 4, 2009, the Memorial of St. Charles Borromeo. BENEDICTUS PP XVI _________________ 1 Cf. Second Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution Lumen gentium, 23; Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Letter Communionis notio, 12; 13. 2 Cf. Dogmatic Constitution Lumen gentium, 4; Decree Unitatis redintegratio, 2. 3 Dogmatic Constitution Lumen gentium, 1. 4 Decree Unitatis redintegratio, 1. 5 Cf. Jn 17:20-21; Decree Unitatis redintegratio, 2. 6 Cf. Dogmatic Constitution Lumen gentium, 13. 7 Cf. ibid; Acts 2:42. 8 Cf. Dogmatic Constitution Lumen gentium, 8; Letter Communionis notio, 4. 9 Dogmatic Constitution Lumen gentium, 8. 10 Cf. CIC, can. 205; Dogmatic Constitution Lumen gentium, 13; 14; 21; 22; Decree Unitatis redintegratio, 2; 3; 4; 15; 20; Decree Christus Dominus, 4; Decree Ad gentes, 22. 11 Dogmatic Constitution Lumen gentium, 8. 12 Cf. John Paul II, Ap. Const. Spirituali militium curae, 21 April 1986, I ? 1. 13 Cf. CIC, cann. 1026-1032. 14 Cf. CIC, cann. 1040-1049. 15 Cf. AAS 59 (1967) 674. 16 Cf. Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Statement of 1 April 1981, in Enchiridion Vaticanum 7, 1213. 17 Cf. CIC, cann. 495-502. 18 Cf. CIC, cann. 492-494. 19 Cf. CIC, can. 511. # COMPLEMENTARY NORMS FOR THE APOSTOLIC CONSTITUTION ANGLICANORUM COETIBUS Jurisdiction of the Holy See Article 1 Each Ordinariate is subject to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. It maintains close relations with the other Roman Dicasteries in accordance with their competence. Relations with Episcopal Conferences and Diocesan Bishops Article 2 ?1. The Ordinary follows the directives of the national Episcopal Conference insofar as this is consistent with the norms contained in the Apostolic Constitution Anglicanorum coetibus. ?2. The Ordinary is a member of the respective Episcopal Conference. Article 3 The Ordinary, in the exercise of this office, must maintain close ties of communion with the Bishop of the Diocese in which the Ordinariate is present in order to coordinate its pastoral activity with the pastoral program of the Diocese. The Ordinary Article 4 ?1. The Ordinary may be a bishop or a presbyter appointed by the Roman Pontiff ad nutum Sanctae Sedis, based on a terna presented by the Governing Council. Canons 383-388, 392-394, and 396-398 of the Code of Canon Law apply to him. ?2. The Ordinary has the faculty to incardinate in the Ordinariate former Anglican ministers who have entered into full communion with the Catholic Church, as well as candidates belonging to the Ordinariate and promoted to Holy Orders by him. ?3. Having first consulted with the Episcopal Conference and obtained the consent of the Governing Council and the approval of the Holy See, the Ordinary can erect as needed territorial deaneries supervised by a delegate of the Ordinary covering the faithful of multiple personal parishes. The Faithful of the Ordinariate Article 5 ?1. The lay faithful originally of the Anglican tradition who wish to belong to the Ordinariate, after having made their Profession of Faith and received the Sacraments of Initiation, with due regard for Canon 845, are to be entered in the apposite register of the Ordinariate. Those baptized previously as Catholics outside the Ordinariate are not ordinarily eligible for membership, unless they are members of a family belonging to the Ordinariate. ?2. Lay faithful and members of Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, when they collaborate in pastoral or charitable activities, whether diocesan or parochial, are subject to the Diocesan Bishop or to the pastor of the place; in which case the power of the Diocesan Bishop or pastor is exercised jointly with that of the Ordinary and the pastor of the Ordinariate. The Clergy Article 6 ?1. In order to admit candidates to Holy Orders the Ordinary must obtain the consent of the Governing Council. In consideration of Anglican ecclesial tradition and practice, the Ordinary may present to the Holy Father a request for the admission of married men to the presbyterate in the Ordinariate, after a process of discernment based on objective criteria and the needs of the Ordinariate. These objective criteria are determined by the Ordinary in consultation with the local Episcopal Conference and must be approved by the Holy See. ?2. Those who have been previously ordained in the Catholic Church and subsequently have become Anglicans, may not exercise sacred ministry in the Ordinariate. Anglican clergy who are in irregular marriage situations may not be accepted for Holy Orders in the Ordinariate. ?3. Presbyters incardinated in the Ordinariate receive the necessary faculties from the Ordinary. Article 7 ?1. The Ordinary must ensure that adequate remuneration be provided to the clergy incardinated in the Ordinariate, and must provide for their needs in the event of sickness, disability, and old age. ?2. The Ordinary will enter into discussion with the Episcopal Conference about resources and funds which might be made available for the care of the clergy of the Ordinariate. ?3. When necessary, priests, with the permission of the Ordinary, may engage in a secular profession compatible with the exercise of priestly ministry (cf. CIC, can. 286). Article 8 ?1. The presbyters, while constituting the presbyterate of the Ordinariate, are eligible for membership in the Presbyteral Council of the Diocese in which they exercise pastoral care of the faithful of the Ordinariate (cf. CIC, can. 498, ?2). ?2. Priests and Deacons incardinated in the Ordinariate may be members of the Pastoral Council of the Diocese in which they exercise their ministry, in accordance with the manner determined by the Diocesan Bishop (cf. CIC, can. 512, ?1). Article 9 ?1. The clerics incardinated in the Ordinariate should be available to assist the Diocese in which they have a domicile or quasi-domicile, where it is deemed suitable for the pastoral care of the faithful. In such cases they are subject to the Diocesan Bishop in respect to that which pertains to the pastoral charge or office they receive. ?2. Where and when it is deemed suitable, clergy incardinated in a Diocese or in an Institute of Consecrated Life or a Society of Apostolic Life, with the written consent of their respective Diocesan Bishop or their Superior, can collaborate in the pastoral care of the Ordinariate. In such case they are subject to the Ordinary in respect to that which pertains to the pastoral charge or office they receive. ?3. In the cases treated in the preceding paragraphs there should be a written agreement between the Ordinary and the Diocesan Bishop or the Superior of the Institute of Consecrated Life or the Moderator of the Society of Apostolic Life, in which the terms of collaboration and all that pertains to the means of support are clearly established. Article 10 ?1. Formation of the clergy of the Ordinariate should accomplish two objectives: 1) joint formation with diocesan seminarians in accordance with local circumstances; 2) formation, in full harmony with Catholic tradition, in those aspects of the Anglican patrimony that are of particular value. ?2. Candidates for priestly ordination will receive their theological formation with other seminarians at a seminary or a theological faculty in conformity with an agreement concluded between the Ordinary and, respectively, the Diocesan Bishop or Bishops concerned. Candidates may receive other aspects of priestly formation at a seminary program or house of formation established, with the consent of the Governing Council, expressly for the purpose of transmitting Anglican patrimony. ?3. The Ordinariate must have its own Program of Priestly Formation, approved by the Holy See; each house of formation should draw up its own rule, approved by the Ordinary (cf. CIC, can. 242, ?1). ?4. The Ordinary may accept as seminarians only those faithful who belong to a personal parish of the Ordinariate or who were previously Anglican and have established full communion with the Catholic Church. ?5. The Ordinariate sees to the continuing formation of its clergy, through their participation in local programs provided by the Episcopal Conference and the Diocesan Bishop. Former Anglican Bishops Article 11 ?1. A married former Anglican Bishop is eligible to be appointed Ordinary. In such a case he is to be ordained a priest in the Catholic Church and then exercises pastoral and sacramental ministry within the Ordinariate with full jurisdictional authority. ?2. A former Anglican Bishop who belongs to the Ordinariate may be called upon to assist the Ordinary in the administration of the Ordinariate. ?3. A former Anglican Bishop who belongs to the Ordinariate may be invited to participate in the meetings of the Bishops' Conference of the respective territory, with the equivalent status of a retired bishop. ?4. A former Anglican Bishop who belongs to the Ordinariate and who has not been ordained as a bishop in the Catholic Church, may request permission from the Holy See to use the insignia of the episcopal office. The Governing Council Article 12 ?1. The Governing Council, in accord with Statutes which the Ordinary must approve, will have the rights and responsibilities accorded by the Code of Canon Law to the College of Consultors and the Presbyteral Council. ?2. In addition to these responsibilities, the Ordinary needs the consent of the Governing Council to: a) admit a candidate to Holy Orders; b) erect or suppress a personal parish; c) erect or suppress a house of formation; d) approve a program of formation. ?3. The Ordinary also consults the Governing Council concerning the pastoral activities of the Ordinariate and the principles governing the formation of clergy. ?4. The Governing Council has a deliberative vote: a. when choosing a terna of names to submit to the Holy See for the appointment of the Ordinary; b. when proposing changes to the Complementary Norms of the Ordinariate to present to the Holy See; c. when formulating the Statutes of the Governing Council, the Statutes of the Pastoral Council, and the Rule for houses of formation. ? 5. The Governing Council is composed according to the Statutes of the Council. Half of the membership is elected by the priests of the Ordinariate. The Pastoral Council Article 13 ?1. The Pastoral Council, constituted by the Ordinary, offers advice regarding the pastoral activity of the Ordinariate. ?2. The Pastoral Council, whose president is the Ordinary, is governed by Statutes approved by the Ordinary. The Personal Parishes Article 14 ?1. The pastor may be assisted in the pastoral care of the parish by a parochial vicar, appointed by the Ordinary; a pastoral council and a finance council must be established in the parish. ?2. If there is no vicar, in the event of absence, incapacity, or death of the pastor, the pastor of the territorial parish in which the church of the personal parish is located can exercise his faculties as pastor so as to supply what is needed. ?3. For the pastoral care of the faithful who live within the boundaries of a Diocese in which no personal parish has been erected, the Ordinary, having heard the opinion of the local Diocesan Bishop, can make provisions for quasi-parishes (cf. CIC, can. 516, ?1). The Supreme Pontiff Benedict XVI, at the Audience granted to the undersigned Cardinal Prefect, approved these Complementary Norms for the Apostolic Constitution Anglicanorum coetibus, adopted in the Ordinary Session of the Congregation, and ordered their publication. Rome, from the Offices of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, November 4, 2009, the Memorial of St. Charles Borromeo. William Card. Levada Prefect + Luis. F. Ladaria, S.I. Titular Archbishop of Thibica Secretary # THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE APOSTOLIC CONSTITUTION ANGLICANORUM COETIBUS (FR. GIANFRANCO GHIRLANDA, S.J., RECTOR OF THE PONTIFICAL GREGORIAN UNIVERSITY) The Apostolic Constitution Anglicanorum Coetibus of November 4th 2009, provides the essential norms which will govern the erection and the life of Personal Ordinariates for those Anglican faithful who wish to enter, either corporately or individually, into full communion with the Catholic Church. In this way, as it says in the Introduction, the Holy Father Benedict XVI - Supreme Pastor of the Church and, by mandate of Christ, guarantor of the unity of the episcopate and of the universal communion of all the Churches - has shown his fatherly care for those Anglican faithful (lay, clerics and members of Institutes of Consecrated life and of Societies of Apostolic Life) who have repeatedly petitioned the Holy See to be received into full Catholic Communion. The Introduction to the Apostolic Constitution lays out the ratio legis of the provision emphasising a number of things which it might be useful to point out: - The Church, which in its unity and diversity is modelled on the Most Holy Trinity, was instituted as "a sacrament - a sign and instrument, that is, of communion with God and of unity among all people" (Lumen gentium, 1). For this reason every division among the baptized wounds that which the Church is and that for which the Church exists, and constitutes, therefore, a scandal in that it contradicts the prayer of Jesus before his passion and death (cf. John 17:20-21). - Ecclesial communion, established by the Holy Spirit who is the principle of unity in the Church, is, by analogy with the mystery of the Incarnate Word, at the same time both invisible (spiritual) and visible (hierarchically organized). The communion among the baptized, therefore, if it is to be full communion, must be "visibly manifested in the bonds of the profession of the faith in its entirety, of the celebration of all of the sacraments instituted by Christ, and of the governance of the College of Bishops united with its head, the Roman Pontiff". - Although the one Church of Christ subsists in the Catholic Church governed by the Successor of Peter and the Bishops in union with him, there are also elements of sanctification and of truth to be found outside her visible confines, in the Churches and Christian Communities separated from her, which, because these elements are gifts properly belonging to the Church of Christ, are forces impelling towards Catholic unity. Those Anglican faithful who, under the promptings of the Holy Spirit, have asked to enter into full communion with the Catholic Church have been moved towards unity by those elements of the Church of Christ which have always been present in their personal and communal lives as Christians. For this reason the promulgation of the Apostolic Constitution Anglicanorum coetibus by the Holy Father, together with what will follow from this, indicate in a particular way the movement of the Holy Spirit. The juridical means by the which the Holy Father has decided to receive these Anglicans into full Catholic communion is the erection of Personal Ordinariates (I ? 1). The competence of erection has been given to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. The reason for this is that during the long process which has finally borne fruit in this Apostolic Constitution many doctrinal questions have had to be addressed, and such questions will continue to arise as the time comes for the erection of particular Ordinariates and for the incorporation of groups of Anglican faithful into full Catholic communion through the Ordinariates. In any case, as specific issues emerge, each Ordinariate will be subject not just to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith but also to the other Dicasteries of the Roman Curia according to their competences (Ap. Cons. II). For example: for associations of the Faithful, the Pontifical Council for the Laity will have competence; for the formation and life of priests, the Congregation for the Clergy; for the various forms of consecrated life, the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, etc. For the visit ad limina Apostolorum, which the Ordinary is obliged to make every five years, the Apostolic Constitution specifically mentions that the Ordinary must consult not only with the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith but also with the Congregation for Bishops and the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples(Ap. Cons. XI). The possibility for the erection of Personal Ordinariates for Anglicans entering into full communion with the Catholic Church which is envisioned in the Apostolic Constitution Anglicanorum Coetibus does not create a new structure within the current canonical norms, but rather, uses the structure of Personal Ordinariates, originally created for the pastoral care of members of the armed forces, in the Apostolic Constitution of John Paul II Spirituali militum cura of April 21, 1986. Notwithstanding the similarities between these two types of Personal Ordinariates, it is clear that given their different purposes, one for the Military and the other for those coming from Anglicanism, there are also significant differences between them. What we are dealing with are structures created by the Church in order to deal with specific situations which arise from the needs of the faithful, and which are, by definition, exceptional. The pastoral concern of the Church and the flexibility of her canonical norms permit the creation of juridical structures which are specifically adapted to the spiritual good of the faithful, while not contradicting the foundational principles of Catholic ecclesiology. Just as the Military Ordinariates were not envisioned in the Code of Canon Law, so also Personal Ordinariates for Anglicans entering into full communion with the Catholic Church were not specifically foreseen. However, just as the Military Ordinariates are described in the Apostolic Constitution Spirituali militum cura as specific ecclesiastical jurisdictions which are similar to dioceses (Ap. Cons. I ? 1), so also the Apostolic Constitution Anglicanorum coetibus describes Personal Ordinariates for the faithful coming from Anglicanism as juridically similar to dioceses (Ap. Cons. I ? 3). These Personal Ordinariates cannot be considered as Particular Ritual Churches since the Anglican liturgical, spiritual and pastoral tradition is a particular reality within the Latin Church. The creation of a Ritual Church might have created ecumenical difficulties. Nor can these Personal Ordinariates been considered as Personal Prelatures since, according to can. 294, Personal Prelatures are composed of secular priests and deacons and, according to can. 296, lay people may simply dedicate themselves to the apostolic works of Personal Prelatures by way of agreements. Members of Institutes of Consecrated Life or of Societies of Apostolic Life are not even mentioned in the canons concerning Personal Prelatures. The Ordinariates for the faithful coming from Anglicanism are therefore personal structures in as much as the jurisdiction of the Ordinary, and consequently also of parish priests, is not geographically defined within the territory of an Episcopal Conference like a particular territorial Church, but is exercised "over all who belong to the Ordinariate" (Ap. Cons. V). Moreover, one or more Personal Ordinariates can be erected within the territory of the same Episcopal Conference, according to necessity (Ap. Cons. I ? 2). It is clear from a careful reading of the Apostolic Constitution and of the Complementary Norms published by the Apostolic See that the provision of erecting Personal Ordinariates is intended to respond to two needs: on the one hand the need "to maintain the liturgical, spiritual and pastoral traditions of the Anglican Communion within the Catholic Church, as a precious gift nourishing the faith of the members of the Ordinariate and as a treasure to be shared" (Ap. Cons. III); on the other hand the need to fully integrate into the life of the Catholic Church groups of faithful, or individuals, coming from Anglicanism. The enrichment is mutual: the faithful coming from Anglicanism and entering into full Catholic communion receive the richness of the spiritual, liturgical and pastoral tradition of the Latin Roman Church in order to integrate it into their own tradition, which integration will in itself enrich the Latin Roman Church. On the other hand, exactly this Anglican tradition - which will be received in its authenticity in the Latin Roman Church - has constituted within Anglicanism precisely one of those gifts of the Church of Christ, which has moved these faithful towards Catholic unity. What is involved in this provision, therefore, goes beyond what was envisioned in the Pastoral Provision adopted by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and approved by John Paul II on June 20, 1980. Whereas the Pastoral Provision foresaw that the faithful coming from Anglicanism would be members of the Diocese in which they were domiciled, although receiving special care from the diocesan Bishop, the Apostolic Constitution Anglicanorum coetibus considers them as members of a Personal Ordinariate and not of the Diocese in which they are domiciled. Furthermore these Ordinariates will be composed of faithful from every sate of life (laity, priests and members of Institutes of Consecrated Life and of Societies of Apostolic Life) coming from Anglicanism either in groups or individually, or receiving the sacraments of initiation within the Ordinariate itself (Ap. Cons. I ? 4). Priests will be ascribed to the Personal Ordinariate by incardination, regulated according to the Code of Canon Law (Ap. Cons. I ? 3), while lay people and Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life must manifest their desire to enter and become part of the Ordinariate in writing (Ap. Cons. IX). The Complementary Norms (= CN) state that such lay people and Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life must be inscribed in an appropriate register of the Ordinariate (Art. 5 ? 1). Thus, while one is a member of a particular territorial Church by virtue of one's domicile or quasi-domicile, one is a member of the Personal Ordinariate in virtue of the objective fact of having previously adhered to Anglicanism, or because one has come to the Catholic faith through the Ordinariate. In this sense, inscription in the appropriate register substitutes for the fact of domicile or quasi-domicile, which in relation to membership in a Personal Ordinariate is irrelevant. This Apostolic Constitution wishes above all to provide a means to re-establish full communion, in some way "corporately", for groups composed of people in various states of life. Personal Ordinariates for such groups appear to be the most suitable canonical structure by which the spiritual, liturgical and pastoral tradition, developed within Anglicanism and recognised as authentic by the Catholic Church, can be protected and nourished. All of which does not exclude the possibility of membership in the Ordinariate for individuals coming from Anglicanism, or for individuals who come to the Catholic faith through the pastoral or missionary work of the Ordinariate and who receive the sacraments of initiation within the Ordinariate. The Pastoral Provision was not suitable for the new situation to which that the Holy See was called upon to respond. The Ordinary, to whom the pastoral care of the faithful who belong to the Ordinariate is entrusted, exercises ordinary vicarious authority (potestas ordinaria vicaria) in the name of the Roman Pontiff (Ap. Cons. V.b). He enjoys legitimate autonomy with respect to the jurisdiction of the Diocesan Bishops in which the faithful of the Ordinariate have their domicile and is, therefore, better able to ensure that those faithful are not simply assimilated into the local Dioceses in a way which would lead to the loss of the richness of their Anglican tradition - which would be an entire impoverishment of the entire Church. On the other hand, the Ordinary in the exercise of his vicarious authority must ensure the full integration of the Ordinariate into the life of the Catholic Church, making sure that it does not evolve into an isolated community. The safeguarding and nourishing of the Anglican tradition is guaranteed: 1. by the concession to the Ordinariate of the faculty to celebrate the Eucharist and the other sacraments, the Liturgy of the Hours and other liturgical celebrations according to the liturgical rites proper to the Anglican tradition and approved by the Holy See, without, however, excluding liturgical celebrations according to the Roman Rite (Ap. Cons. III); 2. by the fact that the Ordinary may determine specific programmes of formation for seminarians of the Ordinariate living in a diocesan seminary, or may establish a house of formation for them (Ap. Cons. VI ? 5; CN Art. 10 ? 2); the seminarians must come from a personal parish of the Ordinariate or from Anglicanism (CN Art. 10 ? 4); 3. by the concession that those who were married Anglican ministers, including bishops, may be ordained priests according to the norms of the Encyclical Letter of Paul VI Sacerdotalis coelibatus, n. 42 and of the Declaration In June, while remaining in the married state (Ap. Cons. VI ? 1); 4. by the possibility that, following a process of discernment based on objective criteria and the needs of the Ordinariate (CN Art. 6 ? 1), the Ordinary may also petition the Roman Pontiff, on a case by case basis, to admit married men to the priesthood as a derogation of CIC can. 277, ? 1, although the general norm of the Ordinariate will be to admit only celibate men (Ap. Cons. VI ? 2); 5. by the fact that the Ordinary may erect personal parishes, after having consulted with the local Diocesan Bishop and having obtained the consent of the Holy See (Ap. Cons. VIII ? 1); 6. through the capacity to receive into the Ordinariate Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic life coming from Anglicanism, and of erecting new ones; 7. by the fact that, out of respect for the synodal tradition of Anglicanism: a) the Ordinary will be appointed by the Roman Pontiff from a terna of names presented by the Governing Council (CN Art. 4 ? 1); b) that the Pastoral Council will be obligatory (Ap. Cons. X ? 2); c) that the Governing Council, composed of at least six priests, apart from fulfilling the duties established in the Code of Canon Law for the Presbyteral Council and the College of Consultors, will also exercise those duties specified in the Complementary Norms which include in some cases giving or withholding consent or of expressing a deliberative vote (Ap. Cons. X ? 