The Papal Bull in the Anglican China Shop
Excellent anlaysis from the Ugley Vicar Blog
The headline Ruth Gledhill chose to describe yesterday’s breaking news was ‘Rome parks tanks on Rowan’s lawn’. The phrase is both eye-catching and apt. Nevertheless, I have adopted a headline of my own, first because Apostolic Constitutions are, apparently, issued in the form of a Papal Bull and, secondly, because the approach from Rome is to be made to Anglicans globally, not just —as some of the newspapers seem to be assuming —to those in England.
But what exactly is on offer, why is it being offered and what does it mean for the future?
The first question is difficult to answer, quite simply because what has been announced is the preparation of an Apostolic Constitution, not the Constitution itself. Furthermore, the structure of what will be on offer is something unfamiliar to most Anglicans, namely a ‘personal ordinariate’.
An ‘ordinariate’ is presided over by an ‘ordinary’ —someone who has ecclesial jurisdiction. The bishop of an Anglican diocese is thus the ‘ordinary’. However, in the newly-proposed body, the ordinary will not necessarily be a bishop. The proposed Ordinariates will be ‘personal’, in the sense that they will not be defined by persons, not geographical areas. The parallel suggested on the Vatican’s own website is with a Military Ordinariate which cares for members of the armed forces and their dependents. However, these particular Ordinariates will be formed in consultation with the local Conference of Bishops, so they will be set up wherever there is demand in a particular area.
It is clear that in some sense these Ordinariates will have an Anglican element —not least in their being made up of former Anglicans. Nevertheless, insofar as the Vatican website itself uses the word ‘former’, there is going to be some discontinuity with their present identity. However, what is envisaged is evidently not the same as Anglicans simply ‘becoming Roman Catholics’. Perhaps the most significant element is that married Anglican priests will be able to be ordained as priests in the Roman Catholic Church (though they will not be able to become bishops). Everyone in the Ordinariate will thus be in full communion with Rome, and the liturgies they use will be subject to approval by the presiding Conference of Bishops, but they will not be entirely subject to Roman discipline and will thus in some respects remain distinct.
That is as much as I have been able to glean, and given that we still await the Apostolic Constitution itself, that is perhaps as far as it is wise to go. What, however, might it all mean?
I was talking earlier on the phone to an Anglo-Catholic friend (who, incidentally, knew several days ago that this was coming) and his opinion was that in the immediate short-term this was of ‘atomic bomb’ proportions, but that the really important question in England was how Forward-in-Faith and others would react in the long term.
Significantly, he did not foresee immediate large-scale defections. Indeed, he observed that there are many Anglo-Catholics who, like himself, view Rome as simply wrong on some points, for example in insisting that certain beliefs (including papal infallibility) are salvation issues. In this and other ways they regard themselves as authentically Anglican members of the Catholic church, in no need of ‘reception’ into Rome’s branch of the same (although very happy to recognize Rome as special).
There is also the vexed question of money. It was quite one thing, as he put it, to ‘take the money and run’ back in the early nineties, when clergy who left the Church of England over the ordination of women received a reasonable compensation package. It would be quite another thing for them to leave now when the Roman Catholic church in this country is in no position to offer them either posts or funding. Of course there is nothing to stop a congregation funding its own minister, but that is, as the Australians say, ‘a big ask’.
Nevertheless, we both agreed that the nature and timing of this announcement is highly important. First, in his view, it is an indication that Rome’s patience with Canterbury has run out. The ecumenical discussions of recent decades have been conducted with the hope that something was achievable through official negotiating channels. One result of this was that ‘private’ approaches to Rome were politely rejected. The recent actions of Anglican bishops, and the decisions of the English General Synod, however, have suggested that Anglicans are saying one thing but doing another. Consequently, Rome has decided it is time to listen to and deal with individuals rather than the institution.
Secondly, we both feel this speaks volumes about Rome’s attitude towards Anglicanism, where it is no longer felt necessary to keep Anglican ‘officialdom’ onside. Despite references on both sides to ecumenical negotiations, the Apostolic Constitution is not the result of a ‘deal’ but rather is an offer which the Church of England literally cannot refuse. And as in the culture from which that phrase comes, the maker of the offer by that action indicates a sense of strength with relation to the one to whom it is made. In other words, Rome must feel it has nothing to lose and a lot to gain from this.
Personally, I likened it to the Argentinian landings on South Georgia which preceded the Falklands War. From a military point of view, the landings were an irrelevance, and in a similar way, I doubt that numerically the Apostolic Constitution will have much impact on global Anglicanism. But as an indication of the Argentinian view of the balance of power in the South Atlantic, the invasion of South Georgia was crucial. In the same way, Rome now clearly feels it can act unilaterally to invite existing Anglicans en masse back into the fold — and the fact that this can be done at a press conference alongside the Archbishop of Canterbury on English soil surely signals that in the eyes of Rome, Anglican fortunes are approaching their nadir.
