Both the UK government and the devolved Scottish government are considering legislative changes to allow civil same-sex marriages.
This post by Adam Wagner at UK Human Rights Blog summarises the current legislative situation in both jurisdictions: Gay marriage on the way… but not quite yet.
…The Prime Minister said in his speech that “we’re consulting on legalising gay marriage.” In fact, to the annoyance of some campaigners, the consultation was announced by the Equalities Minister last month but will not begin until March of next year. According to gay news website Pink News, the Prime Minster personally intervened to ensure the law is changed “within the lifetime of this parliament“, but Liberal Conspiracy doubts whether this is now practically possible. By contrast, a Scottish consultation on gay marriage launched in September…
The Scottish Government’s consultation – which also covers the issue of civil partnership registrations taking place on religious premises in Scotland – is already in progress, see The Registration of Civil Partnerships Same Sex Marriage – A Consultation.
This consultation paper seeks views on the possibility of allowing religious ceremonies for civil partnerships and the possible introduction of same sex marriage…
…The Scottish Government is choosing to make its initial views clear at the outset of this consultation. We tend towards the view that religious ceremonies for civil partnerships should no longer be prohibited and that same sex marriage should be introduced so that same sex couples have the option of getting married if that is how they wish to demonstrate their commitment to each other. We also believe that no religious body or its celebrants should be required to carry out same sex marriages or civil partnership ceremonies…
Objections to this proposal have been voiced strongly. In particular:
Archbishop Mario Conti issues Statement on marriage
Bishop Philip Tartaglia; “same sex ‘marriage’ is neither warranted nor needed”
And most recently, Former SNP leader calls for gay marriage referendum.
There have been objections to the objections too. Most notably from the Provost of St Mary’s Cathedral, Glasgow, who preached this sermon last Sunday.
…It vexes me greatly to say so in public, but at such a time as this, there seems no alternative but to speak up. The behaviour of our brothers, the Roman Catholic Bishops in recent days, has been so unpleasant and so ill judged that it risks harming the good influence of the whole Christian community.
To behave as though bishops carry some kind of block vote to Holyrood, to threaten politicians and to decry those who want access to the dignity of marriage as unnatural…. to say these things seems to me to go too far.
Such comments from the leaders of the Roman Catholic church have left me feeling embarrassed as a Christian. There is a risk that all of the churches will appear to be out of touch, arrogant, conceited and rude. We don’t all have to agree but we are all called to behave charitably and there has been an absence of love in this relentlessly bitter campaign and it diminishes us all…
This led to news coverage in several places, including The Times (not available online without subscription) which ran a story with extensive quotes from the sermon under the headline Catholic views on gay marriage ‘unpleasant’.
And Channel 4 News hosted a discussion on the general topic (not specifically related to Scotland) which you can see here: Is Britain divided over the issue of gay marriage?
12 CommentsThe Belfast Newsletter reports: CoE bishop at gay clergy row meeting.
A CONSERVATIVE Church of England bishop has attended a meeting of Church of Ireland clergy increasingly unhappy at their church’s response to a minister’s same-sex partnership.
There are few details about where Monday night’s meeting, which was first revealed by this newspaper last Thursday, was held, or how many were present.
However, the News Letter understands that the meeting included an address by Bishop Wallace Benn, a leading figure on the right of the Church of England…
The Newsletter also quotes an editorial in the forthcoming edition of the Church of Ireland Gazette. Full text of editorial below the fold.
“It is not an exaggeration to say that, as a result of this whole scenario, the Church of Ireland’s very unity is imperilled,” the editorial says.
“For that reason, it is somewhat concerning that the bishops refer to a need for yet further study and research on related biblical, theological and legal issues, because such could be a charter for years-long argumentation. We need to study such matters, but we also need to do so expeditiously.”
The editorial adds that in other Anglican churches the gay debate had seemed “interminable”. It says that the Windsor Report, which in an attempt to ease tensions led to the Anglican Covenant, had bought more time “but more time turns out to have been precisely not what was needed”.
“Now, the communion has reached breaking point and we have two primates’ meetings and a whole new Anglican church in north America. The dragging on has been because, of course, the Anglican Communion cannot legislate for the communion as a whole.
“However, the Church of Ireland can legislate for the Church of Ireland, and so a clear regulation of the issue before us is needed urgently if we are not to find ourselves in a situation resembling that of the Anglican Communion in all its woes.