2; CN Art. 12). The integration of the Ordinariate into the life of the Catholic Church is assured by those norms which govern the profession of faith and the relationships of an Ordinariate with an Episcopal Conference, and with individual Diocesan Bishops. According to these norms: 1. the Catechism of the Catholic Church will be considered the authentic expression of the faith of the members of the Ordinariate (Ap. Cons. I ? 5); 2. a Personal Ordinariate will be erected by the Holy See within the territorial confines of an Episcopal Conference, after having consulted with that Episcopal Conference (Ap. Cons. I ? 1); 3. the Ordinary will be a member of his respective Episcopal Conference and will be obliged to follow its directives, unless they are incompatible with the Apostolic Constitution Anglicanorum coetibus (CN Art. 2); 4. the ordination of ministers coming from Anglicanism will be absolute, on the basis of the Bull Apostolicae curae of Leo XIII of September 13, 1896. Given the entire Catholic Latin tradition and the tradition of the Oriental Catholic Churches, including the Orthodox tradition, the admission of married men to the episcopate is absolutely excluded (NC Art. 11 ? 1); 5. the priests incardinated into an Ordinariate constitute its presbyterate, but are obliged to cultivate bonds of fraternal unity with the presbyterate of the Dioceses in whose territory they exercise their ministry. They are to encourage joint initiatives and pastoral and charitable activities, which may be regulated by agreements between the Ordinary and the Diocesan Bishop or Bishops concerned (Ap. Cons. VI ? 4; NC Art. 3). The Complementary Norms envisage the possibility of mutual pastoral assistance between priests incardinated into the Ordinariate and those incardinated into Dioceses in which there are faithful of the Ordinariate (NC Art. 9 ?? 1 and 2); 6. the priests of the Ordinariate are eligible for election to the Presbyteral Council of the Dioceses in whose territory they exercise the pastoral care of the faithful of the Ordinariate (NC Art. 8 ? 1); 7. the priests and deacons of the Ordinariate are eligible to be members of the Pastoral Council of the Dioceses in whose territory the exercise their ministry (NC Art. 8 ? 2); 8. the authority (potestas) of the Ordinary is exercised together with the Diocesan Bishop in the circumstances envisioned in the Complementary Norms (Ap. Cons. V; NC Art. 5 ? 2); 9. candidates for Holy Orders will be formed together with other seminarians, especially with regard to doctrinal and pastoral formation, even though particular programmes or houses of formation may also be established for them (Ap. Cons. VI ? 5; CN Art. 10 ? 2); 10. before establishing a personal parish the Ordinary must listen to the opinion of the Diocesan Bishop of the area (Ap. Cons. VIII ? 1); 11. the Complementary Norms establish when the rights and duties proper to a parish priest of the Ordinariate are to be exercised in mutual pastoral cooperation with the parish priest of the territory in which the personal parish has been erected ( Ap. Cons. VIII ? 2; CN 14 ? 2); 12. the competent tribunal for judicial cases regarding the faithful of the Ordinariate is that of the Diocese in which one of the parties has domicile, presuming that the Ordinariate has not constituted its own tribunal (Ap. Cons. XII). It is clear that the Apostolic Constitution Anglicanorum coetibus provides norms which establish the nature and, in general, regulate the life of Personal Ordinariates erected specifically for Anglicans who wish to enter into full communion with the Catholic Church.In this way a flexible canonical structure has been instituted. Moreover, it is foreseeable that what is contained in the present Apostolic Constitution and Complementary Norms may be adapted in the Decrees of Erection of each individual Ordinariate in the light of particular local situations. As the Holy Spirit has guided the preparation of this Apostolic Constitution, so may he also assist in its application. END From david at virtueonline.org Fri Nov 13 20:25:14 2009 From: david at virtueonline.org (david at virtueonline.org) Date: 13 Nov 2009 21:25:14 -0500 Subject: UK: Church Society Responds to proposals from Rome Message-ID: <20091114022514.28107.qmail@virtueonline.org> UK: Church Society Responds to proposals from Rome Church Society Council Response http://www.evangelicals.org/news.asp?id=1074 November 4, 2009 The following is a response from the Council of Church Society to the plans by the Church of Rome to receive disaffected Anglicans. According to its own doctrinal standards and history, the Church of England's true nature is that of a Protestant, Reformed, Evangelical and catholic (in other words, universal) church. Orthodox Anglicanism is therefore defined by reference to these characteristics only, which are set out in the Thirty-nine Articles and the Church of England's submission to the over-arching authority of Scripture alone. Church Society seeks to defend and promote these defining characteristics, especially the Gospel of salvation by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone which is at the heart of the message and mission of the Church of England. While acknowledging the correct stand taken by Anglo-Catholics against theological liberalism (the features of which do not represent true, Biblical Anglicanism), it should also be noted that the true doctrine of the Church of England does not embrace any of the teachings or practices which characterise the Church of Rome. For instance, the Church of Rome is fundamentally flawed in its claims about its own nature and authority and in its teaching about the means of salvation. A proper rejection of theological liberalism should therefore not be accompanied by a turning to the Church of Rome and its unbiblical teachings and practices. Rather, both theological liberalism and the unscriptural teachings and practices of the Church of Rome are contrary to the Bible and to the historic doctrines of the Church of England as a Protestant, Reformed, Evangelical and catholic church. The longing of Church Society is that all Anglicans, whether in England or elsewhere, would see and understand both the destructive nature of theological liberalism and the false nature, teachings and practices of the Church of Rome. We grieve that the Church of England, along with our nation, has fallen so low in its spiritual and moral condition. We pray that God would pour out His Spirit on both church and nation. We rejoice that salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone and we pray that the Church of England will return to full adherence to its doctrinal standards, acknowledging the supreme authority of the Bible as God's Word and seeking to shape its teaching and practices by what He has revealed. The statement was agreed by the Council at its meeting on 4 November 2009. ----Church Society exists to uphold biblical teaching and to promote and defend the character of the Church of England as a reformed and national Church. For further information visit www.churchsociety.org From david at virtueonline.org Fri Nov 13 20:26:14 2009 From: david at virtueonline.org (david at virtueonline.org) Date: 13 Nov 2009 21:26:14 -0500 Subject: The Difference between Evangelicals and Fundamentalists - John Stott Message-ID: <20091114022614.28133.qmail@virtueonline.org> The Difference between Evangelicals and Fundamentalists By Roger Steer A VOL Exclusive www.virtueonline.org November 13, 2009 This exclusive article comes from Roger Steer author of the newly published "Inside Story", a biographical look at the life of preacher/teacher John Stott. It did not make the cut in Mr. Steer's book and so it is being offered exclusively to VOL's readers. If you would like to purchase Roger Steer's book on Dr. Stott you can do so by clicking here http://tinyurl.com/yju5yxk ***** Over a period of a few months during 1998, John wrote his Evangelical Truth: a personal plea for unity. 'As I approach the end of my life on earth,' he wrote, 'and as this year I complete sixty years of privileged Christian discipleship, I would like to leave behind me, as a kind of spiritual legacy, this little statement of evangelical faith, this personal appeal to the rising generation.' Twenty years on from answering the questions 'What is an evangelical?' at Nottingham in 1977, he chose a Trinitarian approach to evangelical truth. But first, he set out ten respects in which the authentic evangelical differed from the fundamentalist. In doing so he tried to be as fair as he could to fundamentalists trying desperately to avoid caricature. In relation to human thought, fundamentalists gave the impression that they distrusted scholarship, including the scientific disciplines. Some tended towards a thoroughgoing anti-intellectualism, even obscurantism. Authentic evangelicals, however, acknowledged that all truth was God's truth, that our minds were God-given, being a vital aspect of the divine image we bear, that we insulted God if we refused to think, and that we honoured him when, whether through science or Scripture, we (as Kepler put it) 'think God's thoughts after him'. As to the nature of the Bible, fundamentalists were said to believe that 'every word of the Bible was literally true'. To be fair to fundamentalists, John thought this was a slander, since the adverb 'literally' was being used too sweepingly. Yet he couldn't deny that some fundamentalists were characterised by an excessive literalism. Evangelicals, however, while believing that whatever the Bible affirmed was true, added that some of what it affirmed was figuratively or poetically (rather than literally) true, and was meant to be interpreted thus. Not even the most extreme fundamentalist believed that God had feathers (Ps. 91:4). In relation to biblical inspiration, fundamentalists had tended to regard it as having been a somewhat mechanical process, in which the human authors were passive and played no active role. Thus the fundamentalist view of the Bible, as having been dictated by God, resembled the Muslim view of the Koran as having been dictated by Allah in Arabic through the angel Gabriel, while Mohammed's only contribution was to take down the dictation. Evangelicals emphasised, however, the double authorship of Scripture, namely that the divine author spoke through the human authors, while they were in full possession of their faculties. As for biblical interpretation, fundamentalists seemed to suppose that they could apply the text directly to themselves as if it had been written primarily for them. In doing to they ignored the cultural chasm which yawned between the biblical world and the contemporary world. At least in the ideal, however, evangelicals struggled with the task of cultural transposition, in which they sought to identify the essential message of the text, detach it from its original cultural context, and then re-contextualize it before applying it to our situation today. Fundamentalists tended to go beyond suspicion (for which indeed there was ample justification) of the ecumenical movement to a blanket, uncritical, even vociferous rejection. Many evangelicals, however, although critical of the liberal agenda and frequently unprincipled methodology of the World Council of Churches, had tried to be discerning, affirming in ecumenism what seemed to them to have biblical support, while claiming the freedom to reject what had not. On the church, fundamentalists tended to hold a separatist ecclesiology, and to withdraw from any community which didn't agree in every particular with their own doctrinal position. This was to forget that Luther and Calvin were very reluctant schismatics, and dreamed of a reformed catholicism. Most evangelicals, however, while believing it right to seek the doctrinal and ethical purity of the church, also believed that perfect purity couldn't be attained in this world. He conceded, however, that the balance between discipline and tolerance wasn't easy to find. In relation to the world, fundamentalists had tended sometimes to assimilate its values and standards uncritically (for example in the 'prosperity gospel') and at other times to stand aloof from it, fearing contamination. John readily admitted that by no means all evangelicals escaped the charge of worldliness. Nevertheless, at least in theory, they sought to obey the biblical injunction not to conform to this world, and were also anxious to respond to the call of Jesus to penetrate it like salt and light, in order to hinder its decay and illuminate its darkness. Fundamentalists had shown a tendency - especially in the United States and in South Africa - to cling to the myth of white supremacy and to defend racial segregation, even in the church. Racism without doubt lingered among some evangelicals too. Yet there was a widespread desire to repent of it. Most evangelicals, he claimed, proclaimed and practised racial equality, originally by creation and supremely in Christ, who broke down the walls of racial, social and sexual separation in order to create a single, united humanity. In relation to the Christian mission, fundamentalists had tended to insist that 'mission' and 'evangelism' were synonyms, and that the vocation of the church was without qualification to 'proclaim the gospel'. Evangelicals, however, at least those of his persuasion, while continuing to affirm the priority of evangelism, felt unable to sunder it from social responsibility. As in the ministry of Jesus, so today, words and deeds, proclamation and demonstration, good news and good works supplemented and reinforced one another. Finally, in relation to the Christian hope, fundamentalists tended to dogmatise about the future, although to be sure they held no monopoly on dogmatism. But they often went into considerable detail about the fulfilment of prophecy, divided history into rigid dispensations, and espoused a Christian Zionism which ignored the grave injustices done to the Palestinians. Evangelicals, however, while affirming with eager expectation the personal, visible, glorious and triumphant return of our Lord Jesus Christ, preferred to remain agnostic about the details on which even firmly biblical Christians had differing viewpoints. John pleaded for evangelical integrity, stability, truth, unity and endurance. He claimed that the supreme quality which the evangelical faith should engender was humility, readily admitting that this claim might well be met with a wry smile. He knew full well that evangelical people were often regarded as proud, vain, arrogant and cocksure. Evangelical Christianity was Trinitarian Christianity and, if this was correctly understood, it inevitably tended towards humility. Evangelicals held the three 'Rs' - revelation, redemption and regeneration, associating revelation with the Father, redemption with the Son and regeneration with the Holy Spirit. Yet the more the three persons of the Trinity were glorified, the more completely human pride was excluded. To magnify the self-revelation of God was to confess our complete ignorance without it. To magnify the cross of Christ was to confess our utter lostness without it. To magnify the regenerating, indwelling and sanctifying role of the Holy Spirit was to confess our abiding self-centredness without it. END From david at virtueonline.org Fri Nov 13 20:27:14 2009 From: david at virtueonline.org (david at virtueonline.org) Date: 13 Nov 2009 21:27:14 -0500 Subject: Pittsburgh Convention. A Catholic and Reformed Perspective - Jeremy Bonner Message-ID: <20091114022714.28157.qmail@virtueonline.org> Pittsburgh Convention. A Catholic and Reformed Perspective - Jeremy Bonner Like A Mighty Army Moves the Church of God: Anglican Diocese of Pittsburgh Convention A contribution to contemporary debates on American religious history, most notably within the Episcopal Church,the Anglican Church in North America and the worldwide Anglican Communion. by JEREMY BONNER http://catholicandreformed.blogspot.com/2009/11/like-mighty-army-moves-church-of-god.html November 7, 2009 >From across southwestern Pennsylvania (and beyond) American Anglicans flocked to their first convention as - explicitly - the Anglican Diocese of Pittsburgh (a nonprofit corporation bearing that name now exists). St. Stephen's, Sewickley, may be commodious but, even so, space was at a premium. Morning Prayer brought an ironic twist, when the second lesson - Revelation 17, no less - was presented by means of an audiovisual Bible series, with interesting special effects and a voiceover read by none other than John Guest. As far as I could tell the sage of Grove Farm was not physically present (though he was at Monroeville in 2008) but to hear that mellifluous English accent recounting the vision of the Whore of Babylon and the Beast with seven heads and ten horns was unusual, to say the least. Coupled with the other assigned passage from Ezra on the sin of the Israelites in intermarrying with the peoples of the land, one couldn't help but wonder about the way the lectionary can sometimes fall. The first order of business was to bring before the assembly the new parishes seeking admission. These included Harvest Anglican Fellowship in Homer City, which drew its first members from members of the congregations in Blairsville and Indiana who rejected the latter's decision not to realign; the largely African-American Church of the Transfiguration in Cleveland, Ohio; St. James in San Jose, California, whose members left St. Edward's Episcopal this spring and who have a vision to plant a diocese in the San Francisco Bay area (an endeavor, Archbishop Duncan remarked, in which Pittsburghers should be glad to cooperate); and Holy Trinity in Raleigh, North Carolina, launched in 2004 but the fruit of twenty-five years of visioning by Garland Tucker, and now one of the larger parishes in the Diocese of Pittsburgh, with a membership of around 300. Archbishop Duncan then introduced two visitors from the Province of Tanzania, noting the connection forged by Alfred Stanway as Tanzanian missionary bishop and later as president of Trinity School for Ministry. There was an enduring connection, he said between the East African Revival and the renewal movement in western Pennsylvania. Bishop John Lupaa brought greetings from his Archbishop and from the 100,000 Christians in 263 churches in the Rift Valley. "I love the Lord," he told delegates, "the Lord is my Savior and I am serving Him." Bishop Jacob Chimeledya of the Diocese of Mpwapwa (the father of five children aged from 32 to 3?), whose diocese encompasses 500 congregations, described how, at a recent prayer meeting, healing was given to two people suffering from blindness. He praised the formation of ACNA, saying it had encouraged the churches in Africa after they had lost faith in The Episcopal Church. Canon Missioner Mary Hays then rose to address the issues of "clergy, church planting and confession." Pittsburgh's clergy, she said, are a remarkable group of men and women who have made many sacrifices, not least the recent indignity of being "released" from ordained ministry. She quoted a recent e-mail from a clergyperson who wrote: "It is a great honor to serve among these presbyters at this momentous time in the Church." On church planting, she recalled the words of Bob Logan ten years ago that anyone can plant a church. Today we have begun to recognize that it's not a case of either preserving small congregations or planting new ones, but that the latter only strengthen the former. Yesterday the Archbishop had called for 1,000 new churches in the United States in five years and everyone had a part to play in this venture, whether in prayer, funding-raising, spiritual gift discernment or something greater. "It's time for us not to be cozy or comfortable," she concluded, adding that, from the point of view of "confession," we needed to acknowledge that "we're a part of the reason we're in this mess." If that were not so, church planting would have been taking place to a much greater degree in the past decade. As if to reinforce this admonition, there followed introductions of extra-parochial clergy, who included the leader of a student group in Amherst, Massachusetts (who, brave woman, has the Fairfield brothers, Andrew and Leslie, as part of her team); a recently ordained Canadian clergywoman, whose orders are not recognized by the Anglican Church of Canada; Tom Herrick of the Titus Institute for Church Planting, a former employee of the Anglican Communion Network; ACNA's first VA chaplain, serving in West Virginia and helping families reintegrate after the return of members of the military from active service; the pastor of Cleveland's Church of the Transfiguration who prayed to God for months to send the congregation a priest only eventually to get the message "I'm trying"; and David Bane, former Bishop of Southern Virginia, who ultimately discovered he was no longer welcome in the church in which both he and his father has served. Perhaps most striking was the testimony of Father Vincent Raj of St. George's Episcopal Church in Salinas, California. A priest in the Episcopal Diocese of El Camino Real (he just retired from the Board of Trustees) Father Raj was at Plano in 2003 and described how he had struggled to hold on his catholic roots from which TEC had now severed him. He was here to commit to ACNA and Archbishop Duncan. A short while later, Canon Daryl Fenton, just back from a trip to Myanmar, brought greetings from that nation. The challenges we face here, he pointed out, are very small compared to those who have nothing but "faith and guts." >From such heights we passed to the more prosaic matter of the budget. The major shift, as noted in my pre-convention report, is the adoption of the biblical tithe as the standard for giving by parishes to the diocese (as is already the standard for diocesan giving to the province). This was adopted unanimously, although a priest from Atonement, Carnegie, urged that an absolute biblical tithe (not a tithe based on an average of the past three years' income) be the norm. Jonathan Millard, rector of Church of the Ascension and member of the Standing Committee, then reported that the "Staying Faithful" fund had just received a $300,000 donation, together with a pledge of $200,000 in matching funds from someone not associated with the diocese. He added that the Standing Committee had consulted widely and prayed and fasted before reaching their decision to appeal Judge James's decision and had noted the admonition of many of the need to "take a stand" on something that is "manifestly unfair," citing the possible threat posed by the decision to parish - not just diocesan - property. (Interestingly, two other members of Standing Committee spoke to me privately about my letter regarding the appeal and told me of their conviction that this action was also necessary as a way of giving voice to the rights of those in even less friendly jurisdictions.) Back in October, I was struck by the presence of Don Green of Christian Associates of Southwestern Pennsylvania (the local ecumenical association) at the TEC diocesan convention and yet today here he was again, with the timely reminder that the past year had not been an easy journey for us or "our sisters and brothers" in the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh. He commended the fact that the Archbishop continued to attend ecumenical gatherings and contribute to the work of finding ways to give public witness to a common faith. He noted the pending admission of the Church in God in Christ and the Mennonites to Christian Associates next year and the work of the Allegheny Jail Ministry, which had cut recidivism rates from 65% to 16%. Three resolutions now stood before convention and in the first I took direct personal interest. Entitled "The Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh - Who We are in Christ," it affirmed the Jerusalem Declaration as a summary of the essentials of our faith and pledged submission to the leadership of the GAFCON membership "as we look to our future as an orthodox and missionary movement in world Anglicanism." On seeing the text, I was struck by the omission of any reference to the Anglican Covenant and so drafted an amendment that read as follows: And be it further resolved that, in harmony with the resolution of the ACNA Provincial Council of June 22, 2009, we express our continued willingness to subscribe to the un-amended Ridley Cambridge Draft of the Anglican Covenant. In retrospect, it may be that I overestimated the potential for opposition (especially as the sponsor Geoff Chapman afterwards told me that he would have accepted it as a friendly amendment), but so much of what I have read of late has been phrased as if the Jamaica debacle ended any meaningful possibility of change, so I pitched my advocacy in terms of catholic responsibility and the possibility that the Archbishop who is ultimately responsible for implementing the Covenant may not be the present incumbent. Archbishop Duncan then stated that he had been responsible for the provincial council resolution and that - since the amendment referred to the original Ridley Cambridge Draft (with its disciplinary language) - he would "enthusiastically" support it. In response to a request from the floor for the context of the draft, he gave a very polished account of how events since 2003 had led to the Covenant, noting further that it had originally been conceived among the proposals in "To Mend the Net." The resolution passed unanimously. A second resolution upholding the sanctity of life was introduced by Becky Spanos, 30 years after the first such resolution was adopted in Pittsburgh. Throughout that period, she said, NOEL had tried to change the culture of the Episcopal Church and failed. While some of the language in the resolution might seem stark, "we can't abort forty million more babies," particularly when there are so many resources available for parents in need. Co-sponsor Tara Jernigan added that the resolution was the result of many parochial consultations in which she had been asked for the church teaching on this issue. The resolution passed unanimously. Finally, a courtesy resolution celebrating the work of last year's Celebrate 250 organizers and of retiring archivist Lynne Wohleber was adopted, and a standing ovation offered, at the prompting of David Wilson, to long-term diocesan historiographer Father John Leggett. The final business