Women bishops – too close to call; As Synod vote nears, both sides slug it out online; New archbishop is ‘a good friend’ to Jews; C of E – Assisted dying proposals rejected as too damaging: Media review
The Times – Women bishops – too close to call
In a letter to The Times published today, signed by 327 clergy from all but one of the Church’s 44 dioceses, traditionalists argue that the Bible teaches that men and women are equal but have different, complementary roles in the Church. They say they had hoped for compromise but the provision for alternative episcopal oversight being made in the legislation, to be backed up by a code of practice, “comes nowhere near” what they need.
The letter shows that members of the conservative evangelical movement Reform have joined forces with the synod’s Catholic group to oppose the Church’s liberal wing. The Reform and Catholic groups have also jointly published a booklet sent to all synod members, titled Bishops Legislation Not Fit for Purpose.
The Times reports that “While the majority want to introduce women bishops, it should be remembered that there is a significant minority who disagree”
The Rev’d Prebendary Rod Thomas, chairman of Reform, the Rev’d Simon Killwick, chairman of the Catholic group on General Synod, and 325 other ordained priests in the Church of England have written today to the Times that the Bible teaches – and the Church has traditionally understood – that men and women are equal before God and yet have different, complementary, roles in the Church. By maintaining these different roles, neither men nor women are diminished; rather, we demonstrate God’s wisdom in creating us to operate in this way.
They say that “the provision being made for us in the draft Measure comes nowhere near what we need.”
They argue that approving the draft Measure will do much more harm in the long term to the mission of the Church and will lead irrevocably to deep fractures appearing within the Church.
The letter is signed by the leaders of many churches with attendance in excess of 500 and by clergy from every diocese in the Church of England (except Sodor and Man) and by among others
Canon Gavin Ashenden (Diocese of Winchester) Rev Paul Benfield (Diocese of Blackburn) The Venerable Michael Lawson (Diocese of London) Rev Angus Macleay (Diocese of Rochester) The Rev Paul Perkin (Diocese of Southwark) Canon Dr Robin Ward (Diocese of Oxford)
Most sources agree that the vote is “too close to call” with two-thirds majorities needed in all three of the synod’s houses of clergy, bishops and laity. The vote for women priests went through by a whisker in 1992.
But in a sign of growing opposition, a leading liberal lay member of the synod, Tom Sutcliffe, who voted for women priests in 1992 and is “in principle” keen to have women bishops in the Church of England, said that he would vote against on Tuesday. He said: “It simply is not true that appropriate provisions have been made for the minority of less than a third of Church members who cannot accept the ordination or consecration of women as being consistent with their understanding of scripture and tradition.” As it stood, the measure would leave conservative evangelicals “severely affected and in an impossible position”.
http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/opinion/letters/article3601412.ece
Church Times – As Synod vote nears, both sides slug it out online
By Madeleine Davies, Church Times – WITH days to go until the General Synod votes on final approval of the Measure to ordain women as bishops, opponents and supporters are attempting to win over undecided members online.
Last Friday, the Archbishop of Canterbury-designate urged the Synod to approve the Measure, while paying tribute to the “remarkable signs of God’s grace and action” in those who could not accept the ordained ministry of women.
In a briefing on the history of the Measure issued on Tuesday, the campaigning group WATCH (Women and the Church) said that it had chosen to support it in its latest iteration “as an act of generosity to those who would like to stay in the Church of England, but are not yet convinced about the rightness of having women as priests or bishops”.
In response to a booklet opposing the Measure, circulated to all members of the General Synod by the chairmen of the Catholic Group and Reform ( News, 9 November), the blogger Church Mouse argued that the reference in the Measure to the need for the selection of bishops to “respect” the grounds on which parochial church councils issue Letters of Request was “probably the single word about which most clarity has been provided. It has a specific legal definition and, in short, is legally binding.”
New archbishop is ‘a good friend’ to Jews
By Simon Rocker and Gavin Drake, Jewish Chronicle – The Council of Christian and Jews has welcomed the new Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, who will succeed Rowan Williams next year, as a “good friend”.
The Rt Rev Welby, Bishop of Durham and a former dean of Liverpool Cathedral, who will automatically become a joint president of the CCJ, has been involved in reconciliation work between Jews and Arabs.
Canon Andrew White, the Vicar of Baghdad, believed that Bishop Welby would have “a very balanced view” of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He said: “We both love the Jews and the Arabs. He really cares about them, totally. He is not the kind of person who will take just one side.
“It’s very rare. Everybody takes one position or the other. You either love Israel and hate the Palestinians; or you hate the Jews and you love the Palestinians. But he is on both peoples’ side.”
Canon White said that Bishop Welby had worked “in the thick of it” from Iraq to Nigeria. “He has been there in the midst of all of it. This isn’t interfaith relationships and reconciliation eating smoked salmon bagels in Golders Green and drinking cups of tea. This is really at the cutting edge.”
Liz Spencer, chairman of Merseyside CCJ, said that Bishop Welby had spoken to the group of his work with Jews, Christians and Muslims on an environmental project in the Holy Land.
http://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/90912/new-archbishop-a-good-friend-jews
C of E – Assisted dying proposals rejected as too damaging
A change in the law on assisted dying would ‘permit people actively to participate in bringing about the deaths of other individuals, something that, apart from cases of self defence, has not formed part of the legal landscape of the United Kingdom since the abolition of capital punishment’, the Church of England Mission and Public Affairs Council has told politicians. For further information, see:
http://www.churchofengland.org/media-centre/news/2012/11/assisted-dying-proposals-rejected-as-too-damaging.aspx
MEDIA REVIEW
Archbishop of York to Present Archbishop Desmond Tutu With An Honorary Degree
Hundreds of York St John University students are celebrating their graduation alongside some inspirational honorary graduates in York Minster this week.
http://www.archbishopofyork.org/articles.php/2698/archbishop-of-york-to-present-desmond-tutu-with-an-honorary-degree
Clerical child abuse
Reports that police investigating allegations of child abuse against the Rt Revd Peter Ball have received complaints from a further seven men who claim their were victims.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/nov/15/police-further-complaints-retired-bishop
Reports on the CofE’s success as an investor. Articles highlighting new archbishop’s former oil industry experience.
http://www.standard.co.uk/business/cityspy/city-spy-archbishop-needs-dark-arts-adviser-8319717.html