In this respect, Ruth Gledhill’s comment is entirely right. This is, indeed, a tank on Rowan’s lawn. And the sheer fact that it is sitting there is enough. The big question now is not so much how many Anglicans will leave, as how Anglicanism will regard itself. It will be very difficult to continue with the notion that it is a ‘world player’ of which Rome must take note. Rome has taken note, and its verdict is clear: the door is open, you’re welcome any time.
Andrew Brown in the Guardian is probably over-stating things when he says this is the end of the Anglican Communion, but it is clearly the end of Anglicanism’s previous relationship with Rome —first as an enemy, then as a cautious, but mutual, friend. From now on, Anglicanism vis à vis Rome is a leaking balloon.
What, finally, of the Evangelical response? Reform has issued a press release which says, rightly in my view, that, “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.”
However, I suspect that the release is over-optimistic when it asserts that, “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.”
The reality is that FCA UK is neither as widespread nor as coherent as this might suggest, and in any case the Apostolic Constitution will prove a considerable distraction to at least some of those whom FCA UK has sought to embrace. At least a proportion of these will ask why one should look to doubtful support from overseas Anglican bishops when one can join a community within England backed by the not-inconsiderable might of Rome.
Whatever else happens, this has undoubtedly sown confusion in the ranks. Of course, I have been arguing for years that Reform-type Evangelical Anglicans should seek episcopal oversight under the provisions of the Episcopal Ministry Act of Synod 1993, and thereby create the pressure for an Evangelical ‘flying bishop’ (or three), with the aim of getting for themselves what the Anglo-Catholics have enjoyed for a decade and a half. But that would be too obvious!
Perhaps I may close with another military analogy. It is a generally acknowledged fact that a successful internal insurgency in any country requires a powerful outside backer. The IRA had the Americans and the Libyans. The Vietcong had North Korea, China and Russia. The Iraqi insurgents had Syria and Iran, and so on. The Apostolic Constitution may therefore have precisely the opposite effect to what some people imagine —rather than encouraging defections, it may encourage Anglo-Catholic internal ‘insurgency’ in the Church of England. But if that is the case, the Conservative Evangelicals are left high and dry. They have no friend in Rome, and they have few friends amongst their own bishops. Of course, they may feel they have enough of a friend in Jesus, and in soteriological terms that is true. But in ecclesio-political terms it may only be enough to sustain them as an isolated and beleaguered minority.
John Richardson
21 October 2009
Tags: Church Life
October 22nd, 2009 at 1:07 pm
Time to wake up Protestant Christian.
Elizabeth the First will be turning in her grave!
To think how this brave British Queen, Elizabeth 1, with her very real Christian faith, bravely stopped the Roman Catholic plots from France & Spain to try and return England back into a Roman Catholic Country.
She was a true defender of the Church of England & The Christian faith and of this nation against Southern European Roman Catholic invaders. But now our wishy washy academic Archbishop Dr Rowan Williams just allows the bullish German Pope to seduce up to 20 % of of the Anglican Bishops, Clergy and laity; with the Archbishop of Canterbury giving not much more than a shrug of his shoulders and wringing of his hands; with his bearded blank expression seems to be saying: don’t blame me, I didn’t get us into this mess! (The fact I am such a bad Christian leader and more interested in secular issues like climate change than being the leader of the main Christian church has nothing to do with what is happening). Oh but it does! If he had any humility he would resign immediately and allow a real Christian who actually believes the Christian Gospel and who is not afraid to defend our nation and our protestant Christian faith and Anglican church from foreign invaders. I thought a good shepherd was supposed to look after his sheep not let them wander all over the place; ready to be devoured by known predators.
This Pope made his intentions very clear; not long after he was appointed when he publicly declared ‘ The Roman Catholic is the only real Christian faith in the world’. (such arrogance, he implied that all other Christian denominations were heretics, so it seems nothing has changed since the brutal years of the Spanish inquisition and the slaughter of thousands the protestants including the Calvinist Huguenots in France; that saw religious cleansing in Europe on a massive scale). So who will stand up to this aggressive Pope? Before he causes massive outrage and reaction in England? Mark my words once the protestants in England & Wales and NI wake up to what is being proposed, we will be on very dangerous ground indeed. And only God knows where it could lead. This can all be avoided if the Pope stops his religious crusade in England & Wales and ‘wishy washy’ Dr Rowan Williams stands down as soon as possible.