concerned revisions to Constitution and Canons, many of them simply reflecting the shift from TEC to ACNA, with the significant change that all parish property is to be vested solely in the parish corporation. The only debate came over the wisdom of leaving the shelter of the Southern Cone, as far as Anglican identity was concerned, to which Archbishop Duncan responded that Archbishop Venables had encouraged him to embrace the new ACNA framework, but would keep clergy on the Southern Cone books in a form of "dual citizenship" as a safety measure. As vicar general for Archbishop Venables for North America, the link with Canterbury would be maintained, and he would attend the Synod of the Southern Cone next year for the election of Archbishop Venables' successor. A motion of thanks to the Southern Cone for their hospitality was approved. A note should here be given of the "multiplication minutes" - short presentations of innovative types of ministry that serve to build up the Body of Christ - that occurred throughout regular business. From St. Philip's, Moon Township, came news of the new "mission-shaped communities" (MSC) composed of roughly 40 members (small enough for clear vision and large enough for action). An outgrowth of Alpha, they provided the first opportunity for service for many new Christians and in Moon had chosen to focus on reaching children and young adults with physical and emotional needs. From St. Christopher's, Cranberry, came word of how a congregation with around eighty members had discerned its calling to plant in an area of rapid population increase not one church of 500 people but five churches of 100. From the conveners of the ecumenical Kairos Ministry came news of cursillo adapted to a prison context and the urge to "plant" a church within a penitentiary. After four years, other country jails had observed the results and were asking Kairos teams to come in. Take your best men's cursillo, one of the priests involved (who testified to conversion from ten years of intravenous drug use) attested and multiply that by one hundred. Their converts included several Muslims and even one follower of Wicca. Finally, from Grace Anglican in Slippery Rock, news of raising up almost a dozen future priests, all but one under twenty-five. "There's nothing more powerful," declared the rector Ethan Magness, "than when anthropology and Christology connect with Calvary." I have been writing these accounts of Pittsburgh diocesan conventions since 2006. I rather suspect this will be my last for now. I trust that all you who have followed my progress have enjoyed my selections and have been appropriately edified. For this historian it has been a truly remarkable ride. END From webmaster at virtueonline.org Fri Nov 20 17:23:37 2009 From: webmaster at virtueonline.org (Robert Turner) Date: Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:23:37 -0500 Subject: Table of Contents Message-ID: <27f978580911201523m4f1fdf3ag762b8aadfbf1dc67@mail.gmail.com> 1. VIEWPOINTS Opposing Dioceses Harden Lines* Sewanee Exposed*TEC Slides*Seminary Lay Offs http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=11601 2. SEWANEE University Regrettably Succumbs to Post-Modernism and Pansexuality-Pt.I http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=11584 3. Episcopal Priest Praises Mohammed, Vishnu, Buddha, Confucius in Liturgy http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=11596 4. WASHINGTON, DC: Catholic, Episcopal Bishops Clash Over Meaning of Marriage http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=11580 5. ROME: Archbishop tells Pope: there will be no turning back on women priests http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=11597 6. The Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth:Parishes file Plea in Intervention http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=11593 7. FT. WORTH: Appellate court issues stay in response to Mandamus filing http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=11577 8. Rowan Williams urges Rome to rethink position on female bishops http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=11592 9. Two Fort Worth Bodies Tout New Unanimity http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=11585 10. BETHLEHEM: Bishop gives permission for same-gender blessings http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=11583 11. NY: Bishop Christopher Epting comments on the Vatican's Apostolic Constitution http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=11575 12. REFORM Group Blasts Revision Committee on Women Bishops http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=11572 13. ST. CATHARINES, ON: ACNA Archbishop Duncan on the Anglican Schism http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=11569 14. SAN DIEGO: Superior Court Rules in Favor of Episcopal Diocese http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=11561 15. SCRANTON: Closed churches to be taxed http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=11556 16. ENGLAND: Snub to traditionalists over women bishops http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=11565 17. Apostasy and Blasphemy in Islam: What should Christians Do? http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=11595 18. A Deal That ECUSA Cannot Refuse - Allan S. Haley http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=11564 19. ROME: Archbishop Williams address at a Willebrands Symposium in Rome http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=11589 The following stories are available at VirtueOnline.org via the hyperlink below the article title: 1. SCOTLAND: Kirk votes against trainee gay clergy http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=11599 2. NEW YORK: Episcopal Priest 'Very Sorry' Using Church Funds for Plastic Surgery http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=11594 3. ENGLAND: Churches head for a showdown in Rome http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=11586 4. LONDON: Archbishop backs higher taxes http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=11576 5. Ex-NJ Gov McGreevey training to become Episcopal priest http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=11568 6. Cost of Church of England bishops increases by ?2 million http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=11566 7. An Anglican Bridge Across the Tiber http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=11598 8. Cardinal Kasper says provision for Anglicans is not anti-ecumenical http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=11574 9. LONDON: It's time for Dr Rowan Williams to square up to a rampant Rome http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=11571 10. Rome opens arms to world's Anglicans http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=11570 11. Archbishop of Canterbury must show muscular Christianity - Ruth Gledhill http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=11591 12. TRY TO IMAGINE - Peter Moore http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=11588 13. Baiticum et Switchorum: Unspinning the new constitution http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=11579 14. ST. CATHARINES: Bishop Donald F. Harvey's Charge to Synod http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=11578 15. Muslim academics and students are turning against Darwin's theory http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=11581 16. Manhattan Declaration & Signers http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=11600 17. NEW BRIGHTON, MN: New Lutheran body to form after gay pastor vote http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=11590 18. Catholic Bishops' Pastoral Letter on Marriage - Mike McManus http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=11587 19. Latest US victims of gay-affirmative mandates http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=11573 END From david at virtueonline.org Fri Nov 20 17:25:34 2009 From: david at virtueonline.org (david at virtueonline.org) Date: 20 Nov 2009 18:25:34 -0500 Subject: VirtueOnline Viewpoints - November 20, 2009 Message-ID: <20091120232534.4067.qmail@virtueonline.org> Evangelism and Social Action. The instrument of change. Evangelism is the major instrument of social change. For the gospel changes people, and changed people can change society. --- John R.W. Stott Love and justice. The cross is a revelation of God's justice as well as of his love. That is why the community of the cross should concern itself with social justice as well as with loving philanthropy. It is never enough to have pity on the victims of injustice, if we do nothing to change the unjust situation itself. Good Samaritans will always be needed to succour those who are assaulted and robbed; yet it would be even better to rid the Jerusalem-Jericho road of brigands. ---- From "The Cross of Christ" John R.W. Stott No warmth within. Some preachers have a great horror of emotionalism. So have I, if this means the artificial stirring of the emotions by rhetorical tricks or other devices. But we should not fear genuine emotion. If we can preach Christ crucified and remain altogether unmoved, we must have a hard heart indeed. More to be feared than emotion is cold professionalism, the dry, detached utterance of a lecture which has neither heart nor soul in it. Do man's peril and Christ's salvation mean so little to us that we feel no warmth rise within us as we think about them? --- From "The Preacher's Portrait" John R. W. Stott The preaching of the cross. Of this we are clear: man's salvation rests on the fact of the cross, and neither on the preacher's interpretation of it, nor on the hearers' understanding of it. Our desire is that men should believe that fact, not accept our explanations. 'Christ died for our sins' is enough without any further elucidation. Moreover, our appeal is never that men should accept a theory about the cross but that they should receive a Person who died for them. To this end we shall continue to preach Christ crucified, because what is folly to the intellectualist and a stumbling block to the moralist, remains the wisdom and the power of God (1 Cor. 1:23-24). --- From "Fundamentalism and Evangelism" John R.W. Stott Dear Brothers and Sisters, www.virtueonline.org 11/20/2009 A recent Pew Forum survey revealed some interesting data about The Episcopal Church. Some 20% of those raised Episcopal/Anglican now have no religion. It is tied for the denomination with the most converts to the 'no religion' category along with the Congregationalists. By way of comparison, only 11% of those raised Baptist now have no religion. 45% of those raised Episcopal/Anglican remain Episcopal/Anglican. Compare that to 60% of Baptists raised Baptist who are still Baptist to explain why the church is aging - it simply didn't pass along its message to its children. For the full report click here: http://religions.pewforum.org/pdf/report-religious-landscape-study-full.pdf >From the 2008 Religious Landscape Survey come these statistics. The denominations with most members over the age of 50 years are: Anglican Church (Mainline Tradition) - 68% of members are over 50 United Church of Christ (Mainline Tradition) - 62% of members are over 50 Presbyterian Church USA (Mainline Tradition) - 62% of members are over 50 Episcopal Church in the USA (Mainline Tradition) - 59% of members are over 50 Presbyterian Church in America (Evangelical Tradition) - 59% of members are over 50 Compare that with: Total Population (41% are over the age of 50). In nondenominational Charismatic Churches (Evangelical Tradition) -- 28% of members are over 50 Independent Baptist (Historically Black Tradition) - 29% of members are over 50 Nondenominational Evangelical Churches (Evangelical Traditional) - 30% of members are over 50 Roman Catholic Church - 40% of members are over the age of 50 Southern Baptist Convention (Evangelical Tradition) - 49% of members are over 50 From this it is not difficult to see where the future of the church is heading. Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori says the church needs to figure out ways to attract younger people, non-church members and a growing Hispanic population. If the Presiding Bishop is looking for an answer to that question, she might well heed these words of Daniel P. Smith and Mary K. Sellon: "Declining congregations have lost connection with the Christian church's basic mission of helping people experience God and live the gospel message of life and hope. Without this sense of mission to keep the congregation focused beyond the doors of the church, the congregation turns inward and loses connection with its community. Before others will turn to a congregation as a life-giving resource in their lives, the congregation has to be a place that offers life. When traveling by plane, passengers are reminded that in the event of an emergency they should put on their own oxygen masks before helping others. In congregational renewal, a congregation reminds itself of and intentionally engages in the basic practices of Christianity. It realigns itself with the basic outward-focused mission of church." Clearly Mrs. Jefferts Schori just doesn't get it. She is putting the cart of Millennium Development Goals ahead of the (horse) of the gospel of salvation and eternal life entirely reversing the process. Pollster George Barna did a survey that revealed the following: - if you want to reach unchurched 18-34 year olds, they are more likely to attend a church that focuses on Bible teaching. - if you want to reach unchurched Hispanics, they are most interested in a church that focuses on Bible teaching and serving the needy. - if you want to reach unchurched 50-64 years olds, they are most interested in a church that focuses on serving the needy. So, the answer is simple. If the Episcopal Church wants to attract more Hispanics and young people, start teaching from the Bible. A real no brainer. ***** The beat goes on with yet another diocese, this time the DIOCESE OF BETHLEHEM, announcing it will allow same sex blessings. Bishop Paul Marshall said that he has established "interim measures" to allow clergy to bless same-gender relationships. Marshall's letter to his clergy is available here. http://tinyurl.com/ydntsc2 ***** The two DIOCESES OF FT. WORTH staked out their positions and claims this past week. Now that the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth and the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth (Southern Cone) are separate entities, they are both reporting unanimous decisions by their respective legislative bodies. The decisions move the dioceses away from one another and toward their respective theological commitments. You can read the full story in today's digest. ***** The Episcopal Church's seminaries continue in a state of crisis with the SEMINARY OF THE SOUTHWEST announcing this past week that it was restructuring itself to, as it put it, "secure, strengthen its future with budget-efficiency measures include staffing changes and administrative cost cuts." The seminary's budgetary constraints forced its leadership into the thorniest of dilemmas and decisions. In a special meeting on Nov. 13, the board determined that in addition to administrative cost cuts, 12 seminary staff positions must be eliminated and one expected faculty retirement will not be replaced. "We are committed to aligning our personnel resources with the seminary's core educational mission," said Harrison. "And we will continue to build on the strength of our program, admissions and advancement for the future. But right now, our choices are limited -- and hard." ****** V. Gene Robinson, Bishop of the DIOCESE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE announced at his diocesan convention this week that all is not well in the diocese. The homogenital Bishop told delegates to the diocese's 207th annual convention at St. Paul's Church in Concord that budget cuts in 2009 would only get worse in 2010. "I have demanded of the Diocesan Council that we make the cuts necessary to live within our means. I will not spend money we don't have. Early in the year, we cut $125,000 out of our 2009 budget; in June, further cuts were made, including the decision to let three part-time staff go - one immediately, and two at the end of the year." He said the budget is $350,000 less than the budget passed in 2008, describing it as a "huge reduction in a small diocesan budget. I believe it is responsible - but it is NOT commendable or anything to be happy about. In my opinion, we go into 2010 understaffed, underfunded and unable to provide the level of excellent service you deserve." Robinson spent most of his address speaking about the diocese's budget. "The problem with our diocese's common life budget is not the formula for calculating giving, but rather our congregations' compliance and commitment to that asking," he said, lamenting cuts that had to be made in the 2009 budget and noting that the proposed 2010 budget was smaller still. Clearly homosexuals are not rushing in to fill the gap as aging geriatric Episcopalians die off and several parishes are conflicted over the moral teaching of the church. ***** The first in a three-part series on the changing world of SEWANEE: The University of the South is posted and you can read it in today's digest. This story has been in the works for some months with much research going into it. It will probably come as no surprise that the university and the theology school attached to it have succumbed to the siren call of The Episcopal Church on sexuality issues with classes on gender issues that endorse pansexuality. As we complete the other two parts, they will be posted to the website. www.virtueonline.org ***** It will probably also come as no surprise that The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Washington and the Episcopal Bishop of Washington are at odds over same-sex marriage. Archbishop Donald W. Wuerl issued a Pastoral Message for Homosexual Catholics in the Archdiocese of Washington affirming the church's teaching of marriage between a man and a woman and faithfulness within marriage. By contrast Episcopal Bishop John Byson Chane announced his support for the D.C. marriage legislation. Chane gave his support for legislation legalizing same-sex marriage in the District of Columbia and made his endorsement in a column on the Web site of The Washington Post: http://tinyurl.com/yaze3xu ***** The 144th Convention of the ANGLICAN DIOCESE OF PITTSBURGH welcomed four congregations to full parish status this past week including three from beyond the immediate region, a joyful outcome made possible by new freedoms permitted by the constitution and canons of the Anglican Church in North America. Harvest Anglican Church in Homer City, Pennsylvania, Holy Trinity (Raleigh, North Carolina), St. James (San Jose, California), and Transfiguration (Cleveland, Ohio) became the newest members of the recently renamed Anglican Diocese of Pittsburgh by the unanimous accord of the gathered clergy and lay deputies. One of the deputies from St. James, San Jose, was able to capture video of Archbishop Robert Duncan gifting the new parishes with their own Terrible Towels, to the thundering applause of all those gathered. By unanimous vote on adjusting the districting system to match new parish distributions, these parishes (and others joining the Diocese from beyond old geographic boundaries) will become a part of District 9. "This positive growth reflects the goal of the Anglican Church in North America to plant 1000 new congregations within the next five years, a challenge that is mirrored by a matching goal of the Anglican Diocese of Pittsburgh to plant 10 new congregations by the end of 2010," said Archbishop Robert Duncan. ***** The Episcopal Church might yet prove to be one of the most litigious denominations in American history. Sixty churches and four dioceses are fighting to keep their properties. Literally millions of dollars are being spent to keep properties from changing hands. So speaking of litigation, Fr. David Moyer, an Anglo-Catholic priest testified under oath (when he was duking it out in the courts with PA Bishop Charles E. Bennison) that it is a violation of scripture for one brother in the Christian church to sue another. According to Moyer, it is OK to violate scripture so long as you have the permission of the Archbishop of Canterbury. Moyer testified as follows: "It is a violation of scripture and it shouldn't be done, but when one has no other choice, one does it with the advice and consent of the Archbishop of Canterbury." Both sides it seems, need to re-read their bibles. ***** ARCHBISHOP ROWAN WILLIAMS flew to Rome this week and made it clear that there will be no turning back on women priests and future women bishops. In his most outspoken challenge to the Roman Catholic Church since the Pope invited disaffected Anglicans to switch to Rome, he told a conference in Rome that the Catholic Church's refusal to ordain women is a bar to Christian unity. "For many Anglicans, not ordaining women has a possible unwelcome implication about the difference between baptized men and baptized women," he said. One observer noted, "Now he refuses to subject the Anglican apologetic for W.O. to further severe scrutiny ('get over it') in the context of ecumenism. Apostolic succession is merely an anachronism. This 11th-hour bravado on the part of the Archbishop fails to persuade. His rhetoric will only serve to accelerate the Anglican demise under his failed leadership." You can read the full story in today's digest. ***** IN CANADA things are truly moving along for orthodox Anglicans. In St. Catharines, Ontario, three new bishops were recently consecrated for ministry in the Anglican Network in Canada. The Rt. Rev. Stephen Leung, the Rt. Rev. Charles Masters and the Rt. Rev. Dr. Trevor Walters were consecrated by the Most Reverend Robert Duncan, Archbishop of the Anglican church in North America in a service which saw the participation of 15 bishops and more than 60 priests and deacons from across North America. The service of consecration was the culmination of the second synod (church convention) of the Anglican Network in Canada (ANiC). During the synod, ANiC moderator, the Rt. Rev. Donald Harvey announced his intention to step down in November 2010. It was also announced that the third synod would be held in Ottawa in early November 2010. The synod is planned to coincide with the visit by the Rt. Rev. Dr Michael Nazir-Ali, recently retired Bishop of Rochester, to ANiC's St George's Anglican Church for their 125th anniversary celebration. ANiC is under the Episcopal authority of Bishop Harvey and is a diocese in the Anglican Church in North America which unites over 100,000 faithful Anglicans from across this continent. It now numbers 33 parishes and eight forming congregations in North America with more than 3,500 in church on an average Sunday. If this doesn't send shivers down the spine of ACoC Archbishop Fred Hiltz, I don't know what will. He is watching the erosion of his own Anglican version of The Episcopal Church and is powerless to stop it. No gospel, no vision but inclusion is a recipe for disaster. Making the point, The Council of General Synod of the ANGLICAN CHURCH OF CANADA approved a 2010 budget that includes $450,000 in cuts in order to reduce the General Synod's deficit to $492,000 for 2010. The cuts are in keeping with a commitment to eliminate deficits by 2012. In 2009, the budgeted deficit was reduced to $800,000. The deficit-elimination plan called for a further reduction of $300,000 in 2010, but because revenues are also down, George said the cuts in spending had to be about $450,000. Proportional giving from the dioceses, the largest portion of General Synod's revenue, is down. While the economic downturn may be the immediate cause, declining numbers of people attending church is a larger and more long-term problem, she said. ***** PRINCE CHARLES and wife Camilla attended an Anglican Church service in Victoria, BC, recently. About 200 people waited under leaden skies today to get a glimpse of the couple. The church was filled for the Sunday service as Charles and Camilla dedicated a stained-glass window commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Anglican Diocese of British Columbia. But all is not well in the failing diocese. The next Sunday, the cathedral was two thirds empty, according to a VOL reader who went back to investigate. "Now, if Bishop James Cowan could get one of the members of the Royal Family to drop in on him every Sunday, Christ Church Cathedral would be full all the time; as it is, next Sunday and every one after this, CCC will be two-thirds EMPTY." ***** Anglican Professor, The Rev. Clive Newman who narrowly escaped murder when he was a 27-year-old businessman in 1991, was found dead on Nov. 9. Fr. Newman, 45, had been a lecturer at College of the Transfiguration in Grahamstown, South Africa, for the past four years. He taught in the fields of Anglican studies, worship and early African church history. He was ordained in 2007. The Rev. Canon William Domeris, rector of the college, found Fr. Newman's body in his campus apartment. Canon Domeris said he checked on Fr. Newman because he had not shown up for teaching duties or for worship. The attack in 1991, by two men who had already killed three other people, left Fr. Newman with sliced vocal chords and gaping wound in his neck. He was told that he may never regain his voice, and he suffered a stroke. He regained 80 percent of his voice and went on to sing in the St. Mary's Church choir in Port Elizabeth. ***** ROME can make provision for traditional Anglicans, but Anglicans can't. What is the matter with this scenario? The CofE is dropping its plans to make provision for those opposed to women bishops, according to today's BBC lunchtime radio news. And if there IS no provision, that will open the door for many to claim constructive dismissal from a church which has changed clergy terms of employment retrospectively ... "obedient to the Bishop and his successors" indeed. A paragraph from the Manchester Group's Press Release which is most relevant says: "The effect of the Committee's decision is therefore that such arrangements as are made for those unable to receive the episcopal ministry of women will need to be by way of delegation from the diocesan bishop rather than vesting. Hurrah. Now we can get on with the serious business of