The C of E says women bishops are permissible. It makes sense. If you can have women priests (which the Church of England has had since the 1990s), then why not women bishops? Is this really a shocker?
Right now the rumors are flying about a mass exodus to Rome of disaffected Anglo-Catholic C of E clergy. We’ll see how that shapes up, but I think classical Anglo-Catholics in England might well have experienced the last straw.
This comment on Stand Firm seems to suggest something formal may be in the works (of course this is just speculation):
#4- The “defections” as you called them have already started, unless my incoming email deceives me. All I can say is “wait for it.” News will come soon enough from the man formerly known as Joseph Ratzinger. I think he will wait until after Lambeth, but in light of today’s travesty, it may come sooner. The CoE is now where TEC was a dozen or so years ago. While I dearly love my friends over there who are convinced that their church is different than ours, I fear that they are only a few years away from their own VGR and KJS. And, like us, they have brought this upon themselves.
David Bennett
Jennifer
asimplesinner
Fr. J.
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Jorge Flores
Jonathan B
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nicenehobbit
Jason S
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Dave Hartline
July 8, 2008 at 8:29 am |
Protestants are Protestants for a reason. I see no mass exodus coming. They will come one by one when their hearts change and when they allow their eyes to be opened.
July 8, 2008 at 9:37 am |
[...] here’s a post from Per Christum Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)On Remaining ProtestantComing Apart At the [...]
July 8, 2008 at 10:43 am |
but sometimes there are team swimming events/opportunities
July 8, 2008 at 12:04 pm |
John6:54:
To my fellow Catholics here, all of us should read St. Luke’s Gospel about the prodigal Son (or as Pope Benedict refers to as the story of the Two Brothers: See Jesus of Nazareth) and view this as a moment of God’s Grace and Reconciliation of bringing back thousands of Traditional Anglicans into Full Communion with Rome.
Damian Thompson of the Telegraph in the U.K. is reporting on 7/8/2008 that at least 2 Anglican Bishops are about to seek Full Communion with Rome and try to bring their entire congregations en masse back to Rome.
Let us all Pray that this does indeed happen.
Pax et Bonum
July 14, 2008 at 2:36 pm |
I was a Christian who attended church, up until the age of 20 when the exclusion of women from the church’s hierarchy was too much for me – as a woman, to accept. It’s not something I could imagine my caring, loving god could have wanted. I haven’t been to church since. At 36 years old I am finally going back, and it will be only to a church that accepts women bishops.
Thank you
July 14, 2008 at 6:00 pm |
Sam, worth considering: “Exclusion” isn’t perhaps the word of worldview one best takes. Priesthood is not a right or a promotion – no one misses out on their “rights” of fullness for NOT being ordained. It is a calling we are given – not one we demand.
When the Catholic Church is understood as the fullfillment of the New Israel – the light of revelation to the gentiles… Well looking at the precursor to our happy Church, Israel, one is left scratching their head when they try to imagine the people of Israel telling the Almighty how things are going to go down in temple worship.
Welcome back to the practice of faith Sam. In time we would like to welcome you back to the practice of the Faith.
July 14, 2008 at 10:40 pm |
Sam,
Thanks for visiting the blog. Even though we disagree with you on this matter, we are glad you stopped by. I second Simple Sinner’s fine answer.
Out of curiosity, how exactly did you feel excluded by not having females in the hierarchy of your church? You say, “as a woman” this made you feel excluded.
I ask because in the Western Catholic Church, only unmarried men may enter the priesthood (with a few possible exceptions), meaning I can never be a priest. I honestly have never felt excluded by that. I am not called to the priesthood, and if I were, I would meet the requirements. The Apostolic Churches (Catholic and Orthodox) believe that God established a priesthood, and this is reserved for males. It is not about denying women rights, it is that from a Catholic + Orthodox perspective, women can’t be priests, in the same way that a man can’t give birth and be a mother. However, with the exception of being ordained, women can do, and do, a lot of what priests do: teach, counsel, serve in leadership roles, etc. Women have a lot of say in the Catholic church, and pretty much run the Catholic educational and charitable system at all levels, sit on many parish councils, and serve at high levels in the Church, but just not as priests, and that is on account of the nature of the priesthood itself, not because of discrimination. In fact, I noticed one day that the committee that determined the high school religious curriculum for my diocese consisted of 37 people, and 35 of these were women.
July 17, 2008 at 9:43 pm |
Sam, go to the Episcopal Church…they’ll ordain women…cats, dogs, dollbabies anything.