Quote Of The Day - Tobias Haller

There's No Place Like Rome:

As Dorothy learned, of course, they always had the power to do so, as indeed many had, individually, before them. Just click the heels of the ruby slippers three times and say, "There's no place like Rome; there's no place like Rome; there's no place like..." And Anglicanism they will say, was just a colorful dream populated with familiar figures.

May they find peace in their new abode. I prefer this side of the Tiber Rainbow.

As I do.

Packing For The Journey

Many thanks to Canon G.

More On The Joint Statement

If you read nothing more about the Joint Statement from +Rowan and +Vincent, read Elizabeth Kaeton's excellent post at Telling Secrets linking the commentary from Lambeth about the new plan by the Vatican to incorporate Anglo-Catholics into the Roman Catholic Church and Lambeth's lack of response to a draconian new law proposed in Uganda:

Meanwhile, there's been 'radio silence' from Lambeth Palace concerning the new law in Uganda making "aggressive homosexuality" a capitol offense. Those found "guilty" are sentenced to death.

The "crime" has carried with it a life sentence and prohibition from any treatment for HIV/AIDS, but this is a much more aggressive attack on those the Ugandan government considers "aggressive homosexuals".

Guess the law hasn't been "aggressive" enough.

Read it all.

And you really should read Lionel Deimel's blog post titled "Looking on the Bright Side":

The announcement was surely not a surprise. A number of Anglo-Catholic groups in the U.S. and elsewhere have appealed to the Vatican for such an arrangement, and the Vatican has not been unsympathetic. (One immediately thinks of the letter of support sent to the so-called Plano meeting of Episcopal Church dissidents in October 2003 by the current holder of the papal office.)

H/T to The Lead.

The response to the statement by the Episcopal Church is short and of the taking-it-under-advisement variety, which is for the best, as there is no need for a hasty response.

On the other hand, Mark Harris at Preludium posts the rather hasty (of necessity!) letter from the Archbishop of Canterbury to the bishops and primates of the Anglican Communion. An excerpt:

I am sorry that there has been no opportunity to alert you earlier to this; I was informed of the planned announcement at a very late stage, and we await the text of the Apostolic Constitution itself and its code of practice in the coming weeks. But I thought I should let you know the main points of the response I am making in our local English context – in full consultation with Roman Catholic bishops in England and Wales – in the hope of avoiding any confusion or misrepresentation. I attach a copy of the Joint Statement that I agreed to make alongside the Archbishop of Westminster, the President of the Bishops' Conference of England and Wales. It can also be found on my website.

It remains to be seen what use will be made of this provision, since it is now up to those who have made requests to the Holy See to respond to the Apostolic Constitution; but, in the light of recent discussions with senior officials in the Vatican, I can say that this new possibility is in no sense at all intended to undermine existing relations between our two communions or to be an act of proselytism or aggression. It is described as simply a response to specific enquiries from certain Anglican groups and individuals wishing to find their future within the Roman Catholic Church.

+Rowan was so busy consulting with Roman Catholic bishops in England and Wales, that he missed consulting with bishops and primates in the Church of England and the Anglican Communion. Oh dear!

"Thank You, Bishop Spong"

See Lavender Wolves for Bishop Spong's latest statement on inclusion and equality for LGTB persons. Mike says:

Bishop Spong feels that it is way past time to treat the haters as if their argument has a moral and intellectual equivalence to the voices of inclusion and equality. I've felt that way for a long time, and I'm happy to see such a strong statement from Bishop Spong.

I'm about at the end of my tolerance for discussion of certain aspects of inclusion and equality for LGTB folks, too. To a large extent I agree with Bp. Spong, but I'd stretch his limits a bit.

Joint Statement By +Rowan And +Vincent

From the Anglican Communion News Service:

Joint Statement by The Archbishop of Westminster and The Archbishop of Canterbury

Today's announcement of the Apostolic Constitution is a response by Pope Benedict XVI to a number of requests over the past few years to the Holy See from groups of Anglicans who wish to enter into full visible communion with the Roman Catholic Church, and are willing to declare that they share a common Catholic faith and accept the Petrine ministry as willed by Christ for his Church.

Pope Benedict XVI has approved, within the Apostolic Constitution, a canonical structure that provides for Personal Ordinariates, which will allow former Anglicans to enter full communion with the Catholic Church while preserving elements of distinctive Anglican spiritual patrimony.