applying to the Holy Father for shepherds instead of having to rely any longer on the CofE's ravening wolves." ***** The former Director General of the BBC has called for atheists and humanists to contribute to BBC Radio 4's Thought For the Day. Lord Birt said in a House of Lords debate that the BBC must 'soon loosen the stranglehold' of established religious organizations and 'fully embrace' the humanist movement. The debate took place in the House of Lords on the eve of the BBC Trust's deliberations on whether to allow non-religious contributors to the Today programme's religious slot. Lord Harrison, an outspoken humanist who tabled Question for Short Debate, also asked to pay 'sufficient regard to the importance of reflecting humanism' and spoke about 'combined debates of humanists and religionists' to examine, among other things, 'what new uses our wonderful churches could be put to in a modern, secular age'. ***** Mainline churches in East Germany have rediscovered a sense of mission, according to Uwe Siemon-Netto, director of the Center for Lutheran Theology and Public Life. He says the German Protestant church recognized the fall of the Berlin Wall as a miracle. "Then," he said, "it flipped back and returned to its goofy liberal ways." To many East Germans, the social gospel preached from many Protestant pulpits sounded very much like a successor to Nazi and Soviet propaganda, Siemon-Netto said. It failed to draw people. Read more at christianitytoday.com ***** SMALL VICTORIES. Who Needs 'Gay' Newspapers When You've Got the Liberal Media? Two well-known gay rags, the Washington Blade and the Southern Voice shut down this past week which begs the questions, Is the gay movement running out of steam? The Washington Blade was the leading newspaper for homosexuals in the United States. It reported a lot of bad news about the realities of the homosexual lifestyle to those practicing that behavior. The Blade, Southern Voice, a homosexual newspaper in Atlanta, and other "gay" newspapers closed their doors Monday when the nation's largest homosexual publishing company, Window Media LLC, shut down. The full text of the story is available at: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/nov/09111608.html ***** Death certificate for liberation theology premature, says WCC leader. Forty years after liberation theology first gained widespread attention, the movement remains an inspiration for people who want to create a more just world, despite critics who assert it is outdated, says Brazilian Lutheran theologian Walter Altmann. The test for its relevance is, "whether the basic insights and aspirations of liberation theology continue to be alive", Altmann, the moderator of the Geneva-based World Council of Churches, told Ecumenical News International in an interview. He also wrote on the Web site of the WCC this week that most of those who derided liberation theology, "did so because they understood it to be an apology of bygone Soviet-style socialism. It seems, though, that this death certificate has been issued prematurely." Ecumenical News International ***** >From the ANGLICAN CHURCH IN AMERICA (Traditional Anglican Communion) comes this word from Bishop, The Rt. Rev. Brian R. Marsh. My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, Many of you are no doubt aware of the recent news, news that made the front page of the New York Times last Wednesday and has been widely reported in the press since then. In that very prominent article, Cardinal William J. Levada was quoted as saying that Anglicans would be able "to enter full communion with the Catholic Church while preserving elements of the distinctive Anglican spiritual and liturgical patrimony." Needless to say, this is an extraordinary development in the life and witness of both Anglicans and Roman Catholics worldwide. The letter from the Holy See expresses generosity toward Anglicans while recognizing the ultimate goal of intercommunion, a goal the worldwide Traditional Anglican Communion has worked patiently toward. Many of us have been answering phone calls and email messages virtually nonstop since this news broke. In all cases, these conversations and communications lean toward one fundamental question: "what does this mean for me and my church?" For the time being, there are and will be no changes at all. Our structures haven't changed, our worship services and pastoral care will continue as they always have. The only thing, in fact, that has changed is that we have received an affirmative letter from the Holy See, a letter that holds out the promise of greater unity for our church. Our next step will be to study the Apostolic Constitution that has been developed for the purpose of providing a structure to any intercommunion arrangement. The House of Bishops has agreed to give "serious, prayerful reflection" to this document once we receive it. We all need to pray as well. We must offer our prayers to God for guidance and I ask your prayers for us all; prayers for the unity of the church, prayers for our Anglican traditions and prayers that we may all exercise the discernment to see God's will. I also ask that passages from St. John's gospel that we hold so dear (St. John 17 vv. 20-26) be read on this Sunday and for the next four weeks at an appropriate place in our worship services. May this help to bring us to a clearer understanding of God's will for all of us. At this moment, we have received a message. It is a message of hope and encouragement. While it is a glorious moment in time, we must remember that it is a moment only. There are many more steps that we must take, many more decisions we must reach and many prayers that must be prayed before we attain that final goal of intercommunion, where we may all be unified once again in the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church where God wishes us to be. Faithfully, +Brian This branch of the Continuing Church movement is in turmoil, a source has told VOL. "Many in the ACA are very upset that the people in the pew were not consulted about seeking the protection of the Roman Catholic Church. Many are now threatening to move to other jurisdictions as they have no intention of going that path. The Bishops in the ACA have sent out pastoral letters asking for a time of study of the Apostolic Constitution, but the people are saying they have no interest whatsoever to do so. The Bishops backs now are against the wall." One rector, Fr. Lewis Glidden wrote, "Being the Rector of Holy Trinity and Saint Stephen The Martyr, I am disturbed that ACA/TAC's going down this road with Rome. I cannot understand why we as Anglicans and believers in the 1928 the book of Common Prayer and the King James Bible are even considering open communion with Rome. First of all, the head of the Roman church is not the Holy Father. Second, it appears to me that we are just asking for trouble. History has shown Christianity what the Roman church is. When any Christian church would stand by and turn their backs on the sludder (slaughter) of millions of Jewish people. I know we are all sinners, and only saved by God's grace. But I have a hard time dealing with barberic (barbaric) behavior of Roman History. The Pope is not the head of the church. God gave his only begotten son Jesus Christ and gave us Holy Scripture to follow. I see no place in it where any one man can be elevated or elevate himself to the level of the Holy Father Almighty God. I guess will end my comments here. But I will not be in (any) uprising to any attempts to change the Anglican Church or give-up any parts of Faith and Traditions." Said a source, " are hell bent on going to Rome. The people in the pews are now saying loud and clear "study Rome no more". The phones in the ACNA have been ringing off the hook from ACA parishes asking for application forms to join." ***** In CALIFORNIA, voters oppose putting gay marriage back on the ballot, according to a Times/USC poll. A small majority of California voters supports the right of gay couples to marry, but a much larger portion of voters opposes efforts to place the issue back on the ballot next year. Views on same-sex marriage were sharply polarized based on political party, with 66% of Democrats thinking it should be legal and 71% of Republicans in opposition. Nonpartisan voters were less enthusiastic than Democrats but still backed it, 59%-34%. This has gay Episcopalians like Susan Russell steaming mad. Integrity's website is beside itself with rage. ***** In the UK, a move to severely restrict the number of people whose details are held in the national DNA database has been supported by the Anglican Bishop of Lincoln. Bishop John Saxbee said the move could help to end a "culture of growing mistrust". Tory and Liberal Democrat peers made an attempt in the House of Lords to cut down on the number of innocent people whose profiles are kept on the database. The Government is currently considering its position after the European Court of Human Rights ruled last year that keeping samples from all suspects, whether charged or not, was "blanket and indiscriminate". Bishop Saxbee said: "My sense is that in recent years there has been a significant erosion of confidence." ***** Some 84 percent of ITALIANS oppose a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights that crucifixes should be removed from Italian classrooms, according to a recent poll. The poll in the Corriere della Sera newspaper said only 14 percent favor taking them down and two percent have no opinion. Those in favor include many who are not practicing Catholics. Some 68 percent of those who said they never attended Mass said they still wanted the crucifixes to stay in schools. On Tuesday, the European Court of Human Rights fined the Italian government for having crucifixes in its schools. The European Court of Human Rights ordered that the government pay 5,000 Euro ($7,390) to Soile Lautsi, a mother of two who claimed that public schools in her northern Italian town refused eight years ago to remove the crucifix from the classroom. ***** Please consider a tax-deductible donation to VIRTUEONLINE. We do depend on our readers to keep the cyber door open and the news flowing. If you think you can help please send your gift to: VIRTUEONLINE 1236 Waterford Rd., West Chester, PA 19380 If you would like to make a PAYPAL donation you may go to VOL's website: www.virtueonline.org and click on the PAYPAL button. Thank you for your support. In Christ, David From david at virtueonline.org Fri Nov 20 17:26:34 2009 From: david at virtueonline.org (david at virtueonline.org) Date: 20 Nov 2009 18:26:34 -0500 Subject: SEWANEE University Regrettably Succumbs to Post-Modernism and Pansexuality-Pt.I Message-ID: <20091120232634.4090.qmail@virtueonline.org> SEWANEE: University of the South Regrettably Succumbs to Post-Modernism and Pansexuality - Part 1 University Elects Pro-Gay Bishop as Chancellor Trustees Dump Ft. Worth Bishop's Orthodox Trustees This is the first in a three-part series on the University of the South, the Episcopal Church's only university with a School of Theology as it transitions into the 21st Century. Special Investigation and Exclusive Report By David W. Virtue www.virtueonline.org 11/18/2009 Sewanee: The University of the South, The Episcopal Church's only university with a School of Theology continues undergoing profound and troubling changes as it heads into the 21st Century - changes that most who love Sewanee know compromise both its historic and intellectual character as well as its theological integrity. The campus, affectionately known as "The Mountain," is owned by the twenty-eight southern dioceses of the Episcopal Church. Its Sewanee School of Theology is an official seminary of the church. Known simply as Sewanee, the school has produced 25 Rhodes Scholars and was ranked 36th in the annual US News & World Report list of liberal arts colleges, having fallen in recent years from a high of 24th. Sewanee is a member of the Associated Colleges of the South. The renaming of The University of the South to "Sewanee: The University of the South" in 2004 was an official attempt to recruit and retain more minority and non-Southern students. Most students and alumni were, and continue to be, offended by the "distancing" University from its historic association with the best of Southern culture. According to the Wikipedia editorial enforcers, the controversy has generally subsided, though in fact, several students and most alumni bitterly recall the "name change." The Sewanee administration still claims no change occurred to the institution's official name. Sewanee's own Identity Standards manual forbids usage of the new "Sewanee: The University of the South" name for usage with community, student, and alumni publications, but the rule is universally broken. SIGNS OF CHANGE A significant sign of the changing and transformed character of the university came when Sewanee trustees "elected" the pro-homosexual friendly Bishop of Atlanta, J. Neil Alexander, as Chancellor and President of the Board of Trustees of Sewanee for a six year term. At the same time, trustees from Bishop Jack Iker's Diocese of Ft. Worth were removed and two new Trustees from the Episcopal Church reconstituted (rump) version of the Diocese of Ft. Worth were seated. Only Bishops Alexander and Philip Duncan (Diocese of Central Gulf Coast) were offered to the trustees on the Chancellor ballot. When Duncan withdrew himself from the ballot, Alexander was acclaimed as Chancellor without any voting. The University website still maintains he was "elected." With their acclamation gift of the Sewanee Chancellorship to Alexander, the trustees sent a forceful signal to the Anglican Communion that Sewanee officially endorses the gay agenda. No previous chancellor has been as openly pro-homosexual as Bishop Alexander, who authored "This Far by Grace: A Bishop's Journey Through Questions of Homosexuality." In this volume, Bishop Alexander offers a personal view of his changing outlook from exclusion to acceptance. The decision to dump trustees from Bishop Iker's diocese did not sit well with the Anglo-Catholic bishop. "The decision to remove our duly elected trustees was disappointing, but not surprising. The people they seated were elected at a 'special meeting' that lacked a quorum in both orders and was conducted in violation of the constitution and canons of the diocese. This is yet another example of the liberals in TEC making up the rules as they go along," Bishop Iker told VOL. Thanks to that toxic and divisive violation, the Anglican Communion and the Sewanee community now finally have irrefutable proof that Sewanee: The Episcopal University is officially and institutionally tainted within its highest chambers of governance by the poisonous gay revolution within the Episcopal Church. The sickness of TEC's corrupting influence upon historic Sewanee is now irredeemable. The warning bells have rung never again to be silent. Delusional hoping for the best is no longer a viable stewardship option. Beloved Sewanee of legend and lore is dead, having been slowly and incrementally killed off by radical liberals who use the cover of the Episcopal Church and Sewanee's complicated and confusing governing structure for their transgressions, deceit, and subterfuge. The deadly cancer within the Episcopal Church ultimately spread through its Episcopal University. Now the best and boldest hopes for Sewanee are sickened and dying. Sewanee's far distant remote location has become its liability. Alumni and donors cannot visit frequently enough to regularly inspect those aspects of university life that persistently and noxiously violate the purity of the founders' Christian vision. The difficulty of remoteness became an engine of the operational wave of change pushed by the hands of those who have overseen the deluge. Now is too late for alumni and donors to turn the ugly tide back in the right direction. The Birmingham, Alabama, crowd would have been best suited for the job of stopping the Sewanee's fall from grace, but they spent their visits to the Mountain at the beach music cocktail parties instead of paying attention to who was benefitting personally from their uber largess. Even if they did have suspicions, Alabama Bishop Henry N. Parsley would have used his executive skills and manipulative tricks to keep them quiet and harmless. As long as they can go to Homecoming and see mostly people who look like them, they think Sewanee is still Old Sewanee and deserving of the next big class reunion donation. See: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sewanee/4014380390/in/photostream/; http://www.flickr.com/photos/sewanee/4017781228/in/set-72157622590590042/; http://www.flickr.com/photos/sewanee/3856075245/sizes/o/in/set-72157622018010923/ The Charleston, South Carolina, crowd, full of potential to offer much needed Godly help, kept itself too rare a presence on the Mountain, evidencing that they probably knew the score better than the rest of Sewanee's concerned alumni and trustees. The right folks from Nashville and Chattanooga were either too busy vying for committee control, which means they were distracted with keeping themselves liked by the administration, or they just gave up in frustration and went home. Atlanta was stuck in traffic and didn't care. Although Sewannee's buildings and ceremonies look deceptively somewhat as they did in better days, its corporate character has been consumed and rotted by liberalizing Episcopal forces alien to its true historic purpose and sanctified Biblical mission. STAKEHOLDERS However, more and more of its stakeholders are sensing something remains wrong and is getting worse. They are finding the new Sewanee a repugnance instead of attractive, as evidenced by the 56% of alumni who will not give to the unrestricted annual Sewanee Fund. Even though they are accused of "standing in the way of progress," they apparently know better than to support those who have profoundly changed Sewanee for the worst. Sewanee was theirs as intended, and they know it was vandalized and stolen from them by outsiders and interlopers. VOL has covered Sewanee's decline and the resulting rise in alumni social consciousness. See: http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=6367 and http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=5170 and http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=4055 CHANGES In 1997-1998, Sewanee brought in Mary Maples Dunn of Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts, an ultra-feminist, pro-homosexual, afro-centric consultant to help shape the university's future. After listening to the concerns of the liberal feminist and allegedly under-appreciated minority faculty, and studying the outdated traditional curriculum, she advised the trustees on how the inclusive Episcopal Church should give them hope for Sewanee's future. Her suggestions and plans were later implemented without dissent. Were she to revisit Sewanee she would be very pleased with the success of progressive change that has transformed Sewanee into what Bishop Neil Alexander now wants it to be. She predicted to the trustees in 1998 that "In 20 years you won't know the place." She was off by just a tad over half. Instead of 2018, Sewanee is unrecognizable right now, in 2009. Nothing about her institutional prediction and hopes was told to Sewanee's most generous donors, especially the very generous contingent from Birmingham who did so much for the recent Sewanee Call capital campaign. Why would they give money to the Sewanee they know and love just to see their Sewanee become unknowable and unlovable? How could they possibly love the new Sewanee if it was designed by the likes of Ms. Maples Dunn and constructed by her radical fellow travelers at Sewanee who are hostile to Birmingham's own conservative theological and social interests? Most loyal donors attached to Sewanee through legacy family connections rightly want to enjoy Sewanee as a place of refuge. They go back there to get away from the Maples Dunn vision of a degraded society that surrounds them in the cities of the decaying New South. They don't welcome the same decay and breakdown at Sewanee. Having been solicited for gifts without being told that the money would be used to make Sewanee "unknowable" makes donors the victims of material misrepresentation. They, or their deprived heirs, should be asking questions. Not knowing her prediction and how it was sponsored by Sewanee's administration and accepted by its trustees, donors were incapacitated from making an informed decision with all relevant facts necessary before agreeing to a donation. If they were not told about Maples Dunn's report while being solicited by fundraisers, then relevant facts were withheld, and the duty owed to donors by Sewanee was unmet. If they had been told how she had been brought to the Mountain specifically because her instructions gave gravitas to the goals of the Sewanee administration, they would have reacted as they should and withheld their money for truly charitable uses. Had they known, they would have been given a needed and helpful opportunity to reassess how their "loyalty" to Sewanee is manipulated for the financial benefit of those who despise the true Sewanee. Even though they weren't told, VOL asks if they, too, are to blame for Sewanee's problems? Shouldn't they have been automatically suspicious of an institution holding itself out the public as "the Episcopal University?" Ever since the 1960's, loyal Episcopalians have watched as one foundational source of denominational strength after the other has been sinisterly corroded and eroded away. Sewanee donors fatally misjudged that the remnant conservatism of the church in the South and at Sewanee would steadfastly protect Sewanee from the corruptions of the controlling Episcopal Church. They funded with their own money the changing of Sewanee into something horrid and unrecognizable. Alexander's election completes the disfiguration. When donors learned of Maples Dunn's predictions, the proper feeling of betrayal set in, but far too late. The trustees accepted Maples Dunn's report without questions or complaints. An Episcopal board that would do that can be expected to eventually appoint a pro-gay Bishop like Alexander as its President and the University's Chancellor. "There are, as yet, few courses in gender studies or human sexuality; the words gay and lesbian do not appear. There is no major or minor in women's studies, or in African American Studies, there is relatively (to other top-notch liberal arts institutions) little non-western material (the near absence of the Mid-East is rather striking), but they are on the way, and Sewanee is on the verge of considerable change in the curriculum," wrote Dunn. See http://www.academia.org/sewanee-gets-politically-corrected/. She was right about the forthcoming considerable change, but that didn't improve her talent as a prophetess. She underestimated the power of the gay agenda within the Episcopal Church and its dominating influence at Sewanee. In 1998, the Episcopal Church was only five years away from consecrating its first openly homosexual bishop, a Sewanee alumnus. If she had known that, she would have more accurately predicted that, "In ten years you won't know the place." Nine of Sewanee's owning bishops consented to openly gay Gene Robinson's consecration as Bishop of New Hampshire, most prominently Neil Alexander and Ted Gulick, both of whom are trustees and were on the latest ballot for Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church. By 2008, pro-gay Bishop Alexander had been on Sewanee's powerful board of regents for three years. One year later, he was chancellor. Alexander is not an alumnus of either the college or seminary. He was a Lutheran, a denomination which has recently followed TEC onto the gay train. Sewanee is not something dear to him or a legacy institution within the preceding generations of his Southern family. His son attended the college only because Alexander was serving on the Seminary faculty at the time. Children of the faculty are given the unearned privilege of free tuition. Alexander is a director of the "Living Our Vows" program of the TEC House of Bishops. Another director is reviled Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, who is infamous in Christendom for recently declaring "the great Western heresy: that we can be saved as individuals that any of us alone can be in right relationship with God." Serving with Alexander and Jefferts Schori as directors of the TEC Vows program is Bishop Edwin F. Gulick, Sewanee Trustee and provisional bishop of TEC Diocese of Fort Worth. Surprisingly, if not distressingly, no African Americans serve with Alexander on the board of directors of this highly intellectual educational program board. Other HOB Vows faculty members are homosexual Sewanee alumnus Gene Robinson and Sewanee trustee Bishop Porter Taylor. Sewanee's immediate past Chancellor and continuing trustee, Bishop Parsley is on the Continuing Education Committee, which is 100% Caucasian. Sewanee will now be nothing more than Alexander's project for the cause of enforced Diversity, tolerance, and minority privilege masquerading as anti-racism, radical social justice, and all forms of Multiculturalism. The more Sewanee becomes Maples Dunn's version of "unrecognizable," the more successful will be his tenure as Bishop of Atlanta. If he can show TEC how he "marched Sewanee along the road of progress" into the perfect vision of Episcopal inclusivity, he will be a shoe in to be the next Presiding Bishop. He's building the perfect resume for the PB job in 2015, the same year his term as Chancellor ends. Thanks to our loyal readers and supporters on the Mountain, VOL correctly predicted that he would be the shoe in candidate for Sewanee's Chancellorship, but we had no idea he would be acclaimed to the position without opposition. We weren't as suspicious of Sewanee then as we are now. Based on the tenants of TEC's anti-racism, Church institutions are still infected with institutional and structural racism, which means there are too many whites in positions of authority and power, all receiving the highest paychecks. As a foreshadowing of Alexander's most likely solution to this "race problem," Maples Dunn praised herself to the Sewanee trustees in her 1998 report when she proclaimed that she saw too many whites in staff positions at Smith College, where she was president. She