“The Church of Ireland probably can contain itself for the process which the bishops have outlined, but it will be difficult.”
The Archbishop of Armagh, Alan Harper has commented further on the recent pastoral letter from the Irish bishops in his diocesan synod presidential address. See detailed report here. Text also available here.
17 CommentsUpdated yet again Thursday afternoon
See earlier report South Carolina bishop accused of “abandonment”.
In the comments to that article, I provided links to some criticisms of what was, at the time, assumed to be the process being followed. It now appears that those assumptions were wrong. The Living Church reports:
In response to questions from The Living Church and others, the Rt. Rev. Dorsey Henderson, president of the Disciplinary Board for Bishops, provided this explanation regarding accusations brought to the board against the Rt. Rev. Mark J. Lawrence, Bishop of South Carolina.
See Bp. Henderson Explains Disciplinary Board’s Duty.
A question has arisen about the process for administration of the so-called “abandonment” canon (Title IV.16) especially as it applies to bishops. Although it has come in a couple of forms, the question might be expressed in this way: “Who initiates action when information arises which indicates that abandonment of The Episcopal Church may have occurred?”
In accordance with the canon, such proceedings are begun at the initiative of the Disciplinary Board itself (although this has not happened within memory, if ever), or when information is received by the Disciplinary Board from any credible source with standing to raise the issue. Perhaps the following is helpful.
Title IV.16 is entitled “Of Abandonment of The Episcopal Church,” and sub-section (A) is the portion thereof which relates to bishops. It designates that conduct which constitutes abandonment and specifies the process for administration of the canon when such conduct happens, or is alleged to have happened.
Title IV.17 is entitled “Of Proceedings for Bishops.” It addresses terminology applicable to Title IV.16, but the canons make clear that the process to be followed for abandonment is markedly different from that to be followed with other kinds of infractions…
This has provoked further critical comments:
ACI Title IV: Abandonment Without Offense? and Anglican Curmudgeon Bishop Henderson: It’s “Business as Usual” in the Church.
The full text of the Title IV canons can be found here (PDF).
Some more background can be found in this ENS news report from June: Disciplinary Board for Bishops formed for new Title IV canons.
Wednesday evening update
The Diocese of South Carolina has published this account of a meeting held yesterday, Bishop and Clergy of the Diocese Meet to Discuss “Serious Charges” Made Against Bishop Lawrence.
In an atmosphere of prayerful solemnity, the Bishop and Clergy of the Diocese of South Carolina gathered at Saint James Church, James Island, S.C. for more than two hours on Tuesday, October 12. In focus were the “serious charges” that have been made against Bishop Mark Lawrence and the diocese under the new Title IV canons.
Bishop Lawrence began by restating the diocesan vision of “Making Biblical Anglicans for a Global Age” and then traced the history of the current controversy in The Episcopal Church and the many obstacles they presented to pursuing our diocesan vision. He ended with the two recent diocesan conventions in which the diocese refused to be coerced into the Episcopal Church’s embrace of the new title IV canons which violate both due process and the Episcopal Church’s own constitution. Of further concern with the current allegations is that evidently this process doesn’t allow the accused to know who his accusers are…
Thursday lunchtime update
The State a newspaper in South Carolina reports Bishop urges calm over Lawrence inquiry
Retired Episcopal Bishop Dorsey F. Henderson Jr. sought Wednesday to quell tensions among S.C. Lowcountry clergy, saying the national church is not attacking its bishop, the Right Rev. Mark Lawrence.
Henderson, who heads the national Episcopal Church’s Disciplinary Board for Bishops, told Lawrence Sept. 29 that the board is investigating allegations, made by churchgoers within Lawrence’s diocese, that he abandoned the doctrine, discipline and worship of the Episcopal Church.
But Wednesday Henderson made clear that the inquiry is in its earliest stages and in no way implies that Lawrence may have committed any wrong. Henderson said he notified Lawrence and shared all the information the board had received.
“I thought he needed to know,” said Henderson, who led the Episcopal Diocese of Upper South Carolina until his retirement in 2009. “I thought it was only fair for him to know that we had this information and that we were studying it.”
…But Henderson said, “The idea that the Episcopal Church is after Bishop Lawrence and after the diocese is incorrect. I’m going to keep the board focused and, as much as humanly possible, to stay narrowly focused on the canon and to see if that information fits the definition of abandonment.”
Thursday afternoon update
Bishop Henderson has issued a further statement which is copied in full below the fold.