The announcement of this Apostolic Constitution brings to an end a period of uncertainty for such groups who have nurtured hopes of new ways of embracing unity with the Catholic Church. It will now be up to those who have made requests to the Holy See to respond to the Apostolic Constitution.

The Apostolic Constitution is further recognition of the substantial overlap in faith, doctrine and spirituality between the Catholic Church and the Anglican tradition. Without the dialogues of the past forty years, this recognition would not have been possible, nor would hopes for full visible unity have been nurtured. In this sense, this Apostolic Constitution is one consequence of ecumenical dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion.

The on-going official dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion provides the basis for our continuing cooperation. The Anglican Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC) and International Anglican Roman Catholic Commission for Unity and Mission (IARCCUM) agreements make clear the path we will follow together.

With God's grace and prayer we are determined that our on-going mutual commitment and consultation on these and other matters should continue to be strengthened. Locally, in the spirit of IARCCUM, we look forward to building on the pattern of shared meetings between the Catholic Bishops Conference of England and Wales and the Church of England's House of Bishops with a focus on our common mission. Joint days of reflection and prayer were begun in Leeds in 2006 and continued in Lambeth in 2008, and further meetings are in preparation. This close cooperation will continue as we grow together in unity and mission, in witness to the Gospel in our country, and in the Church at large.

+ Vincent + Rowan

I'm trying to wrap my head around the meaning of the statement. It appears to me that the Archbishop of Canterbury is cooperating with the authorities in the Roman Catholic Church to have members of his flock in the Church of England (and the Anglican Communion?) leave to join the church of Rome, while holding on to their Anglican liturgical traditions, and that he sees this as a win-win solution to the problem of the disagreement within the CofE and the AC over women and gay bishops. And we should all come rejoicing bringing in the sheaves?

Now of course, I could be wrong in my reading of this statement, so please, if you can, clarify for me just what the hell is going on here.

H/T to Madpriest, who has more on this announcement.

UPDATE: The article in the Guardian sheds light. It appears that Rowan may have been caught by surprise. If you play with fire, you should not be surprised if you get burned. Rowan should have known that the Vatican will not share authority with what they consider to be just another "apostate, heretical, and schismatic" church.

The archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, informed journalists that he only heard about the apostolic constitution "a couple of weeks ago" and that there was no input from or consultation with Lambeth Palace. His face reddened as he spoke and, at one point, the archbishop of Westminster, Vincent Nichols, answered questions relating to Williams's leadership and authority.

Williams said: "I do not think this constitution will be seen as in any sense a commentary on Anglican problems offered by the Vatican. It is a response to this range of requests and inquiries from a very broad variety of people, either Anglican or of Anglican heritage. In that sense it has no negative impact on the relations of the communion as a whole to the Roman Catholic church as a whole. It is not an act of aggression, it is not a statement of no confidence. It is business as usual."

His face should redden. But then he goes on to speak words of appeasement. We are still friends. When will Rowan take his place in the world of reality?

UPDATE 2: From the New York Times:

And many Anglican and Catholic leaders expressed surprise, even shock, at something they said would undermine efforts at ecumenical dialogue and capitalize on deep divisions within the Anglican Church over issues like the ordination of gay bishops and blessing same-sex unions.
....

In the United States, many traditionalists have already broken away from the Episcopal Church and formed their own conservative Anglican structures, and experts speculated that proportionally fewer would be eager to join the Catholic fold.
....

The Very Rev. Paul Richardson, the archbishop’s representative to the Vatican, said he was taken aback by the Vatican’s decision, which he said was not in line with an ongoing ecumenical dialogue between the Catholic and Anglican churches.

“It doesn’t seem to me to help the ecumenical dialogue, but perhaps it will galvanize the ecumenical dialogue,” Bishop Richardson said. “I don’t see it as an affront to the Anglican Church but I’m puzzled by what it means and by the timing of it.” He added, “I think some Anglicans will feel affronted.”

Paul Richardson seems to be a tad more reality based than his boss, but it seems ludicrous to me to suggest that this stance by the Vatican will "galvanize the ecumenical dialogue".

UPDATE 3: The post is overlong already, so I'll provide links only to the National Catholic Reporter and Andrew Brown at the Guardian.

H/T to Jim Naughton at The Lead.

Your Thoughts?

Images courtesy of Cardinal Pirelli.

We Are Episconinjas

H/T to Mark Harris at Preludium.

Oh Crap!