successfully put a moratorium on hiring more whites, and the number of African American staff increased dramatically. Maples Dunn, who is white, did not step down and offer her presidency to an African American. (VOL wonders how Maples Dunn avoided an Equal Opportunity class action lawsuit from those qualified white job candidates who were tacitly discouraged from applying because of her anti- racist hiring policies? Even now, Sewanee's own Position Announcement for its next Vice-Chancellor search gives the anti-racist warning with "The University of the South is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Minorities and women are encouraged to apply." Even the Vice-Chancellor search firm proudly proclaims itself as "a minority and female owned retained executive search firm." Therefore, twice does Sewanee favorably encourage minorities and women to apply for the Vice-Chancellorship, while simultaneously Sewanee twice implicitly discourages majority Caucasian males from applying. By specifically encouraging women and minorities, Sewanee seems to be intentionally discouraging white males from the Vice Chancellor's recruitment process.) Alexander's anti-racism ministry will dismantle institutional racism by hiring fewer whites and filling Sewanee's job positions with "deserving" minorities. Alexander is white, but in fine Maples Dunn tradition, won't step down from his position of ultimate Sewanee power by giving his job to an African American. He'll keep that all for himself. Sewanee's fragility made it vulnerable to such a TEC conquest. Over the last two decades, the administrative non-Sewanee forces have steadily moved corporate Sewanee over to their anti-Sewanee agendas. With their hands on the budget and possessing the financial power to hire greater numbers of fundraisers, they have successfully overcome all obstacles to fundamental change. GAY PERSUASION Last month, Sewanee's Office of Multicultural Affairs sponsored the Sewanee's Mountain Lambda gay club at Rebel's Rest, one of the most sacred shrines on the Mountain. The flyer distributed to students read: "October 6, 2009 from 7-9 p.m., Rebel's Rest, An informal gathering of gay, bisexual, transgendered, and questioning men and their male supporters in the Sewanee Community. Women are welcome to attend and support Sewanee's GBTQ men. Wine and hors d'oeuvres will be provided." Gays reigned at the recent annual Sewanee homecoming. At a local Episcopal parish which provides hospitality, Gene Robinson was mentioned with pride. "The Rainbow Society and the University's Gay Straight Alliance will host a Meet and Greet at Brooks Hall, formerly the rectory of Otey Parish." This event was in recognition of the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall Inn riots, Gene Robinson's graduation from Sewanee, and National Coming Out Day on Oct. 11. "Look for the large pride banner." screamed the hosts of the events. http://tinyurl.com/yhb228v Sewanee' rainbow gays get page one in the student newspaper. http://tinyurl.com/yfwarjx, with no alternative commentary from Sewanee's orthodox bishops. Just silence. Visitors to Sewanee's website easily can find the Gay Straight Alliance page and listen to an interview with Sewanee's gay bishop. http://www.sewanee.edu/gsa/talks/vgr_041407 Along with praising Robinson, the Gay Straights at Sewanee thanked "the Cunninghams for their hospitality and support." Vice Chancellor Joel Cunningham will retire at the end of this academic year. He and his wife Trudy will stay on the Mountain. During his term, he successfully raised over $200,000,000, much of it from Chicago and Birmingham. Robinson's visit to the Mountain was highlighted in the Sewanee alumni magazine, Summer 2007. In the edition titled "Celebrating 150 Years of Vision and Innovation," the Episcopal innovations in morality and homosexuality were celebrated in the person of Bishop Robinson. "Also in April Robinson spoke in Guerry Auditorium before a group of students from several regional colleges as well as members of the Sewanee community. The Bishop of New Hampshire, the first openly gay Episcopal bishop, is at the center of a heated debate in the Episcopal Church on clergy and sexuality. Robinson was invited to the campus by the Gay/Straight Alliance, a student organization, as the keynote speaker for the two-day Southeastern College Summit for Human Equality." "During his presentation, Robinson talked about his embrace of the Episcopal Church while an undergraduate at Sewanee, finding it a place where he could ask many questions and seek answers." END OF PART ONE From david at virtueonline.org Fri Nov 20 17:27:34 2009 From: david at virtueonline.org (david at virtueonline.org) Date: 20 Nov 2009 18:27:34 -0500 Subject: Episcopal Priest Praises Mohammed, Vishnu, Buddha, Confucius in Liturgy Message-ID: <20091120232734.5127.qmail@virtueonline.org> ARKANSAS: Episcopal Priest Praises Mohammed, Vishnu, Buddha, Confucius in Rogue All Saints Liturgy By David W. Virtue www.virtueonline.org November 20, 2009 When parishioners filed into St. John's Episcopal Church in Harrison, Arkansas, on All Saints Sunday, November 1, they were handed a bulletin that sent shivers down the spines of many of the congregants. It was a case of inclusion gone wild. The "Litany of all the Saints of God" part of their Sunday liturgy read as follows: Litany of all the Saints of God CELEBRANT: Blessed are all you holy ones, the saints, you who have done the will of God, and now rejoice in the reward of Eternal joy. Holy men and women who worshipped the All Holy One as Rama, Vishnu or the Lord Krishna, forest hermits, ascetics and wise ones whose lives were incarnations of the holy books the Vedas, Upanishads and Gita - ALL: All you Hindu saints; we praise you for holy are you. CELEBRANT: Monks, nuns and all holy followers of the blessed Buddha, who, in the peace of Zen, created peace in others; All who sought the bliss of Nirvana with dedication and practiced justice and compassion toward all. ALL: All you Buddhist saints, we praise you for holy are you. CELEBRANT: Chosen people of God, children of Abraham and Sara, saints Moses, Ruth, and Rebeccas, holy prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah, all prophets and prophetesses, all you martyrs of Dachau and Buchenwald, ALL: All you Jewish saints we praise you for holy are you. CELEBRANT: Saints Confucius, Lao Tzu and Chaung Tzu of China, all holy men and women of the Orient, you who lived lives balancing the yin and the yang, and all who found wisdom and grace in the Tao. ALL: All you Chinese saints, we praise you for holy are you. CELEBRANT: Holy prophet Mohammed and all holy saints of Islam, all who surrender to the will of Allah: Holy Martyrs of Islam, who with your lives declared the Allah is One and only One, all you whirling dervishes and mystic Sufis, you ecstatic lovers of the divine Beloved. ALL: All you saints of the Koran, we praise you, for holy are you. CELEBRANT: All you Incas of Peru, holy Mayans and Aztecs of Mexico, all you Native children of the sun and stars, you who with creative love and sacrifice raised up wondrous temples to your God, holy followers of Lord Khonvum, God of the Pygmies, holy ones of Tane, god of the Polynesians ALL: All you saints of all tribes, we praise you for holy are you CELEBRANT: Saints of the Iroquois, Delaware, Dakotas, Hopi and Sioux, holy ones of the Cheyenne, Navajo and Pawnee, Medicine men and women, visionaries and healers, all to whom the animals, fish and trees spoke ALL: All you Native saints; we praise you, for holy are you CELEBRANT: All saints of the Lord Jesus Christ and the Gospel, holy husbands and wives, nuns and monks, clergy and missionaries and people of God, all you who lived gospel lives serving others, caring for the poor, the abandoned, and the sick; All you reformers, preachers and teachers, all you holy hermits and mystics. All you Christian saints, we praise you, for holy are you. All you saints in heaven, we praise you; all you saints on earth we praise you; all you canonized and uncanonized saints, we praise you; all you struggling to be saints, we praise you; all who are unaware that you are saints we praise you; Blessed be all you inside-out saints who are presently sinners, And blessed are all you who believe in the Communion of saints. Contacted by VirtueOnline, the rector of the parish, Seamus Doyle said that he had been using the liturgy for about 10 years. "I have never thought of sending it to the bishop for his approval or non- approval. I saw no reason to send it to him; it is not contrary to our beliefs." Asked if he had written it, Doyle said no. He said he believes that a Roman Catholic priest Fr. Edward Hays, a longtime teacher, founder of a house of prayer, and author may have written it, but he wasn't sure. VOL contacted Arkansas Bishop Larry R. Benfield to ask if this liturgy had been approved. Through his communications officer Micah McConnell the bishop issued the following statement: "I am a supporter of interfaith dialogue. I look forward to the day when the many barriers that now separate us can be removed. But interfaith dialogue works best when we are confident of our own Christian faith and can articulate it clearly." McConnell said the bishop would be in touch with the Rev. Seamus Doyle. However, a former Episcopalian who is now a bishop in the Reformed Episcopal Church, the Rt. Rev Sam Seamans who received a copy of the bulletin incredulously asked, "Can you believe this? I really am at a loss, even coming from a TEC parish. It is truly unbelievable. "I could not believe my eyes: In the litany praised are the "saints" of Islam and Allah, Buddha, Confucius, Lao Tzu, Lord Khodvum and all the Native tribes and that's just some of them. Christian Saints were finally mentioned but only in the final portion of the litany." Asked why he forwarded this to VOL, the bishop said, "I do think that we need to expose these kinds of things because they are leading so many people astray. When a parishioner hands me something like this from an "Anglican" church in my own state I am going to respond - part of what we promise to do as bishops is to drive out strange and erroneous doctrines. "In light of Ephesians 4 (one faith, one Lord, one Baptism, one God and Father of us all....), I don't know how anyone who takes the Bible seriously could recite something like this in a Christian church," said Bishop Seamans. Doyle told VOL that he had received no flack over the years for using the liturgy and said he saw no contradiction in using it. Below is the full text of the bishops' response: Regarding Prayers of the People and Litanies That Refer to Saints 19 November 2009 The liturgy is the primary method by which we teach theology in the Episcopal Church. The Book of Common Prayer makes the following statements: The Catechism (p. 862) states that the "communion of saints is the whole family of God, the living and the dead, those whom we love and those whom we hurt, bound together in Christ in sacrament, prayer, and praise". The fourth Solemn Collect for Good Friday states, "Merciful God, creator of all the peoples of the earth and lover of souls: Have compassion on all who do not know you as you are revealed in your Son Jesus Christ; let your Gospel be preached with grace and power to those who have not heard it; turn the hearts of those who resist it; and bring home to your fold those who have gone astray; that there may be one flock under one shepherd, Jesus Christ our Lord." Furthermore, the Prayer Book states that the Prayers of the People will include prayers for the "Universal Church, its members, and its mission." In light of that rubric, one of the collects for the Mission of the Church (p. 257) states, "Remember the multitudes who have been created in your image but have not known the redeeming work of our Savior Jesus Christ; and grant that, by the prayers and labors of your holy Church, they may be brought to know and worship you as you have been revealed in your Son." "I am a supporter of interfaith dialogue. I look forward to the day when the many barriers that now separate us can be removed. But interfaith dialogue works best when we are confident of our own Christian faith and can articulate it clearly." END From david at virtueonline.org Fri Nov 20 17:28:34 2009 From: david at virtueonline.org (david at virtueonline.org) Date: 20 Nov 2009 18:28:34 -0500 Subject: WASHINGTON, DC: Catholic, Episcopal Bishops Clash Over Meaning of Marriage Message-ID: <20091120232834.5147.qmail@virtueonline.org> WASHINGTON, DC: Catholic, Episcopal Bishops Clash Over Meaning of Marriage News Analysis By David W. Virtue www.virtueonline.org 11/17/2009 The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Washington and the Episcopal Bishop of Washington are at odds over same-sex marriage. Archbishop Donald W. Wuerl issued a Pastoral Message for Homosexual Catholics in the Archdiocese of Washington saying that of the many teachings of the Catholic Church, perhaps some of the most challenging for Catholics in today?s culture involve human sexuality, including homosexuality. ?Modern cultural pressures and assumptions are often at odds with the teachings of Christ handed down through the centuries. For some parishioners the issues are deeply personal. Living out the Church?s teaching can be a difficult challenge. Yet, no one needs to do this separated from the grace and love of the Church. ?It is important to affirm that the Catholic Church is and always will be welcoming of any person who seeks who seeks a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ?.The Catechism of the Catholic Church upholds the human dignity of every person and condemns any form of unjust discrimination (2358).? Episcopal Bishop John Byson Chane however announced his support for the D.C. marriage legislation. Chane gave his support for legislation legalizing same-sex marriage in the District of Columbia and made his endorsement in a column on the Web site of The Washington Post: http://tinyurl.com/yaze3xu Noting that recent media coverage has pitted conservative Christians against liberal secularists, the bishop articulated what he called a Christian case for same-sex marriage. ?I would say respectfully to my fellow Christians that people who deny others the blessings they claim for themselves should not assume they speak for the Almighty,? Chane said. ?The church has deepened its understanding of the way in which faithful couples experience and embody the love of the creator for creation. In so doing, it has put itself in a position to consider whether same-sex couples should be allowed to marry. ?Theologically, therefore, Christian support for same-sex marriage is not a dramatic break with tradition, but a recognition that the church?s understanding of marriage has changed dramatically over 2,000 years. ? Chane also praised the D.C. Council for its sensitivity to issues of religious liberty. ?t's important to emphasize that the actions taken by the D.C. Council do not address the religious meaning of marriage at all,? he wrote. ?The proposed legislation would not force any congregation to change its religious teachings or bless any couple. Our current laws do not force any denomination to offer religious blessing to second marriages, yet those marriages, like interfaith marriages, are equal in the sight of the law even though some churches do not consider them religiously valid. ?D.C.?s proposed marriage equality law explicitly protects the religious liberty of those who believe that God?s love can be reflected in the loving commitment between two people of the same sex and of those who do not find God there. This is as it should be in a society so deeply rooted in the principles of religious freedom and equality under the law.? Like many Episcopal bishops, Chane permits the clergy in his diocese to bless same-sex relationships. He said the diocese is examining the church?s canons to determine whether priests will be allowed to sign marriage licenses if same-sex marriage becomes legal. It should be observed that the Roman Catholic Archdiocese has 580,000 communicants while the Episcopal Diocese of Washington has an Average Sunday Attendance of 15,364. The diocese dropped 1.3% in attendance between 2008 and 2007. The Diocese is basically propped up financially by the Soper Fund. As one observer noted, ?The canard about divorce providing the rationale for homosexual behavior persists. Chane's citing of the 1979 Prayer Book marital rite is an archetypal example of the 'slippery slope' of theological revisionism. It is interesting that the bishop turns to a 30-year old TEC document drafted by a General Convention rather than Holy Scripture.? END From david at virtueonline.org Fri Nov 20 17:29:34 2009 From: david at virtueonline.org (david at virtueonline.org) Date: 20 Nov 2009 18:29:34 -0500 Subject: ROME: Archbishop tells Pope: there will be no turning back on women priests Message-ID: <20091120232934.5166.qmail@virtueonline.org> ROME: Archbishop tells Pope: there will be no turning back on women priests by Ruth Gledhill and Richard Owen in Rome The Times http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article6923807.ece November 20, 2009 The Archbishop of Canterbury yesterday made his most outspoken challenge to the Roman Catholic Church since the Pope invited disaffected Anglicans to switch to Rome. Speaking before he meets Benedict XVI tomorrow, Dr Rowan Williams told a conference in Rome that the Catholic Church's refusal to ordain women was a bar to Christian unity. "For many Anglicans, not ordaining women has a possible unwelcome implication about the difference between baptised men and baptised women," he said. The Anglican provinces that ordain women had retained rather than lost their Catholic holiness and sacramentalism, he said. Addressing an ecumenical conference at the Gregorian Pontifical University, the Archbishop said that the way Anglican leaders dealt with internal arguments offered lessons for senior Catholics. "Is it nonsense to think that holding on to a limited but real common life might be worth working for within the Anglican family? And if it can be managed within the Anglican family, is this a possible model for the wider ecumenical scene?" The ordination of women priests - and the prospect of women bishops - is one of the main reasons why disaffected Anglicans may take up the Pope's offer of a "Church within a Church" that would enable them to retain traditional Anglican practices within the Catholic faith. But yesterday the Archbishop made clear that there would be no turning back the clock on women priests in order to appease critics. He dismissed the Pope's offer to disaffected Anglicans as barely more than a "pastoral response", which broke little new ground in relations between the two Churches. Dr Williams said: "It does not build in any formal recognition of existing ministries or methods of independent decision-making, but remains at the level of spiritual and liturgical culture. "As such, it is an imaginative pastoral response to the needs of some; but it does not break any fresh ecclesiological ground," he told the meeting of senior priests, bishops and cardinals. Dr Williams put the row over the apostolic constitution, as the Pope's plan is known, into the context of a centuries-old debate about reuniting the Christian Churches. He questioned whether unity talks should even continue if disagreements over issues such as papal primacy had no hope ever of being resolved. "I want to propose that we now need urgent clarification of whether these continuing points of tension imply in any way that the substantive theological convergence is less solid than it appears, so that we must still hold back from fuller levels of recognition of ministries or fuller sacramental fellowship," he said. But he went on to argue that if there was hope that such issues could be resolved, the Churches could begin to talk about converging their structures of administration and governance, and seeking "sacramental" fellowship. The speech laid the ground for a frank encounter behind closed doors with the Pope, the highlight of Dr Williams's Rome trip. With tensions surfacing behind the scenes at the Holy See, Dr Williams is expected to discuss the Pope's visit to Britain next autumn, including whether it should be accorded the status of a pastoral or State visit. If it were the latter, it would be the first state visit by a Pope to Britain and he would be the guest of the Queen, who is Supreme Governor of the Church of England. The Archbishop's private audience today will be preceded by meetings with the senior Vatican officials Cardinal Walter Kasper, head of the Pontifical Council for Christian Unity, and Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, head of the Pontifical Council for Inter-Religious Dialogue. He will also attend a dinner in his honour given by Francis Campbell, the British Ambassador to the Holy See. Dr Williams will preside at vespers this evening at the Oratory of St Frances Xavier, known as the Caravita church, in the centre of Rome. Cardinal Kasper was not involved in the formulation of the Pope's opening to disaffected Anglicans, which was drawn up by the more hardline Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and some of his staff have been dismayed by its impact on ecumenical dialogue. END From david at virtueonline.org Fri Nov 20 17:30:34 2009 From: david at virtueonline.org (david at virtueonline.org) Date: 20 Nov 2009 18:30:34 -0500 Subject: The Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth:Parishes file Plea in Intervention Message-ID: <20091120233034.5227.qmail@virtueonline.org> The Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth:Parishes file Plea in Intervention November, 19, 2009 Forty seven parishes and missions of the diocese have filed a Plea in Intervention in the lawsuit against the diocese that is currently before the 141st District Court. Collectively, the 47 churches are termed the "Intervening Congregations." The plea asks the court to acknowledge through a declaratory judgment that, "in accordance with the Constitution and Canons of the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth, the title to the real property being occupied and subject to the control of Intervening Congregations is held by the Corporation of the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth in trust for the use and benefit of each Intervening Congregation" and that this trust relationship is superior to any other claims. Further, because certain plaintiffs in the original suit, as well as third-party defendants, have "asserted and/or are asserting claims to the title of real property that are inconsistent with the express provisions of the Constitution and Canons of the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth and adverse to the beneficial ownership interests of the Intervening Congregations," making the plea filing necessary, the plea asks that the congregations' legal costs be reimbursed by those parties. Consideration of the plea will not occur until the stay of proceedings issued Monday, Nov. 16, by the Fort Worth Appellate Court is lifted. Read the Plea in Intervention filing here: http://www.fwepiscopal.org/downloads/origPleainIntervention.pdf From david at virtueonline.org Fri Nov 20 17:31:34 2009 From: david at virtueonline.org (david at virtueonline.org) Date: 20 Nov 2009 18:31:34 -0500 Subject: FT. WORTH: Appellate court issues stay in response to Mandamus filing Message-ID: <20091120233134.5252.qmail@virtueonline.org> FT. WORTH: Appellate court issues stay in response to Mandamus filing Stay buys time for Bishop Jack Iker http://www.fwepiscopal.org/news/courtordersstay.html Nov. 17, 2009 The Fort Worth Court of Appeals has ordered the suspension of further proceedings in a suit brought against the diocese last April. The stay was issued late on Monday, Nov. 16, in response to a Petition for Writ of Mandamus filed by the diocese on Friday, Nov. 13. The suit is pending before the 141st District Court. The Hon. John P. Chupp is the trial judge. Monday's order, issued by the Court of Appeals for the Second District of Texas, says, "The court has considered relators' petition for writ of madamus and motion for stay and is of the tentative opinion that relators are entitled to relief or that a serious question concerning the relief requires further consideration." The order sets a deadline of 5 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 30, for any response to be filed by parties of interest, who could include Judge Chupp and attorneys Jonathan Nelson and Kathleen Wells. The stay is in effect until the Court of Appeals issues a decision. The petition filed Friday in the appellate court is a method of remedying an error of the trial court. In August a Rule 12 motion was filed by attorney Shelby Sharpe on behalf of the diocese, asking the court to prohibit plaintiffs' attorneys Nelson and Wells from representing any entity named The Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth or the Corporation of the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth and to remove those entities as plaintiffs in the suit. Hearings on the Rule 12 motion were held before Judge Chupp on Sept. 7 and Sept. 16. Judge Chupp ruled on Sept. 16 that Nelson and Wells could not represent the diocese associated with Bishop Jack Leo Iker. He declined, however, to find that there is only one Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth and one diocesan Corporation, even though the plaintiffs themselves asserted as much in their original filing last April. Friday's petition asked the appellate court to order Judge Chupp to grant the defendants' Rule 12 motion in its original form. The petition summarized the issue with the question, "Do the Plaintiffs' counsel have authority to bring suit on behalf of the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth?" and argued that the plaintiff Diocese and Corporation should be dismissed from the case. Such a conclusion would not end the suit itself, but it would prevent the diocese from appearing to sue itself, a situation which is not supportable in law. A petition for writ of mandamus (literally, a request for a written command from a higher court) was filed because an ordinary appeal is not an adequate remedy to correct a trial court's error on a Rule 12 motion. Friday's petition asked the appellate court to require Judge Chupp to find that Nelson and Wells have no