To note what we share is not to say there isn’t a certain sting when we read the headlines. Benedict XVI has managed all at once to intrude into our own church’s internal struggles for a very narrow strategic purpose; insult the very validity of who we are; and, at the same claim to value what we offer. The move seems designed to divide us. Some may take joy in this, but I do not. It feels something like coming home to find that the burglar has left a note on the coffee table complimenting us on our decor.
The burglar bit is good, isn't it?
What I don't understand is how the Archbishop of Canterbury was gullible and naive enough to think that the pope viewed him in any way as an equal. In any negotiations, the give would be all on the ABC's side. In addition, consultation seems not to be a high priority for B16, as he did not even consult with his own English bishops, much less with Rowan, before he sprang his surprise invitation.
Libby Purves, a journalist I greatly admire, has written an excellent piece in The Times on Benny's latest stunt.
ReplyDelete"But convert clergy may not find life as good as they had hoped, despite being freed from the terror of meeting woman priests and having to bless civil partners rather than excoriate them, Vatican-style, as “intrinsically disordered”. Despite the modified prayer book they will find their style and even pastoral advice gravely restricted; they may flinch at the uncompromising voice of the Vatican after the gentle bleating of Cantuars.
"Anglicanism was founded on uneasy compromise, and this has, over centuries, made it kindly and even humble: a mixed salad of a faith. Catholicism is older, darker, strong raw meat. It may choke them."
Worth a post and link, surely.
ReplyDelete