What this country needs right now is a Wesley, Spurgeon or a Whitefield to lead the Anglican Church; someone who has the boldness to stand and be counted and be proud to be a Protestant Anglican Christian.
Simon Icke, Christian Political Writer, Campaigner & Poet.
READ MORE IN TODAY’S IN TODAYS GUARDIAN BLOG:…Church of England: Imperial Rome……..
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/oct/22/anglicanism-catholicism-gay-women-priests
October 23rd, 2009 at 6:23 pm
England became Christian because of the Catholic Church with St. Augustine establishing the see of Canterbury, and for centuries upon centuries fought alongside the other Catholic countries against the Muslims. England as a country today is weaker than ever. Walking in downtown London is like walking in Dubai. Of the 4 million Catholics in Great Britain, almost 2 million attend church every weekend while 42 million Anglicans sleep in on Sunday in GB barely mustering 900,000 to attend Church. Those Anglicans that do attend are very Catholic friendly. Catholics already are the largest practicing Christian faith in Great Britain.
Anglicanism was built on King who was immoral, while Catholicism was built by Jesus Christ on Peter who is the Rock where the church of Christ was built.
Becareful of your national pride as I too love England and equally can’t stand foreigners in England, but the Catholic Church is not foreign to England but is the original Christian faith of these Isles. May Our Lady of Walsingham guide many millions of Anglicans back home and may we stand firm against the Muslims who invade our lands.
The Anglicans I have met who are thrilled about this love the Lord with all their hearts, and see that Christ did establish a Prime Minister and that only this Catholic Church has the Promises of Christ to be lead into all Truth, have final binding and loosing authority, power to forgive sins, power to offer the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass with the true presence of Christ in the Eucharist and finally the gates of hell shall never prevail against her. This is all God’s power, not man’s.
May God in his mercy and love bring millions home, and may he also establish reunification with the Orthodox. Come Lord Jesus, Come!
October 26th, 2009 at 11:02 pm
TWO GOOD REASONS FOR ANGLICANS NOT TO BE SEDUCED BY THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH:
1. Arrogance:
The Times 11 July 2007:
‘If it isn’t Roman Catholic then it’s not a proper church’ Pope tell Christians. The Vatican has described the Protestant & Orthodox faiths as not proper churches in a document issued with the full authority of the Pope:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article2056515.ece#
2. Protection of Child Abusers:
New Catholic Archbishop Most Rev Vincent Nichols May 2009 praised the courage of guilty clergy for admitting their guilt: Daily Mail 21.05.09:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1185773/New-Archbishop-engulfed-Catholic-abuse-row-praising-courage-guilty-clergy.html
But what about the courage of the victims who suffered for years at the hands of these child abusers? The Archbishop should be ashamed of himself for making such a ridiculous statement like this…..
It doesn’t need courage to abuse a child only some sick and twisted perversion. These people should be named and shamed and brought to justice in a criminal court for their disgusting crimes against children.
October 28th, 2009 at 12:37 am
This bullish approach towards Anglo-Catholic Anglicans from the Roman Catholic Pope is potentially very dangerous indeed. Does he want to destabilise nearly 500 years of relative peace between Anglicans in England & Wales and Roman Catholics; with largely mutual tolerance, friendship, peace and understanding; avoiding sectarianism as we have seen in Northern Ireland and parts of Scotland.
In these troubled times with the nation facing many problems, such as the threat of terrorism from Islamic fundamentalists, a broken society that has largely lost its moral compass and its spirituality and more recently financial hardship for the poor in the midst of a recession; with excessive greed by the few; who are flaunting their unearned wealth under the noses of those who have next to nothing.
At a time when we all need to hold together and seek unity where ever possible, the nation is now faced with an unexpected threat to destabilise the country. The Pope and the Roman Catholics leaders should back off now, before the masses realize what is being proposed. This could easily lead to trouble on our streets as those who seek to divide us in these difficult times, see their opportunity to cause civil unrest in our nation, and even set neighbour against neighbour.
Scare mongering? I don’t think so, this nightmare scenario is a possibility if this divisive proposal is not stopped now.
One cannot help thinking this dangerous situation has come about as a result of very weak leadership at the top of the Anglican Church, for too many years now they have been navel gazing and almost completely forgotten their Christian mission to this nation and beyond. The Pope has seen this weakness and it seems he now seeks to exploit it.
Just as our great queen Elizabeth 1, defender of the Church of England and our Christian faith made a courageous stand against the threat from Rome, via Catholic Spain and France, for the first time in hundreds of years Anglican Christians need to stand and be counted, united in defending our English Christian faith and heritage.
PS Please don’t shoot me , I’m just the messenger!