authority to represent the diocese and corporation, but that they may represent the individuals claiming to hold office in those entities. Because they represent a minority segment of the diocese which chose to remain aligned under The Episcopal Church, the petition would clarify the clients' status as leaders of "the diocesan minority." At the request of lead attorney Shelby Sharpe, the petition was prepared for the diocese and the diocesan corporation by Scott A. Brister, who retired in September from Place 9 on the Texas State Supreme Court to return to private practice and has joined Sharpe in the defense of the suit. Justice Brister was appointed to the court in November 2003 and subsequently elected for a full term. A Waco native and graduate of Harvard Law School, he has served on the bench in Texas since 1989. He is co-author of the reference book Texas Pretrial Practice. Read the Appellate Court order (pdf) Read the Petition for Writ of Mandamus (PDF) http://www.fwepiscopal.org/news/courtordersstay.html From david at virtueonline.org Fri Nov 20 17:32:34 2009 From: david at virtueonline.org (david at virtueonline.org) Date: 20 Nov 2009 18:32:34 -0500 Subject: Rowan Williams urges Rome to rethink position on female bishops Message-ID: <20091120233234.5298.qmail@virtueonline.org> Rowan Williams urges Rome to rethink position on female bishops By Riazat Butt and John Hooper in Rome guardian.co.uk November 19, 2009 The archbishop of Canterbury today pleaded with Roman Catholics to set aside their differences with Anglicans over the issue of female bishops, insisting there was more uniting the denominations than dividing them. Rowan Williams was giving a lecture in Rome before Sunday's meeting with the pope, their first encounter since the Vatican's surprise announcement of a special institution for traditionalist Anglicans wanting to convert to Catholicism. In his address at the Gregorian University, Williams said the Anglican communion was proof that churches could stay together in spite of their differences. The communion has teetered on the edge of schism for nearly a decade over the issue of gay clergy but has retained a sliver of fellowship. Williams urged Roman Catholics to continue their 35-year dialogue with Anglicans in spite of theological and ideological divisions. He said: "The various agreed statements of the churches stress that the church is a community, in which human beings are made sons and daughters of God. "When so much agreement has been established in first-order matters about the identity and mission of the church, is it justifiable to treat other issues as equally vital for its health and integrity?" Those issues included papal primacy, female clergy and the relations between the local and universal church in making decisions. "Is there a level of mutual recognition which allows a shared theological understanding of primacy alongside a diversity of canonical and juridical arrangements?" he wondered Williams challenged Roman Catholic thinking on female bishops, saying there was no proof that their ordination damaged the church. For his part the "ecumenical glass" was "genuinely half-full". Catholics and Anglicans had achieved "striking" agreement on the broader questions. All that stood between them now were the "second order" issues of church organisation. In an explicit but fleeting reference to the pope's move last month, Williams said it was an "imaginative pastoral response, but did not break any new ecclesiological ground." His speech was aimed at reviving dialogue between Anglicans and Catholics. But it also carried an implicit threat that there would be little point in continuing if the Catholic side continued to insist that the obstacles were insuperable. Williams said: "The question is whether this unfinished business is quite as fundamental as our Roman Catholic friends believe." He seemed tense, biting the sides of his fingers while he listened to the speaker who followed. His anxiety is understandable. Bishop Brian Farrell, the secretary of the Vatican department that deals with ecumenical dialogue, told him: "You have certainly presented us with a challenge." END From david at virtueonline.org Fri Nov 20 17:33:34 2009 From: david at virtueonline.org (david at virtueonline.org) Date: 20 Nov 2009 18:33:34 -0500 Subject: Two Fort Worth Bodies Tout New Unanimity Message-ID: <20091120233334.5322.qmail@virtueonline.org> Two Fort Worth Bodies Tout New Unanimity http://tinyurl.com/ylczrja November 17, 2009 Now that the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth and the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth (Southern Cone) are separate entities, they are both reporting unanimous decisions by their respective legislative bodies. The decisions move the dioceses away from one another and toward their respective theological commitments. The convention of the diocese remaining with the Episcopal Church voted unanimously Nov. 14 to: * Call the Rt. Rev. Wallis C. Ohl as its next provisional bishop. Bishop Ohl succeeds the Rt. Rev. Edwin "Ted" Gulick, who has served as the provisional bishop for 10 months. * Pledge 21 percent of the diocese's operating budget to the wider Episcopal Church. The diocese expects a budget of about $600,000. Delegates also voted to make diocesan constitution and canons conform to those of the Episcopal Church, and declared that the 47 parishes that left the Episcopal Church with the Rt. Rev. Jack Leo Iker are not compliant with the Episcopal Church's canon law. Of those 47 parishes, 13 have reorganized to remain in the Episcopal Church's diocese. Bishop Gulick ordained the diocese's first female priest, the Rev. Susan Slaughter, 67, on Nov. 15. Bishop Ohl installed the newly ordained priest as rector of St. Luke's in the Meadow Episcopal Church in Keller, a suburb north of Fort Worth. The ordination prompted letters of congratulations from Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori and from Bonnie Anderson, president of the House of Deputies. The Episcopal Diocese of Forth Worth (Southern Cone) unanimously agreed Nov. 6 and 7 to: * Accede to the constitution and canons of the Anglican Church in North America, while also remaining a member diocese of the Province of the Southern Cone, based in Buenos Aires. * Adopt the proposed Anglican Communion covenant. * Express its intention to work toward "full, visible, and sacramental unity" with the Orthodox Church in America. * Dissolve its relations with Trinity, Fort Worth; St. Martin's, Keller; and St. Luke's, Stephenville. Bishop Iker, with the consent of the Standing Committee, already had released all property to the rectors and vestries of those congregations. * Praise both Bishop Iker and the Most Rev. Kevin Vann, Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Fort Worth, for their friendship and efforts for unity between their dioceses. The same resolution praised Pope Benedict XVI for the Vatican's expanded welcoming of sojourning Anglicans. * Authorize Bishop Iker to welcome more affiliating parishes of the diocese. Both dioceses are contending for parish properties in a lawsuit in the 141st District Court in Fort Worth. On Nov. 16, the Court of Appeals for the Second District of Texas ordered suspension of further proceedings until it issues an opinion. From david at virtueonline.org Fri Nov 20 17:34:35 2009 From: david at virtueonline.org (david at virtueonline.org) Date: 20 Nov 2009 18:34:35 -0500 Subject: BETHLEHEM: Bishop gives permission for same-gender blessings Message-ID: <20091120233435.5344.qmail@virtueonline.org> BETHLEHEM: Bishop gives permission for same-gender blessings By Mary Frances Schjonberg, November 17, 2009 Episcopal News Service Episcopal Diocese of Bethlehem Bishop Paul Marshall said Nov. 16 that he has established "interim measures" to allow clergy to bless same-gender relationships. Marshall's letter to his clergy is available here. http://tinyurl.com/ydntsc2 "I am not generally broadcasting this decision yet (although I suspect the word will be quickly out) because it is up to the clergy of a place to decide if they are interested, and then to take it up within the parish system," Marshall wrote in his letter. The bishop wrote that clergy must tell him about their decision to bless same-gender unions, along with assuring him that "at least a substantial number of the vestry are in agreement, or at the very least understand what is involved with the rector or priest-in-charge's decision in making this change ... how (or whether) you are communicating this decision to the parish." He said that "it is not usually appropriate for interim or supply clergy to lead such a change." Marshall also said that same-gender couples must receive pre-marital counseling, divorced people must receive his permission to enter into such a union and that at least one person in the relationship must be baptized. All of those requirements are expected of heterosexual couples. For same-gender couples who have been "legally joined in another state" either through marriage or civil union, Marshall said the Book of Common Prayer's Blessing of a Civil Marriage rite should be used. For those not united through a civil ceremony, Marshall said clergy should use a rite developed by the Diocese of Washington. The bishop of that diocese, John Chane, said Nov. 16 that he favored legislation pending before the Washington, D.C. Council to legalize same-gender marriage. Marshall added a caveat to his permission. "People whose unions are blessed need to understand that in Pennsylvania they are not married, and that your holding yourself out as doing a 'marriage' without a license to perform it is a legal offense," he wrote. "So, all questions of theology aside, it is best to avoid the word in this Commonwealth and at this time." Marshall limited his permission to perform such blessings to parish clergy of the congregation and noted that "ordinarily, a bishop presides when one of the parties being joined is a priest or deacon." The Episcopal Church's General Convention last July passed Resolution C056, saying that bishops, "particularly those in dioceses within civil jurisdictions where same-gender marriage, civil unions, or domestic partnerships are legal, may provide generous pastoral response to meet the needs of members of this church." The resolution also called for the collection and development of theological and liturgical resources for blessing same-gender unions. -- The Rev. Mary Frances Schjonberg is national correspondent for the Episcopal News Service. From david at virtueonline.org Fri Nov 20 17:35:35 2009 From: david at virtueonline.org (david at virtueonline.org) Date: 20 Nov 2009 18:35:35 -0500 Subject: NY: Bishop Christopher Epting comments on the Vatican's Apostolic Constitution Message-ID: <20091120233535.5385.qmail@virtueonline.org> NEW YORK: Bishop Christopher Epting comments on the Vatican's Apostolic Constitution November 16, 2009 Bishop Christopher Epting, Deputy for Ecumenical and Interreligious Relations of The Episcopal Church, has issued the following: Now that the full text of the Vatican's "Apostolic Constitution" dealing with certain former Anglicans who wish to become Roman Catholics has been released, it is clear that what is being touted by some as an 'ecumenical gesture' may be understood as 'pastoral' but is not necessarily very ecumenical. Even though Cardinal Walter Kasper has now given one newspaper interview, there has otherwise been a noticeable silence on the part of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity on this matter. This appears to be a unilateral action on the part of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith which flies in the face of the slow, but steady progress made in the real ecumenical dialogue of over forty years. This is "come home to Rome" with absolute clarity. Any former Anglican who has been ordained will not only have to be re-ordained as a priest in the Roman Catholic Church, not only re-ordained as a transitional deacon, but even re-confirmed as an adult member of the Body of Christ. Any one who does make this move is not an Anglican, nor an Anglo-Catholic, but a Roman Catholic convert. As we have said on numerous occasions, we commend with our blessing any Anglican who in good conscience wishes to become a Roman Catholic just as we welcome any Roman Catholic who in good conscience wishes to enter into full communion with the Anglican Communion. But these decisions are to be made as individuals not as communities of persons. The Vatican may rest assured that we will never create "Roman Catholic Ordinariates" within the Anglican Communion for former, disaffected Roman Catholic converts. We will continue to welcome individuals, from the Roman Catholic Church or any other Christian communion, who desire to be in full communion with the See of Canterbury, and therefore with the Anglican Communion. For our part, The Episcopal Church remains committed to genuine, ecumenical dialogue both on the national (Anglican - Roman Catholic Consultation in the USA) and international (Anglican - Roman Catholic International Commission) levels. We are encouraged by Cardinal Walter Kasper's comment in Osservatore Romano on November 15 that these will, of course, continue. The recent "Apostolic Constitution" is a distraction, but likely only a minor one, from the real goal of ecumenical conversation between the largest (Roman Catholic) and third largest (Anglican) Christian communion in the world. ---Bishop Christopher Epting is Deputy for Ecumenical and Interreligious Relations for The Episcopal Church From david at virtueonline.org Fri Nov 20 17:36:35 2009 From: david at virtueonline.org (david at virtueonline.org) Date: 20 Nov 2009 18:36:35 -0500 Subject: REFORM Group Blasts Revision Committee on Women Bishops Message-ID: <20091120233635.5403.qmail@virtueonline.org> UK: REFORM Group Blasts Revision Committee on Women Bishops Overlooked Evangelicals could move to alternative Anglican affiliations by Paul Dawson November 16, 2009 Reform regrets a 'lost opportunity for peace and unity' over Revision Committee's decision on Women Bishops The decision of the General Synod's Revision Committee to back away from proposals to give opponents of women bishops a way of staying in the Church of England has "overturned the will of Synod, created the spectre of confrontation, and risks extending the controversy for another five years," according to the chairman of Reform, the Rev'd Rod Thomas. Responding to the announcement made on Saturday 14th November that the Revision Committee had failed to approve the transfer of jurisdiction from female to male bishops where parishes could not accept their oversight, Rod Thomas said: "At last February's General Synod there was a clear desire to provide legislative safeguards for those who could not, in conscience, accept the oversight of women bishops. This has now been overturned by the Revision Committee. Whereas there was a prospect of agreement, the Revision Committee has now set the General Synod on a course of confrontation. It has served the Church badly. "There has been much speculation about Anglo-Catholics leaving the Church of England for Rome. What has been overlooked is the number of large evangelical churches which the Church of England now risks losing - not to Rome, but to independence or alternative Anglican affiliations. "Within the General Synod there will be many who will be deeply unhappy at the bullying tactics being used to dismiss opponents of the proposed new legislation. Some evangelicals who do support the introduction of women bishops will nevertheless vote against proposals which have the effect of excluding other evangelicals. This means that by the time the proposals have finished their tortuous progress through the General Synod, they will be likely to fail, since they will be unable to garner the two thirds majority support needed. "It may be that in the providence of God, the result of the Revision Committee's decision may be the reverse of what they intend: that this unbiblical move to put women in positions of headship in the church will fail. Reform will now renew its commitment to work towards this outcome." ---The Revd Paul Dawson is Reform Media Officer. He can be reached at media at reform.org.uk From david at virtueonline.org Fri Nov 20 17:37:35 2009 From: david at virtueonline.org (david at virtueonline.org) Date: 20 Nov 2009 18:37:35 -0500 Subject: ST. CATHARINES, ON: ACNA Archbishop Duncan on the Anglican Schism Message-ID: <20091120233735.5441.qmail@virtueonline.org> ST. CATHARINES, ON: ACNA Archbishop Duncan on the Anglican Schism By Charles Lewis, National Post http://www.nationalpost.com/ November 15th, 2009 Archbishop Robert Duncan rejects the term "breakaway" to describe the faction of orthodox Anglicans he now leads. He argues, instead, that the more than 700 orthodox Anglican parishes in Canada and the United States that have left their national churches behind represent where the vast majority of Anglicans in the world are - and where the rest of the Anglicans will soon be. Archbishop Duncan, visiting Canada last week for the first time since he became head of the Anglican Church of North America (ACNA), the first Anglican jurisdiction that crosses national boundaries, earlier this year, says it is the national churches in Canada and the United States - the Anglican Church of Canada and the Episcopal Church USA - that are the real schismatics, trading in the Bible and orthodoxy for a trendy form of Christianity that is trying to be popular instead of faithful. Those institutions have "turned so far to the left" they are now on the road to virtual oblivion, he said, pointing to such innovations as the blessing of same-sex marriage. "They'll become irrelevancies," he said during an interview with the National Post. "People who are looking for a saviour who can save. They are really looking for how they can shape their lives and what they can trust in. And what the are offering is Jesus lite. Folks don't need a Jesus lite." The group faces a series of ugly court battles with the respective national churches over who owns church property. It will likely mean that many conservative Anglicans will have to leave behind church buildings their families attended for generations. But Archbishop Duncan, who is based in Pittsburgh, said in the end it will be the conservatives that will win. "People will turn to what's true," he said while attending an ACNA synod in St. Catharines. "And we'll have the souls and they'll get the stuff. We'll get the future, they'll get the past. I'd rather have the souls and the future." He believes that what is going on in Anglicanism right now is nothing short of a new Reformation, similar to what Luther kicked off in Germany five hundred years ago. For the Anglican Church worldwide, he said, it will be mean a complete shift in orientation away from Canterbury, the historical spiritual home of Anglicanism, to Africa, the faith's new spiritual home. "In the year 2000 the Archbishop of Canterbury was second most important Christian leader in the world. In a short space of time that office has utterly been diminished. It shows that the British model of Anglicanism has failed." He fully expects either a new "Canterbury" to emerge in Africa, or that the old seat of Anglicanism will remain where it is, but future archbishops will come from the Global South - and be black and brown. Last week, Rowan Williams, the present Archbishop of Canterbury, said that the future of the worldwide Anglican Church looked chaotic and uncertain. He was reacting specifically to an invitation by Pope Benedict that was made to disaffected Anglicans to join the Roman Catholic Church. Many conservative Anglicans feel that Pope Benedict would not have made the offer if the structure was not already weakened. Archbishop Duncan, however, said he appreciated the gesture by the Pope because it was an acknowledgement that orthodox Anglicanism is a legitimate part of the ancient Church. He made it clear that ACNA wants to remain faithful to Anglicanism but there will be a small minority of Anglicans with Catholic leanings that will seek a home in Rome. He also noted that the Anglicanism of the future could learn from the Catholic Church. "In the 20th century they began to rise to true global leadership. They made extraordinary choices in John Paul II and Benedict who are building a Church for the future. The British system has not produced leaders as capable." END From david at virtueonline.org Fri Nov 20 17:38:35 2009 From: david at virtueonline.org (david at virtueonline.org) Date: 20 Nov 2009 18:38:35 -0500 Subject: SAN DIEGO: Superior Court Rules in Favor of Episcopal Diocese Message-ID: <20091120233835.5459.qmail@virtueonline.org> SAN DIEGO: Superior Court Rules in Favor of Episcopal Diocese Diocesan Release and Response Submitted by David W. Virtue www.virtueonline.org November 13, 2009 The San Diego Superior Court ruled in favor of the Episcopal Diocese of San Diego on Tuesday, November 10 in a property dispute involving the congregations of two churches that claimed to leave the Episcopal Church, taking church property with them. The dissenting congregations in the San Diego Diocese were members of St. Anne's in Oceanside and Holy Trinity in Ocean Beach. In January 2006 and September 2006 respectively, leaders of these congregations renounced their membership in the Episcopal Church and aligned themselves instead with a foreign diocese. Since then, the breakaway congregations have been engaged in a dispute with the Diocese of San Diego about who is the rightful owner of church property. Tuesday's ruling follows recent appellate opinions and confirms the Right Reverend James R. Mathes' conviction that parish property cannot be taken away from the larger church by departing members. "While I know this comes as a hard decision for the members of these dissenting congregations, this is also an opportunity for reconciliation and renewal" said the Bishop Mathes. "We are eager to welcome these individuals back into the Episcopal Church. There is no need for anyone to change their place of worship. We will celebrate the same service from the same prayer book at the same altar." "This decision follows all other major decisions regarding property in a hierarchical church," added Bishop Mathes. "The Diocese of San Diego is grateful to conclude this necessary but painful season." "This decision reaffirms the principle that the property of an Episcopal congregation must be used to further the mission and ministry of the Episcopal Church," said Baker & McKenzie partner, Charles H. Dick, Chancellor of the Diocese and its attorney in the property litigations. "People should be free to leave the Episcopal Church if they wish, but they cannot take the property of the Episcopal Church with them when they depart." The Rev Joe Rees, rector of the parish told VOL, "We are of course disappointed but in faithfulness to our Lord Jesus Christ we are moving forward in preparation for the growth that this will give our parish. "It's amazing what happens when the Lord liberates His people from the oppression of the Evil One. We are a community of believers in Jesus Christ, and His Word and its authority over our lives. We are not buildings and grounds. We are the living Body of Christ and we represent Him to the world to bring them His salvation." ***** SAN DIEGO: Oceanside congregation loses legal battle with Episcopal Church Court rules St. Anne's doesn't own property on West Street By PAUL SISSON http://www.nctimes.com/news/local/oceanside/article_25d614da-28b6-50a0-ae49-2c5a8d0db8cf.html November 13, 2009 Sunday's sermon at St. Anne's Anglican Church in Oceanside will be about "standing on the authority of God's word" in light of a recent court ruling that could force the congregation to find a new home. Father Joe Rees, rector of the church at 701 West St. near the former Ditmar Elementary School, said he and his parishioners are still praying about a ruling handed down by San Diego Superior Court Judge Steven Denton on Tuesday. The tentative ruling found that the Episcopal Diocese of San Diego is the true owner of the Oceanside church building and grounds, as well as property inhabited by another Anglican congregation in Ocean Beach. Both congregations left the Episcopal Diocese in 2006 and changed denominations. It is the latest legal victory for the Episcopal Church, which has seen many individual congregations and four dioceses nationwide break away in disagreement over several decisions made by church leadership, including the ordination of the faith's first openly gay bishop in 2003. In his Nov. 10 ruling, Judge Denton wrote that once St. Anne's congregation changed denominations, the Oceanside property "reverted to the national church." The judge based his ruling in large part on a pair of appellate court decisions that found for the dioceses of other formerly Episcopalian churches earlier this year. Denton wrote that it was undisputed that both the Oceanside and Ocean Beach parishes agreed "from the beginning of their existence to be part of a greater denominational church and to be bound by that greater church's governing instruments. "Those instruments make it clear that a local parish owns local church property in trust for the greater church and may use that property only so long as the local church remains part of the greater church," he continued. Rees said St. Anne's congregation has not yet decided whether to appeal the ruling. He said a church meeting on the matter is scheduled for Sunday. "We have a heart to do what is right in accordance with what the secular courts are saying. Perhaps we will just walk away, but we'll see what the Lord says on Sunday," Rees said. The Right Rev. James Mathes, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of San Diego, said Friday that he is praying the current members of St. Anne's will rejoin the Episcopal Church. "'Come home' is my clarion call to them," Mathes said. Rees said that he believes "99.9 percent" of St. Anne's membership ---- about 225 adult worshipers ---- are unwilling to return, given their continued reservations over the church's doctrine. Perhaps the biggest disagreement is about the specific divinity of Jesus Christ. "In the end, it's about the authority of holy Scripture. What do we believe as Christians?" Rees said. If St. Anne's members do not return, Mathes said they will be expected to find a new place to worship, though