New Jersey - Saturday

The gracious hosts, Paul (A.) and Catherine with an old woman

After we finished lunch, Doug and I returned to his Toyota Celica and headed for New Jersey to the home of Paul (A.) and his lovely wife Catherine. I finally rode the New Jersey Turnpike, about which I have heard so much. The traffic was not bad that day. I saw the port, rows and rows of empty containers, the oil storage tanks, the utility company structures, the most scenic features of the Garden State. (Ouch! That's a low blow. Sorry, New Jerseyites, I couldn't resist.)

Doug is a good driver, and with only one pit stop for Doug to buy cheaper New Jersey gas and a visit to the facilities, and a stop at a Filipino bakery in town to buy dessert, we made our way to Paul and Catherine's home. Paul emailed Doug clear and detailed directions, and he found his way to the house without difficulty.

Paul, Catherine, their beautiful daughter Elizabeth, and Allie were waiting for us. Allie looked wonderfully intact, considering that she had been thrown off her bicycle by a hit and run driver only days before. I was so happy to see gorgeous Allie looking so good. See for yourself below. I'm thinking that black is perhaps not my color, or maybe I just look that bad in any color. Oy!



Allie and me

Catherine and Paul(?) prepared a delicious meal for us which included appetizers of salmon, cheese, and crackers, and large and delicious boiled shrimp with a spicey dip. You know the shrimp were tasty if I say so, because I'm accustomed to good Louisiana shrimp. Paul didn't know where they came from. Oh, I nearly forgot the fresh strawberries from the garden.

While we had our drinks of choice and nibbled the appetizers, Deborah arrived. It was not until well into the visit that I realized that we had a priest in our midst. Deborah is the rector of the church that the family and Allie attend. I said, "Oh, you're a priest!" and I gave Deborah a big hug, just in case I had embarrassed my hosts and Allie in front of their rector. They said no, that she was cool and not easily embarrassed.

Then we had dinner. The menu consisted of a black bean and sweet potato stew, risotto, and salad. Everything was delicious. The ingredients for the stew sound like an unlikely combination, but it was gooood. Catherine sent me the recipe, which is below.



Two good-looking dudes - Doug and Paul

Last course was dessert. Allie made a scrumptious toffee-banana pie. It was the best. And we had the desserts from the bakery, and perhaps more. My memory is fading. Another lovely evening. And Doug was kind enough to put up with me all day Saturday. Poor man.


Black Bean and Sweet Potato Stew

prep time: 10 minutes | cooking time: 25 minutes | makes 2 to 3 servings
I really like this recipe, its similar to chili but different enough to be interesting.
Equipment:
large saucepan, knife

Ingredients
3 Tbsps. Olive Oil
1 C. chopped Onion
1 Bell Pepper, seeded and chopped
2 Cloves Garlic, finely chopped
1 Tbsp. Chili Powder
1 1/2 C. diced peeled Sweet Potato (about 6 oz.)
1 can Mexican style stewed tomatoes (14-16 oz.)
1 can Black beans or 2 cups drained cooked Black Beans, rinsed.
3 Tbsps. chopped cilantro
1/2 tsps. Tabasco or Hot Pepper Sauce
Salt and Pepper to taste (it may not need it)

Directions
1) In a large saucepan heat olive oil. Add the onion, green pepper,
and garlic. Cook over medium heat until the vegetables begin to soften, about 4 minutes.
Stir in the chili powder and cook 1 minute. Add 1 cup water and sweet potato. Cover and cook
until potatoes can be pierced with a sharp knife, about 10 minutes.

2) Add the stewed tomatoes and beans, breaking the tomatoes up into smaller chunks
with the side of the spoon. Simmer the stew uncovered over medium-low heat until
the potato is very tender, about 8 minutes. To thicken the sauce slightly, mash about
a quarter of the beans against the side of the pan.

3) Stir in cilantro and season with Tabasco and salt and pepper (if desired).

Recipe from Post Punk Kitchen.

Email Password

A company is doing a security audit of a computer network. During the audit, they discover that that one employee, with the username "blonde," has a password that is "MickeyMinniePlutoHueyLouieDeweyDonaldGoofy."

The security analyst approaches the user.

"Excuse me," he says. "Is your username 'blonde'?"

"Yes, it is," she says.

"Do you mind if I ask you why you have such a ridiculously long password? Is it for security reasons?"

"No," the blond says. "That's not why."

"Well, why is it so long?"

"Because when we had to select a password, we were told that it had to be at least eight characters."

Don't blame me. Blame Doug.