PREEMPTIVE SURRENDER
That didn’t take long:
The incoming Archbishop of Canterbury hinted at a softening of the Church’s stance on homosexual partnerships as he promised to re-examine his own traditional views.
The Bishop of Durham, Justin Welby, who was formally announced as successor to Dr Rowan Williams yesterday, insisted that he supported the Church of England’s opposition to same-sex marriage.
But he promised to reassess his own traditional line on the issue “prayerfully and carefully” and pointedly emphasised his support for civil partnerships.
It comes amid speculation that the Church of England – which fears the introduction of same sex marriage could threaten its position as the established church – might reconsider whether or not to offer formal blessing services for same-sex couples as a compromise.
Mrs. Schori? You might want to get your plane ticket now. Lock in a low price or something. And be sure to bring your miter. Wear that purple thing.
In a wide-ranging address he gave his strong endorsement to plans to ordain women bishops, which will be decided in a vote at the General Synod in less than two weeks.
The squishops of the Episcopal Organization and the Anglican Organization of Canada should plan on attending the 2018 Lambeth Conference even if one or both entities consecrate a gay diocesan or two.
Speaking about the scale of the challenge he faces, he acknowledged “deep differences over the issue of sexuality”.
“It is absolutely right for the state to define the rights and status of people cohabiting in different forms of relationships, including civil partnerships,” he said.
“We must have no truck with any form of homophobia, in any part of the church.”
He underlined his support for the Church’s opposition to gay marriage but added: “I know I need to listen very attentively to the LGBT [Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender] communities, and examine my own thinking prayerfully and carefully.
“I am always averse to the language of exclusion, when what we are called to is to love in the same way as Jesus Christ loves us.
“Above all in the church we need to create safe spaces for these issues to be discussed honestly and in love.”
For those Anglican “conservatives” who hold on to their comforting illusions that This Time, Things Will Be Different, I have a two-word reply. Grow up. Earlier this year, Welby addressed TEO’s House of Squishops and said the following.
I found integrity and openness on issues, graciousness under pressure, and towards others who have not been gracious, catholicity, complexity and inclusion. I have found some myths demythologised. For example the myth that TEC is only liberal, monochrome in its theological stand, and the myth that all minorities of view are oppressed.
Look. Justin Welby has said over and over that nothing in the Anglican world is ever going to change. The Americans and Canadians aren’t going anywhere. So if you call yourself an Anglican “conservative” but still think the “official” imprimatur of the Anglican Communion, an organization a bit more than a century old, is worth holding on to, then there’s nothing more that I can do for you.
And no, issuing the occasional Strongly-Worded Open LetterTM while continuing to stick around the Anglican Communion no longer constitutes a genuine witness against liberal Anglican apostasy. Saying the same thing that you’ve said hundreds of times before changes nothing. In fact, it only convinces the people you oppose that you’re not really serious about what you claim that you believe.
This is not to say that the Anglican controversy is over; far from it. ACNA could become more aggressive, extending its reach into Europe and beyond. And South Carolina has the potential of becoming a traditionalist Anglican Montenegro, a place where Anglican infidels are fought off. It’s entirely possible that Charleston, with it’s long Anglican history, could become a sort of conservative Anglican Canterbury.
Will any of that happen? That’s difficult to say since it depends on whether Anglican “conservatives” are finally ready to put away childish things.
The incoming Archbishop of Canterbury hinted at a softening of the Church’s stance on homosexual partnerships as he promised to re-examine his own traditional views.
The Bishop of Durham, Justin Welby, who was formally announced as successor to Dr Rowan Williams yesterday, insisted that he supported the Church of England’s opposition to same-sex marriage.
But he promised to reassess his own traditional line on the issue “prayerfully and carefully” and pointedly emphasised his support for civil partnerships.
It comes amid speculation that the Church of England – which fears the introduction of same sex marriage could threaten its position as the established church – might reconsider whether or not to offer formal blessing services for same-sex couples as a compromise.
Mrs. Schori? You might want to get your plane ticket now. Lock in a low price or something. And be sure to bring your miter. Wear that purple thing.
In a wide-ranging address he gave his strong endorsement to plans to ordain women bishops, which will be decided in a vote at the General Synod in less than two weeks.
The squishops of the Episcopal Organization and the Anglican Organization of Canada should plan on attending the 2018 Lambeth Conference even if one or both entities consecrate a gay diocesan or two.
Speaking about the scale of the challenge he faces, he acknowledged “deep differences over the issue of sexuality”.
“It is absolutely right for the state to define the rights and status of people cohabiting in different forms of relationships, including civil partnerships,” he said.
“We must have no truck with any form of homophobia, in any part of the church.”
He underlined his support for the Church’s opposition to gay marriage but added: “I know I need to listen very attentively to the LGBT [Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender] communities, and examine my own thinking prayerfully and carefully.
“I am always averse to the language of exclusion, when what we are called to is to love in the same way as Jesus Christ loves us.
“Above all in the church we need to create safe spaces for these issues to be discussed honestly and in love.”
For those Anglican “conservatives” who hold on to their comforting illusions that This Time, Things Will Be Different, I have a two-word reply. Grow up. Earlier this year, Welby addressed TEO’s House of Squishops and said the following.
I found integrity and openness on issues, graciousness under pressure, and towards others who have not been gracious, catholicity, complexity and inclusion. I have found some myths demythologised. For example the myth that TEC is only liberal, monochrome in its theological stand, and the myth that all minorities of view are oppressed.
Look. Justin Welby has said over and over that nothing in the Anglican world is ever going to change. The Americans and Canadians aren’t going anywhere. So if you call yourself an Anglican “conservative” but still think the “official” imprimatur of the Anglican Communion, an organization a bit more than a century old, is worth holding on to, then there’s nothing more that I can do for you.
And no, issuing the occasional Strongly-Worded Open LetterTM while continuing to stick around the Anglican Communion no longer constitutes a genuine witness against liberal Anglican apostasy. Saying the same thing that you’ve said hundreds of times before changes nothing. In fact, it only convinces the people you oppose that you’re not really serious about what you claim that you believe.
This is not to say that the Anglican controversy is over; far from it. ACNA could become more aggressive, extending its reach into Europe and beyond. And South Carolina has the potential of becoming a traditionalist Anglican Montenegro, a place where Anglican infidels are fought off. It’s entirely possible that Charleston, with it’s long Anglican history, could become a sort of conservative Anglican Canterbury.
Will any of that happen? That’s difficult to say since it depends on whether Anglican “conservatives” are finally ready to put away childish things.
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