A friend and former chaplain of the Archbishop of Canterbury has criticised the Pope's 'ecumenical bad manners' and accused him of fomenting division. In a debate on BBC Radio Wales to be broadcast tomorrow morning, on the All Things Considered programme, the Bishop of St Asaph Gregory Cameron challenges the Pope's move to welcome disaffected Anglican Catholics.
Listen to the podcast, "All roads Lead to Rome?" at the BBC.
Gledhill says:
Friends of Dr Rowan Williams have warned me that the Archbishop does not like it much when journalists play the Gregory-Cameron-friendship card, but the fact remains that Father Gregory, a truly dear and saintly priest in the old Welsh tradition who was recently consecrated, is a close former colleague of the Archbishop's and was his chaplain for years in Wales.
Oh dear! I have something of a soft spot for Bishop Cameron, because it seems that he once responded to a post on my blog. From a statement that he made regarding church property of the Episcopal Church, I saw that he misunderstood our polity in TEC, and I posted about his misunderstanding.
Gledhill commends Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams for his silence in response to the overture by the Vatican, but I don't agree that his silence is a good thing. To me, it makes him look weak. He was quite vocal in his criticism of the Episcopal Church, his sister church in the Anglican Communion and my church, on more than one occasion. Why so timid with the Roman Catholic Church upon its announcement of an intention to raid the membership of Anglican churches around the world?
Bishop Cameron is more forthcoming:
Bishop Gregory Cameron: 'I think I have two concerns really. It seems to me that what we’ve got here is basically a case of ecumenical bad manners. The decision by the Pope, I think, has taken a lot of people by surprise. There was no consultation whatsoever with the leadership of the Anglican Communion. The Archbishop of Canterbury was given 24 hours notice of the announcement and I would have hoped that that was not the way we do things.
Mgr Andrew Faley of the Bishops' Conference was the spokesman for the Roman Catholic Church:
Mgr Andrew Faley: 'Now, the Pope is not an ill-mannered man, as far as I’m aware, it’s not so much about ecumenical bad manners as the Pope’s concern for the unity of the church.
Mgr Faley repeated "the Pope’s concern for the unity of the church" several times during the interview. I assume that is the talking point from the RCC side. "That's my story, and I'm sticking to it." Raiding the membership of another denomination with whom one has an ongoing ecumenical relationship seems a strange path to take to promote the unity of the church.
Congratulations to Ruth on her cat's giving birth to a litter of seven kittens on Halloween.
Thanks to Nicholas Knisely at The Lead for the link.
Mgr Andrew Faley: 'Now, the Pope is not an ill-mannered man, as far as I’m aware, it’s not so much about ecumenical bad manners as the Pope’s concern for the unity of the church.
ReplyDeleteNothing has changed since the 12th century, has it?
Tradition!
Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose.
ReplyDeleteTradition!
Monsignor Fraley gave one of the most contemptuously dismissive and snide answers I've seen in a long time.
ReplyDeleteHe really doesn't need to tell anyone he's in the Catholic hierarchy.
Yes, Mark, it was that.
ReplyDeleteNothing I have to say on this topic is printable here, not even on my own rude blog. I have always held Joey Ratz in contempt and shall continue to do so. Alas, Rowan has joined him in my contempt list. Their office neither excuse them nor force me to be polite.
ReplyDeleteoffices
ReplyDeletePaul, sometimes I wonder if the two are not operating out of the same office.
ReplyDeleteMimi
ReplyDeletemaybe they are the same people?
Erika, it's possible.
ReplyDelete