It just had to happen, after decades of drifting in to a creed less state, the Church Of England has been given a real jolt, by the sudden decision of the Pope to offer conservative Anglicans a safe theological haven within the Roman Catholic Church.
The offer is of a chance to join the Roman Catholic Church as full members, but hang on to many of their Anglican traditions and practices - and indeed preserve much of their "Anglican identity". Now, Anglicans have converted to Catholicism on a case by case basis for centuries, but now a special section of the Catholic church will mean essentially they can walk across (married or not) en masse.
It's predicted that between 600 and 1500 Anglican clergy will make the move, either immediately or in the next year or so.
As one of those likely to leave, Father Geoffrey Kirk said. "The Church of England is, in the view of many of us, ceasing to be the church of Jesus Christ and becoming the church of political correctness, not only the ordination of women to the priesthood and the episcopate - to which we object - but also in many attitudes to human sexuality from divorce and remarriage, to homosexuality."
So what does this all mean for my favourite shambolic religious establishment?
Well it could mean the end of the civil war inside the C of E, with either the conservative wing much weakened or disappearing completely. Good news you would have thought for the Protestant "reforming" wing of the C of E who will feel less pressure over issues they espouse, such as homosexual and women clerics (including Bishops and above), as well as interpretation of the theology.
But maybe not.
The Church of England has never been a wholly Protestant organisation (because of historical reasons over its formation) and traditionally has housed both a conservative 'catholic' and more radical 'protestant' wing. Until the last few decades, these two schools of faith balanced and centered the church, and led to a middle theological course being steered.
But recently the rudder has been seized by the feminists and others, and the C of E has set off in to uncharted theological waters. This latest move, is also likely to permanently break the historical ties with the Roman Catholic church, and leave the C of E a much more "Protestant" organisation.
It would be very easy for this new "Protestant" church to drift ever more in to the new theology of PC'ism and indeed become "the church of political correctness."
Whatever happens, its sure to be funny, and I for one will be watching the ensuing fun and games with undisguised glee.
Sunday, 25 October 2009
1 comment:
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I wonder what that 'fat vicar' (or what ever his name was. I think it was on this sight that he had a go?), thinks about this?
ReplyDeleteAs I remember it (apologies if it was on another blog), he was some what politically on the left, and no doubt on the socialist 'protestant' wing of the C of E.