no deadline has been set. "We have an Episcopal church to rebuild on West Street in Oceanside, and that's the work we will undertake," Mathes said. He added that he expects former Episcopalians who left when the church changed denominations will return, though he said he did not know precisely how many departed. "Jesus started with 12, so I think the number is irrelevant," Mathes said. END From david at virtueonline.org Fri Nov 20 17:39:35 2009 From: david at virtueonline.org (david at virtueonline.org) Date: 20 Nov 2009 18:39:35 -0500 Subject: SCRANTON: Closed churches to be taxed Message-ID: <20091120233935.5473.qmail@virtueonline.org> SCRANTON: Closed churches to be taxed Diocese of Scranton will feel most impact by plan to take effect next year. By Jennifer Learn-Andes Luzerne County Reporter http://www.timesleader.com/news/Closed_churchs_to_be_taxed_11-07-2009.html November 7, 2009 Closed churches and religious schools will likely be taxed in Luzerne County next year, county Assessment Director Tony Alu said Friday. Although this applies to any religion, the impact would essentially be felt by the Diocese of Scranton, which has already started implementing a plan to close some schools and half of the 90 churches in Luzerne County. Alu said he recently learned that several other counties already started taxing closed churches and religious schools, maintaining that their closure no longer qualifies them for tax-exempt status. Luzerne County's Board of Assessment Appeals gave Alu the green light to proceed with the taxation plan, he said. The law says all churches or "actual places of regularly stated religious worship" should be exempt, but Alu said this condition isn't met when there is no regular worship. "We're trying to follow the letter of the law," Alu said. Scranton Diocese spokesman William Genello could not be reached for comment for this story. The Diocese of Allentown has filed court challenges contesting the taxation of shuttered churches and schools in Northampton and Carbon counties. The diocese argues that the buildings should be exempt under a different part of the law forgiving taxes on public charities. The Allentown Diocese resorted to court challenges after its requests for continued tax exemption were denied by assessment appeals boards in both counties. The diocese also argues that the assessments are too high. Taxation of Luzerne County's closed churches and schools will likely prompt a debate over the appropriate values of these buildings, Alu said. The amount of taxes that would have to be paid has not been calculated, Alu said. He instructed his staff to start identifying impacted properties. The Transfiguration School in West Hazleton is one example of a building that would now be taxed by the county. The school, which closed in the summer of 2006, is assessed at $1.166 million, county assessment records show. School, county and local taxes would be $17,589 based on this year's tax rates. The Sacred Heart Church in Plains Township, which closed in July, was originally assessed at $543,500, but the value was reduced to $85,500 after an assessment appeal. Property taxes would be about $1,807. The Ss. Peter and Paul Church in Hazleton, which recently closed, is assessed at $689,600, which would equate to $10,401 in property taxes. Alu said the Scranton Diocese will have ample opportunity to argue why properties should remain exempt during assessment appeal hearings. County appeal board rulings would still take effect if the diocese went to the next level of filing a court challenge, but the taxing bodies must refund overpayments if an assessment reduction or tax-exempt status is granted in court. Carbon County Chief Assessor Kim Steigerwalt said she was surprised that the taxation of closed religious buildings did not create a stir in her county. A total 24 church properties in five municipalities were added to the rolls - 11 churches, six vacant lots, a social hall, two schools and four rectories. Alu said vacant lots or parking lots may also be taxed in Luzerne County if the churches are closed. Parking lots are not currently taxed because the county historically considered them part of the church, Alu said. Church-owned living quarters for a reverend are already partially taxed, Alu said. The land is taxed in full, but only 10 percent of the building portion of the assessment is taxed, he said. Full taxation will be considered if the church is closed and a reverend no longer lives there, he said. "We're trying to be fair. Others have to pay more when we don't tax something that should be put on the tax rolls," Alu said. END From david at virtueonline.org Fri Nov 20 17:40:35 2009 From: david at virtueonline.org (david at virtueonline.org) Date: 20 Nov 2009 18:40:35 -0500 Subject: ENGLAND: Snub to traditionalists over women bishops Message-ID: <20091120234035.5548.qmail@virtueonline.org> ENGLAND: Snub to traditionalists over women bishops By Jonathan Wynne Jones, The Telegraph http://www.anglican-mainstream.net/?p=18000#more-18000 November 15th, 2009 Traditionalist clerics in the Church of England have been delivered a major snub after a compromise deal over women bishops was rejected. Anglo catholics and evangelicals had hoped the church would appoint dedicated male bishops to oversee them. But yesterday the Church's committee tasked with looking at the proposal failed to back the idea. The move is likely to spark an exodus of clergy who have warned previously that they would leave the Church if they were not given safeguards to protect their beliefs. One leading traditionalist described the decision was "a great piece of wickedness" which forces people out of the church. However, supporters of women bishops welcomed it as "wonderful news". The issue of women bishops has bitterly divided the church since 2006 when the General Synod voted to remove obstacles to their introduction. Earlier this year, a committee was appointed to find a way to introduce the move without causing traditionalists to leave. Last month, the committee came up with the plan to appoint special male bishops to minister to traditional parishes. But the compromise was greeted with fury by many within the church who said it would mean that women bishops might not have complete control over their entire dioceses. The committee has since been unable to agree on any compromise deal and will instead recommend to the General Synod, that the Church should proceed with appointing women bishops on the same terms as their male counterparts. Although individual bishops could still make special provision for traditional clergy there will be no guarantee that their wishes will be catered for. The decision could shatter Dr Rowan Williams' hopes of preserving the unity of the church. Following the Pope's offer to disaffected Anglicans to convert to Roman Catholicism, traditionalists had said that they would wait for the Church of England to finalise plans over women bishops before making up their minds. Fr David Houlding, a member of the Archbishops' council and a leading traditionalist, said many would now leave. "This is a great piece of wickedness," he said. "The committee knew what was needed and have refused to provide something that will hold the Church together. "This forces people out of the Church who otherwise would have stayed. We didn't want to go to Rome, but now have been left with no choice." He added: "But this is not just about people leaving, but about the destruction of the character and identity of the Church." Christina Rees, chair of the group Women and the Church, said that the plans showed the Church was committed to equal treatment. "This is wonderful news. It's a major breakthrough as it expresses the view that men and women are equal in the sight of God," she said. "I'm glad that we have not ended up with a political compromise and the committee has instead ceded to the will of the people." END From david at virtueonline.org Fri Nov 20 17:41:35 2009 From: david at virtueonline.org (david at virtueonline.org) Date: 20 Nov 2009 18:41:35 -0500 Subject: Apostasy and Blasphemy in Islam: What should Christians Do? Message-ID: <20091120234135.5570.qmail@virtueonline.org> Apostasy and Blasphemy in Islam: What should Christians Do? By Michael Nazir-Ali November 20, 2009 The Qur'an is fierce in its condemnation of apostasy (ridda) and of the apostate (murtadd). Theirs, according to it, will be a dreadful penalty ('adhbun 'azmun). This sentiment, which occurs in Sura 16:106, is re-expressed in other ways in other suras (chapters of the Qur'an). The interesting point to note is that the various threats of judgement and of punishment seem to relate to the next world or to life after this earthly one, rather than to this world and to this life. Against this, we have the unanimous position of the various schools of Islamic law (fiqh) that shari'a lays down the death penalty for adult male Muslims in possession of their faculties who apostatise. Some schools also prescribe a similar punishment for women, whilst others hold that a woman apostate should be imprisoned until she recants and returns to Islam. In addition to this, should an apostate somehow escape the ultimate penalty, his property becomes fai', i.e. it becomes the property of the Muslim community, which may hand it over to his heirs; his marriage is automatically dissolved and he is denied Muslim burial. How then did such a major difference arise between the prima face teaching of the Qur'an and the provisions of shari'a as codified by the various schools of law? The answer is that the death penalty for apostasy is to be found in the hadith, the various collections of traditions about the Prophet of Islam's sayings and doings, and it is also found in the sunna of Muhammad and of his closest companions, the reports about their practice. Commentators on the Qur'an, both ancient and modern, sensing this tension, have attempted to find passages that could be interpreted as teaching the death penalty for apostates. Thus 2:217, which speaks of the barrenness of an apostate's life and work, in both this world and the next, is interpreted as meaning that apostates will be punished both in this world and in the next. Similarly, passages such as 4:88-89 are taken as justification for inflicting capital punishment on apostates. On the other hand, there are those who take as their point of departure the Qur'anic silence on penalties in this world for apostasy. They either minimise the force of the traditions that require it or reject them altogether. It is said, for example, that the traditions that speak of the death penalty for apostates are weakly attested or from an unreliable source. If they contradict the Qur'an they are to be rejected as an accurate account of what Muhammad may have said. They are also to be rejected if they do not cohere with other accounts of his behaviour or speech. Others point to the supposed practice of the second Caliph 'Umar, who disliked the extreme penalty for apostasy and was followed in this by some of the early fuqaha or lawyers. More recently, this view has gained currency in some circles close to Al-Azhar As-Sharif, the premier place for Sunni learning, located in Cairo, Egypt. According to these scholars, the traditional time given to an apostate to repent must be extended to the whole of his life. Many scholars claim that the punishment for apostasy in the time of the Prophet and of his Companions arose because rejection of the Islamic faith was linked to rebellion against the nascent Islamic state. So the punishment was not so much for apostasy as for treason. The well-known scholar, Sheikh Qaradawi, whose opinions are widely studied and followed, relying on the medieval jurist and reformer Ibn Tamiyya, distinguishes between the greater and the lesser apostasy. The lesser apostate, whilst being subject to civil penalties, would not be put to death but those who proclaim their apostasy, thus destabilising Islam and the Muslim umma (or nation), would be. This may be a useful distinction to make but is hardly a manifesto for freedom of expression or of belief. Although apostasy is punishable by death in only a few countries, such as Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Sudan (Iran seems to be drawing back from putting it on the statute book, at the time of writing), in fact jurists will sometimes directly invoke the authority of shari'a to sentence apostates to death. This has happened in both Iran and in Afghanistan. In addition to judicial process, those accused of apostasy can be killed in prison, through torture or poisoning, or by mobs attacking their home or place of work, or even by relatives. Whilst apostasy, and its penalty, are applicable to Muslims, the offence of Sabb, of insulting the Qur'an or the Prophet of Islam, can also be applied to non-Muslims. Blasphemy against the Prophet is punishable by death, though the method of execution varies from one authority to another. It is this that led the Federal Shari'a Court in Pakistan to rule out any other penalty but death for blaspheming Muhammad. The so-called "Blasphemy Law" has caused considerable grief for Christians and other non-Muslim minorities since even the expression of their belief can be construed as insulting the Prophet. The Law has also become a way of settling personal scores by accusing one's adversary of blasphemy. There have been numerous convictions in the lower courts, though fortunately the higher courts have invariably, so far, overturned these verdicts. In the meantime, the family is left destitute and the community from which the accused comes left vulnerable to harassment and intimidation. The irony is that Muslims claim that their prophet forgave those who insulted him and there are a number of stories to this effect in the sira (life of Muhammad) and in the hadith (there are also other stories that describe how those who insulted him were punished). Which of these attitudes is to prevail in contemporary Muslim societies? A number of administrative and judicial attempts have been made to ease the lot of those accused of blasphemy and to make it more difficult to file charges of blasphemy against someone. None of these has been wholly successful. The law returns again and again to haunt the political establishment and the judiciary. The only solution is for a government to have the courage to repeal it or to abolish or suspend the death penalty altogether, thus leaving other penalties for dealing with alleged cases of "insulting religion" or blasphemy, as indeed existed before the current law was promulgated. Some of the 'ulama (Islamic scholars) are bound to object to such steps, if the government takes them, and there may well be "popular" movements to resist the repeal or amendment of the law. Such resistance needs to be faced down and genuine objections, such as the claim that Islamic law prescribes qisas or retaliation for murder and that therefore the relatives of the murdered person have the right to seek life for life, or alternatively compensation, will have to be met. It is already the case that qisas cannot be carried out by an individual or group but must be left to the state. If the death penalty were to be abolished or suspended for all serious crime, could not the state order and enable compensation to be paid instead of the death penalty as part of its judicial and executive responsibility? These issues need further exploration but it is clear that the present blasphemy law is neither just nor compassionate and needs to be dealt with while there is opportunity. Most Muslim countries have subscribed to international treaties, such as the UN Declaration of Human Rights, but they subordinate such agreements to the provisions of the shari'a, which, in many cases, negates the effect of these documents. In this connection, it is interesting to compare the UN Declaration with the Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam. In the latter there is no equivalent to Article 18 (on freedom of thought, conscience and religion) of the former and all provisions are, ultimately, subject to shari'a. This approach has resulted, again and again, in important rights under Article 18 of the UN Declaration being denied to people in Islamic countries on the grounds that they contravene the provisions of shari'a. This situation has caused much frustration to human rights activists, constitutional lawyers and even progressive regimes as any provision in law can always be trumped by an appeal to shari'a. If the impasse created in this way is to be avoided, it is necessary for leading institutions in the Islamic world to undertake a major reform of shari'a so that the principles of amelioration and of movement, which exist in at least some of the madhahib, or schools of law, are not only recognised but actually acted upon in both religious and other courts, as there is need. There is also, of course, the urgent task of ijtihad, i.e. a fundamental examination as to how the principles of law to be found in the Qur'an and other sources of Islamic law can be brought into a fruitful relationship with present-day conditions and requirements. This is the case, for example, in the areas of finance, family law, penal provisions, jihad and the treatment of non-Muslims in an Islamic state. Christians, of course, in the context of dialogue with Muslims and with Islamic religious and political authorities, will encourage those who are struggling to maximise fundamental freedoms in Islamic contexts. They will also be active in advocacy for those who have fallen foul, both materially and spiritually, of traditional understandings of laws and customs regarding apostasy and blasphemy. It remains important to raise awareness of what is happening in so many parts of the world so that people can learn from, pray for and give to those who have become victims of these draconian laws and customs. ----The Rt. Rev. Dr Nazir-Ali was until recently Bishop of Rochester. This article is reprinted with permission from BarnabasAid, the magazine of Barnabas Aid and Hope for the persecuted church. www.barnabasaid.org The article is the Foreword of "Freedom to Believe: Challenging Islam's Apostasy Law" by the Rev. Dr. Patrick Sookhdeo From david at virtueonline.org Fri Nov 20 17:42:35 2009 From: david at virtueonline.org (david at virtueonline.org) Date: 20 Nov 2009 18:42:35 -0500 Subject: A Deal That ECUSA Cannot Refuse - Allan S. Haley Message-ID: <20091120234235.5585.qmail@virtueonline.org> A Deal That ECUSA Cannot Refuse By A.S. Haley http://accurmudgeon.blogspot.com/2009/11/deal-that-ecusa-cannot-refuse.html November 14, 2009 The law must mean nothing any more. Up is down; black is white; and all property of Episcopal parishes everywhere is now the "property of the Episcopal Church." Consider this quote, taken word for word from a press statement issued by the Diocese of San Diego after yet one more California trial court judge ruled that he was not interested in the facts or considering the parties' different versions of them, and that he would give the victory to the Episcopal Church (USA) as a matter of law (emphasis added): "This decision reaffirms the principle that the property of an Episcopal congregation must be used to further the mission and ministry of the Episcopal Church," said Baker & McKenzie partner, Charles H. Dick, Chancellor of the Diocese and its attorney in the property litigations. "People should be free to leave the Episcopal Church if they wish, but they cannot take the property of the Episcopal Church with them when they depart." Consider the anomaly behind the words "the property of the Episcopal Church." It is like speaking of "the property of the association of all people on Facebook" -- the expression is utterly and totally meaningless. There is no property of any kind which belongs to the Episcopal Church (USA). The Episcopal Church (USA) has never owned any property since it was first established in 1789. As an unincorporated association of individual dioceses which was organized at common law, and not under the law of any one State, it cannot hold title to any property of any kind, because the common law does not recognize an association as a separate legal entity. Like the collection of people who have joined Facebook, it is just a group (of other groups called "dioceses"), and is not any one person in the eyes of the law. The Episcopal Church (USA) thus has no property, can claim title to no property, and cannot even legally call so much as a pencil its own. (It has its DFMS to do that on its behalf -- and believe me, the DFMS also pays for each and every pencil used by ECUSA, because it holds title to all the Church's bank accounts. Unlike ECUSA, the DFMS is a corporation, which the law recognizes as a separate person, and which therefore can take title to real and personal property.) The legal mind that can allow the words "property of the Episcopal Church" even to be uttered thereby shows all that is wrong with our legal system today, and why we keep getting rulings which are ever more worse and worse from the courts. For over two thousand years now, the system of laws established by the Romans, and taken up and adapted locally by each Western country ever since, has never recognized a voluntary association of people or things as a separate legal entity, or "person", on its own -- it is the modern uniform codes of laws which have finally changed the common law, and declared that associations organized in accordance with their provisions may sue and be sued, and hold title to property, in their own name. (Nothing in those laws provides any cover for associations never organized under the laws of any State to begin with. Just as a State which does not recognize common-law marriage is not required to treat people as married who live together in it for seven or more years, so a State is not required to recognize as a single legal entity a group of people who came together long ago at common law.) But when the people associated on Facebook decide to acquire, say, a bicycle, or a book, or something else for their common good and enjoyment, they had better have rules already agreed upon among themselves which spell out which of them actually gets to ride the bicycle or read the book when, which is responsible for replacing the bicycle or book if it is stolen or damaged, and which of them can go into court on behalf of the whole group if necessary to reclaim the group's common property. The Episcopal Church (USA) has no such rules -- and for good reason, as I say, because it has never owned any property of its own, and so has not needed to have any such rules. So please, is it too much to ask of lawyers that they not debase the law, and make people think it means something else when it does not? When there is a perfectly good reason why the Episcopal Church (USA) has never owned any property of any kind since it began 220 years ago, how does it advance public understanding of the actual issues involved to assert that "no one can take the property of the Episcopal Church with them when they depart"? I tell you what: let every withdrawing parish offer the Episcopal Church (USA) a terrific deal. The parish should offer to return to ECUSA its property in exchange for ECUSA agreeing that the parish can have the parish's property. That way everyone can end up with what is properly theirs, and there will be no need for any further lawsuits. Problem solved. END From david at virtueonline.org Fri Nov 20 17:43:35 2009 From: david at virtueonline.org (david at virtueonline.org) Date: 20 Nov 2009 18:43:35 -0500 Subject: ROME: Archbishop Williams address at a Willebrands Symposium in Rome Message-ID: <20091120234335.5602.qmail@virtueonline.org> ROME: Archbishop Williams address at a Willebrands Symposium in Rome November 19, 2009 The Archbishop of Canterbury is today giving an address in Rome, as the guest of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity. The address is part of a symposium being held at the Gregorian University, to celebrate the centenary of the birth of Cardinal Willebrands, the first president of the Council. The Archbishop says in his introduction: "Since the Second Vatican Council in the 1960s, the Roman Catholic Church has been involved in a number of dialogues with other churches - including with the Anglican Communion - which have produced a very considerable number of agreed statements. This legacy has been brought together in a recent publication by the Vatican department to promote Christian Unity, whose first President during and after Vatican II, Cardinal Johannes Willebrands, is justly and happily celebrated in today's centenary conference. Let me give an outline of what I want to say in the half an hour or so available. The strong convergence in these agreements about what the Church of God really is, is very striking. The various agreed statements of the churches stress that the Church is a community, in which human beings are made sons and daughters of God, and reconciled both with God and one another. The Church celebrates this through the sacraments of Baptism and Holy Communion in which God acts upon us to transform us 'in communion'. More detailed questions about ordained ministry and other issues have been framed in this context. Therefore the major question that remains is whether in the light of that depth of agreement the issues that still divide us have the same weight - issues about authority in the Church, about primacy (especially the unique position of the pope), and the relations between the local churches and the universal church in making decisions (about matters like the ordination of women, for instance). Are they theological questions in the same sense as the bigger issues on which there is already clear agreement? And if they are, how exactly is it that they make a difference to our basic understanding of salvation and communion? But if they are not, why do they still stand in the way of fuller visible unity? Can there, for example, be a model of unity as a communion of churches which have different attitudes to how the papal primacy is expressed? The central question is whether and how we can properly tell the difference between 'second order' and 'first order' issues. When so very much agreement has been firmly established in first-order matters about the identity and mission of the Church, is it really justifiable to treat other issues as equally vital for its health and integrity?" END The full text of the lecture is below: Since the Second Vatican Council in the 1960s, the Roman Catholic Church has been involved in a number of dialogues with other churches - including with the Anglican Communion - which have produced a very considerable number of agreed statements. This legacy has been brought together in a recent publication by the Vatican department to promote Christian Unity, whose first President during and after Vatican II, Cardinal Johannes Willebrands, is justly and happily celebrated in today's centenary conference. Let me give an outline of what I want to say in the half an hour or so available. The strong convergence in these agreements about what the Church of God really is, is very striking. The various agreed statements of the churches stress that the Church is a community, in which human beings are made sons and daughters of God, and reconciled both with God and one another. The Church celebrates this through the sacraments of Baptism and Holy Communion in which God acts upon us to transform us 'in communion'. More detailed questions about ordained ministry and other issues have been framed in this context. Therefore the major question that remains is whether in the light of that depth of agreement the issues that still divide us have the same weight - issues about authority in the Church, about primacy (especially the unique position of the pope), and the relations between the local churches and the universal church in making decisions (about matters like the ordination of women, for instance). Are they theological questions in the same sense as the bigger issues on which there is already clear agreement? And if they are, how exactly is it that they make a difference to our basic understanding of salvation and communion? But if they are not, why do they still stand in the way of fuller visible unity? Can there, for example, be a model of unity as a communion of churches which have different attitudes to how the papal primacy is expressed? The central question is whether and how we can properly tell the difference between 'second order' and 'first order' issues. When so very much agreement has been firmly established in first-order matters about the identity and mission of the Church, is it really justifiable to treat other issues as equally vital for its health and integrity? 1. One of the most fascinating aspects of the journals written during the Second Vatican Council by figures like Willebrands and Congar is the record of a struggle for what I shall call a genuinely theological doctrine of the Church. Part of what Vatican II turned away from is a way of talking about the Church as primarily an institution existing because of divine decree, governed by prescription from the Lord, faithfully administering the sacraments ordained by him for the salvation of souls - 'an external, visible society, whose members, under a hierarchical authority headed by the pope, constitute with him one visible body, tending to the same spiritual and supernatural end, i.e., sanctification of souls and their eternal happiness' (Pietro Palazzini, s.v. 'Church (Society)' in the Dictionary of Moral Theology, ed. F. Roberti and P. Palazzini, originally published in 1957). But what is missing from this account is any real explication of how the nature and character and even polity of the Church are grounded in and shaped by the nature of God and of God's incarnation in history. A theological understanding of the Church would be one that makes this connection. A striking feature of the current Harvesting the Fruits document from the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity under the name of our greatly loved and respected friend Walter Kasper, is the integral connection between what is said about the nature of God and what is said about the Church, its mission and its ministry. All these dialogues, it appears, have been deeply influenced by the new style in ecclesiology rooted in Vatican II and the work of Willebrands and his colleagues - and it is worth mentioning the way in which this new style is paralleled in other ecumenical dialogues, notably the Anglican-Orthodox document on The Church of the Triune God. In broad outline, the picture is something like this. God is eternally a life of threefold communion; and if human persons are to be reconciled to God and restored to the capacity for which they were made, they must be included in that life of communion. The incarnation of God the Son recreates in human persons the possibility of filial relation with the Father, standing in the place of Christ and praying his prayer; and only the Holy Spirit, which animates and directs the entire human identity of the Incarnate Word, can create that filial reality in us. To be restored to life with God is to be incorporated into Jesus Christ by the Spirit; but because the gift of the Spirit is what takes away mutual fear and hostility and the shutting-up of human selves against each other, it is inseparably and necessarily a gift of mutual human communion also. The sacramental life and the communal disciplines of the Church exist to serve and witness to this dual fact of communion, with the Father and with all believers. To take only one of the countless formulations referred to in the Harvesting document, in this case from the 1993 Lutheran-Catholic statement on Church and Justification (#6), 'According to the witness of the New Testament, our salvation, the justification of sinners and the existence of the church are indissolubly linked with the triune God and are founded in him alone.' So there is a clear line of connection between fundamental doctrinal commitments (the doctrines of the creed concerning the Trinity and the Incarnation) and issues around the shape and mission of the Church. The former lead into the latter; the latter only make sense against the background of the former. But what are the implications of this for our continuing ecumenical engagement? In what follows, I shall suggest some possible lines of further enquiry. But I also want to put a bit of a challenge to some trends across the board in current thinking, trends that might encourage us to adjust our expectations downwards in ecumenical dialogue, given the apparent lack of progress towards institutional or organisational unity. I do so in the hope that if we can recognise the remarkable degree to which what we could call Willebrands' legacy in ecclesiology has triumphed in the life of the dialogues, this may yet stir us to new insights and possibilities. 2. If the Harvesting document is to be taken seriously, the issues between Christians in the historic churches are not about the essential shape of our language concerning God and God's action in Christ. The common centre is a twofold vision: filial relation with God the Father as the realisation of the human vocation; and, as an immediate corollary of this, communion with other believers, offered to the whole world as promise and hope, a model for human life together in accord with the creator's loving purpose. As the ecumenical statements in varying words agree, the ongoing debate is not about these fundamentals, but about where the fullest realisation of communion is to be found. Even in discussion over sacramental forms and doctrines, a powerful convergence is evident that takes us well beyond any tired polarities. The links from trinitarian doctrine straight through to the meaning of the Lord's Supper are strongly affirmed on all sides. The whole discussion of sacramental life is centred upon how the believer is established in filial communion through the act of the triune God; there is little to suggest that outside the Roman fold there is any ambiguity over this priority of the divine act, or any separation between the act of God in salvation and a purely or predominantly human activity of recalling or expressing that act through human practices. And this is where the difficult questions begin to gather. If the picture just sketched is true, what exactly are the points that still divide us? Harvesting returns several times to a few key matters: I want to pick out three for further reflection. There is an issue over authority: in several places, continuing disagreement is noted over the nature or indeed the very possibility of the magisterium. Is there a mechanism in the Church that has the clear right to determine for all where the limits of Christian identity might be found? Then there is an issue, naturally connected with the first, about the nature of primacy. Is the integrity of the Church ultimately dependent on a single identifiable ministry of unity to which all local ministries are accountable? And this relates immediately to a third set of questions about the way in which we think of the universal Church itself. Is it an entity from which local churches derive their life, or is it the perfect mutuality of relationship between local churches - or indeed as the mysterious presence of the whole in each specific community? I want to propose that we now need urgent clarification of whether these continuing points of tension or difference imply in any way that the substantive theological convergence is less solid than it appears, so that we must still hold back from fuller levels of recognition of ministries or fuller sacramental fellowship. 3. As to authority: the summary on pp.137-8 of Harvesting puts it very well in describing convergence around the belief that 'the ministry and the ministries in the Church are not an end in themselves'; the Church is called to obedience, and thus to the discerning conservation of the authentic gospel in its teaching and preaching. But is that obedience, discernment and conservation in some sense the task of the entire body of the baptised or essentially that of a group designated as having binding power? A properly theological answer to this would challenge the premise of the question as expressed in those terms. It should rather come from a clear sense that responsibility, the 'authority to become children of God' (Jn 1.12) given to all those who belong in the communion of the baptised, is something allocated and distributed in the Church by the leading of the Spirit. If we are not just going to reaffirm the language of rule and hierarchy established by decree, with fixed divisions between teachers and taught, rulers and ruled, then we must approach the question as one that has to do with the way in which the gifts of the Spirit are properly distributed. In the light of the ecumenical ecclesiology we have been outlining, what is the status of differences over how responsibilities are allocated in the Church? How practically deep and non-negotiable are the divisions if what is at satke is not the basic reality of filial holiness? If the issues are less basic than the agreement over the Church's central character, then the future ought to be one in which there is a search for practical convergence in administrative responsibility and visible structures of governance, while allowing a significant mutual recognition of sacramental authenticity in the meantime - perhaps including some sacramental fellowship, as hinted at in #8 of Unitatis Redintegratio). The question becomes whether we can find ways of creating structures in which ordained authority and conciliar collaboration are properly accountable to each other and to the whole Body. It is about how we look - at the very least - for joint means of decision-making between churches differently ordered in their systems of authority, as several ecumenical texts propose (not least the IARCCUM documents); and at most for a means of making possible exchange of ministries and sacramental provision (with all that this might entail in terms of requirements for simple canonical recognition and incorporation). 4. As to primacy: convergence is probably less clear here, but there is a quite widespread recognition that, just as local ministry serves coherence and mutual openness within a congregation, so there is a powerful theological case for a ministry of universal focusing and gathering cast in the same terms. To put it like this is, once again, to see it in relation to the Church's purpose overall: this is a ministry existing for the sake of filial and communal holiness held in a universal pattern of mutual service - a point worth taking very seriously in the context of a globalised culture. The disagreement comes over whether existing forms of primacy are - on the one hand - despite all their historic ups and downs, fundamentally unavoidable embodiments of the agreed principle or - on the other - so allied to juridical privilege and the patterns of rule and control I have referred to earlier that they simply fail to do what they say they are there for. This is to put the difference quite sharply, I know, in a way that ignores the fluidity of recent debate and the remarkable initiative represented by Ut Unum Sint and what has flowed from it. But once again, the ecumenical issue for those outside the Roman Catholic fold is whether the necessity of the existing form of primatial ministry is so theologically crucial a matter that the Church's integrity, its faithfulness to its essential purpose, is wholly compromised by a diversity of understanding about primacy. Is there a level of mutual recognition which allows a shared theological understanding of primacy alongside a diversity of canonical or juridical arrangements? The slightly sensitive discussion of the nature of papal jurisdiction outside the historic Western Patriarchate might be a door-opener here. But it is surprising to find support in another quarter, in the shape of a bald statement (quoted in Harvesting) from the Lutheran-Catholic Report of 1972 'that the question of altar fellowship and of mutual recognition of ministerial offices should not be unconditionally dependent on a consensus on the question of primacy' (#66). To present the question in these terms is in fact to look back to Cardinal Willebrands' celebrated sermon in Cambridge in 1970 which spoke (using the language of Dom Emmanuel Lanne) of a diversity of types of communion, each one defined not so much juridically or institutionally as in terms of lasting loyalty, shared theological method and devotional ethos. The underlying idea seems to be that a restored universal communion would be genuinely a 'community of communities' and a 'communion of communions' - not necessarily a single juridically united body - and therefore one which did indeed assume that, while there was a recognition of a primatial ministry, this was not absolutely bound to a view of primacy as a centralized juridical office. It is of course impossible to open up these issues without some brief reference to issues of very immediate interest in the lives of the Anglican and Roman Catholic communions. The current proposals for a Covenant between Anglican provinces represent an effort to create not a centralised decision-making executive but a 'community of communities' that can manage to sustain a mutually nourishing and mutually critical life, with all consenting to certain protocols of decision-making together. As Harvesting notes, Anglicans have been challenged to flesh out their rhetoric about communion through the crises and controversies of recent years, and this is simply part of a variegated response that will, no doubt, continue for a good while yet to be refined and formulated. The recent announcement of an Apostolic Constitution making provision for former Anglicans shows some marks of the recognition that diversity of ethos does not in itself compromise the unity of the Catholic Church, even within the bounds of the historic Western patriarchate. But it should be obvious that it does not seek to do what we have been sketching: it does not build in any formal recognition of existing ministries or units of oversight or methods of independent decision-making, but remains at the level of spiritual and liturgical culture, as we might say. As such, it is an imaginative pastoral response to the needs of some; but it does not break any fresh ecclesiological ground. It remains to be seen whether the flexibility suggested in the Constitution might ever lead to something less like a 'chaplaincy' and more like a church gathered around a bishop. 5. As to the broad issue of local and universal Christian identity, much that has emerged in discussion involving Roman Catholics, Anglican and Orthodox has had the effect of challenging simplistic opposition between the two poles, as if the choice were between a conglomerate of local and almost randomly diverse communities vaguely federated together, and a monolithic global corporation. The re-theologising of ecclesiology, especially in dialogue with the Christian East, has meant that we are now better able to see the local community gathered around the bishop or his representative for eucharistic worship not as a portion of some greater whole but as itself the whole, the qualitative presence, as we might put it, of the Catholic reality of filial holiness and Trinitarian mutuality here and now. In one sense, it needs no supplement or validation from a wider institutional reality; in another sense, of course, it is itself only as related with other communities doing the same thing in all times and places. To quote from the Roman Catholic-Reformed dialogue, 'It is only by participating in the local community that we share in the life of the universal Church, but the local community without universality...runs the risk of becoming a ghetto or of being arbitrarily dominated by individuals' (The Presence of Christ in Church and World, #62). Or, in the words of the ARCIC statement on The Gift of Authority, 'No local church that participates in the living Tradition can regard itself as self-sufficient' (#37). So the question here becomes one about what criteria help us establish that the same Catholic life is going on in diverse communities. The facts of corporate reading of Scripture, obedience to the Lord's commands to baptise and make eucharist, shared understanding of the shape and the disciplines of what we have called filial holiness - can these be utilised as they stand or do we need a further test - visible communion, say, with a universal primate? And if that further step is necessary, can it be shown to be theological in exactly the same sense as the rest of the discourse? If not, once again, is it a ground for maintaining the level of non-recognition currently in practice? An answer to this would have to look at some of the complex and neuralgic issues that arise around local decision-making. To take the most obvious instance in the relations between the Roman Catholic and Anglican churches at present, the local decision to ordain women as priests - and as bishops in some contexts - is presented by Roman Catholic theologians as one that in effect makes the Anglican Communion simply less recognisably a body 'doing the same Catholic thing'. Harvesting records the substance of the early consensus in ARCIC on the nature of ordained ministry and also the acknowledgement that there had as yet been no consideration of who could be ordained (the 1973 Ministry and Ordination text, #17). Since then, this latter issue has been defined by the highest authority in the Roman Catholic Church as one in which the Church does not have the liberty or the competence to license change as regards the historic prohibition against women in holy orders. This is now presented as a clear obstacle to any further recognition of Anglican orders. I don't want here to rehearse the arguments for and against the ordination of women, only to ask how recent determinations on the Roman Catholic side fit with the general pattern of theological convergence outlined. The claim of certain Anglican provinces is that the ordination of women explicitly looks to an agreed historic theology of ordained ministry as set out in the ARCIC report and other sources. Beyond that, many Anglicans have been wary of accepting a determination of who can be ordained that might appear to compromise the some of the agreed principles about how ordination relates to the whole body of the baptised. This, by the way, would hold for at least some who believe that a decision within a divided Church about a matter affecting the universal ministry should not be taken by a single province or group of provinces. But for many Anglicans, not ordaining women has a possible unwelcome implication about the difference between baptised men and baptised women, which in their view threatens to undermine the coherence of the ecclesiology in question. And the challenge to recent Roman Catholic thinking on this would have to be: in what way does the prohibition against ordaining women so 'enhance the life of communion', reinforcing the essential character of filial and communal holiness as set out in Scripture and tradition and ecumenical agreement, that its breach would compromise the purposes of the Church as so defined? And do the arguments advanced about the "essence" of male and female vocations and capacities stand on the same level as a theology derived more directly from scripture and the common theological heritage such as we find in these ecumenical texts? Let us take this a stage further. All ordained ministers are ordained into the shared richness of the apostolic ministerial order - or perhaps we could say ministerial 'communion' yet again. None ministers as a solitary individual. Thus if the ministerial collective is understood strictly in terms of the ecclesiology we have been considering, as serving the goal of filial and communal holiness as the character of restored humanity, how much is that undermined if individuals within the ministerial communion are of different genders? Even if there remains uncertainty in the minds of some about the rightness of ordaining women, is there a way of recognising that somehow the corporate exercise of a Catholic and evangelical ministry remains intact even when there is dispute about the standing of female individuals? In terms of the relation of local to universal, what we are saying here is that a degree of recognizability of 'the same Catholic thing' has survived: Anglican provinces ordaining women to some or all of the three orders have not become so obviously diverse in their understanding of filial holiness and sacramental transformation that they cannot act together, serve one another and allow some real collaboration. It is this sort of thinking that has allowed Anglicans until recently to maintain a degree of undoubtedly impaired communion among themselves, despite the sharpness of the division over this matter. It is part of the rationale of supplementary episcopal oversight as practised in the English provinces, and it may yet be of help in securing the place of those who will not be able to accept the episcopal ministry of women. There can be no doubt, though, that the situation of damaged communion will become more acute with the inability of bishops within the same college to recognise one another's ministry in the full sense. Yet, in what is still formally acknowledged to be a time of discernment and reception, is it nonsense to think that holding on to a limited but real common life and mutual acknowledgement of integrity might be worth working for within the Anglican family? And if it can be managed within the Anglican family, is this a possible model for the wider ecumenical scene? At least, by means of some of the carefully crafted institutional ways of continuing to work together, there remains an embodied trust in the possibility of discovering a shared ministry of the gospel; and who knows what more, ultimately, in terms of restored communion? 6. Once again, I am asking how far continuing disunion and non-recognition are justified, theologically justified in the context of the overall ecclesial vision, when there are signs that some degree of diversity in practice need not, after all, prescribe an indefinite separation. I do not pretend to be offering a new paradigm of ecumenical encounter, far from it. But the very quality of the theological convergence recorded, and very expertly and lucidly recorded, in Harvesting prompts the sort of question I have been raising. At what point do we have to recognise that surviving institutional and even canonical separations or incompatibilities are overtaken by the authoritative direction of genuinely theological consensus, so that they can survive only by appealing to the ghost of ecclesiological positivism? The three issues I have commented on may all seem, to the eyes of a non-Roman Catholic, to belong in a somewhat different frame of reference from the governing themes of the ecumenical ecclesiology expressed in the texts under review. If the non-Roman Catholic is wrong about this, we need to have spelled out exactly why; we need to understand either that there are issues about the filial/communal calling clearly at stake in surviving disagreements; or to be shown that another theological 'register' is the right thing to use in certain areas, a different register which will qualify in some ways the language that has so far shaped ecumenical convergence. Cardinal Willebrands would, I suspect, have been uncomfortable with the latter option and would have wanted (if he had agreed that these issues were critical, unresolved, and in need of resolution) to keep our attention fixed on the former, so that our language and thinking about the Church remained theological in a sense recognised by all involved in the discussion. To say this is not to foreclose consideration of these and other outstanding areas of diversity, let alone to say that they are 'political' matters and that there is no point in approaching them theologically, or that they are 'second-order' questions. But it is important to be clear about just how much convergence there is, as witnessed in the survey offered in Harvesting. All I have been attempting to say here is that the ecumenical glass is genuinely half-full - and then to ask about the character of the unfinished business between us. For many of us who are not Roman Catholics, the question we want to put, in a grateful and fraternal spirit, is whether this unfinished business is as fundamentally church-dividing as our Roman Catholic friends generally assume and maintain. And if it isn't, can we all allow ourselves to be challenged to address the outstanding issues with the same methodological assumptions and the same overall spiritual and sacramental vision that has brought us thus far? END