8 CommentsUpdated Tuesday evening
Aislinn Laing in the Telegraph Analysis: will Robert Mugabe keep his word to the Archbishop of Canterbury?
Zim Eye Anglican church does not allow homosexuality – Archbishop Williams
Mail Online Tea and scones with a tyrant: Archbishop meets Mugabe in controversial visit to Zimbabwe
SW Radio Africa Kunonga hides behind homosexual debate in Anglican saga
The Herald (Published by the government of Zimbabwe) Anglican Head Admits Gay Problem
Lambeth Palace press release: Archbishops meet with Zimbabwean Prime Minister
Zimbabwe Telegraph Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town Condemns “Thuggery” Against Zimbabwean Church
Mail Online Peter Mullen The Archbishop displays a distressing innocence on this foolish, pointless visit
Associated Press Report: Zimbabwe bishops threatened, abused
Nehanda Radio Archbishop Williams harassed in Zimbabwe
and
Attack by Kunonga ‘mindless and Godless’
Living Church John Martin Denying Mugabe a Grip-and-Grin
8 CommentsUpdated again
BBC Archbishop of Canterbury set to meet Robert Mugabe
Independent Williams’s ‘healing’ Zimbabwe trip starts with anti-gay protests
ZimGuardian Archbishop of Canterbury cheered in Zimbabwe
Voice of America Anglican Leader Visits Zimbabwe Amid Dispute Over Renegade Cleric
Zimbabwe Guardian Archbishop of Canterbury arrives in Zimbabwe
BBC Archbishop delivers message of hope to Zimbabwe
Reuters Archbishop of Canterbury to confront Zimbabwe’s Mugabe
Telegraph via Sydney Morning Herald Aislinn Laing Forthright archbishop takes good fight to Zimbabwe
AFP Anglican leader voices ‘concerns’ in Mugabe talks
Lambeth Palace has now issued this press release: Archbishops meet Zimbabwean President
Following their meeting with President Robert Mugabe, the Archbishops of Canterbury, Central Africa, Southern Africa and Tanzania issued the following statement at their press conference…
Full text below the fold. The accompanying Dossier of abuses committed against the Anglican Dioceses of Zimbabwe is a PDF file here. And is now also available as a normal web page here.
Subsequent press reports:
Guardian
David Smith Robert Mugabe offers Rowan Williams tea but little sympathy
Simon Tisdall If only UK politicians were as brave as Rowan Williams about Zimbabwe
Telegraph
Aislinn Laing Archbishop of Canterbury tells Robert Mugabe to act over church abuses
and
Archbishop of Canterbury confronts Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe over controversial Anglican split
New Zimbabwe Mugabe ‘on top of things’: Williams
Voice of America
Archbishop Hands Mugabe Dossier of Grievances
and
Zimbabwe’s Mugabe Meets With Anglican Leader Over Harare Church Dispute
AFP via Sydney Morning Herald Williams urges Mugabe to end attacks
Reuters Head of Anglican church confronts Zimbabwe’s Mugabe
BBC Rowan Williams hands Robert Mugabe Zimbabwe abuse file
3 CommentsUpdated frequently on Sunday as additional reports are published
The Telegraph reports Archbishop of Canterbury cheered in Zimbabwe.
Lambeth Palace has published the full text of the Archbishop’s sermon to the Anglicans in Zimbabwe.
Riazat Butt, and David Smith in Harare, write for the Guardian that Rowan Williams takes Mugabe to task in Zimbabwe sermon.
Associated Press via the Seattle Post-Intelligencer has a report, with numerous photos of demonstrators opposing the visit, headlined Archbishop says Christianity not about politics.
Zim Guardian has Mugabe, Archbishop of Canterbury Set for Fiery Meeting
AFP Anglican leader cheered in Zimbabwe amid Church split
BBC Archbishop of Canterbury on ‘healing’ Zimbabwe trip
Reuters Archbishop of Canterbury denounces attacks on Zimbabwe church
Telegraph Aislinn Laing Archbishop of Canterbury attacks ‘mindless and Godless’ assaults on Anglicans
Press Association Williams backs Zimbabwe’s Anglicans
6 CommentsUpdated Sunday morning
The Sunday Telegraph has two reports:
Aislinn Laing in Harare and Jonathan Wynne-Jones Archbishop Rowan Williams warned over meeting with Mugabe
The Archbishop of Canterbury has been warned by senior church leaders that he risks handing a propaganda coup to President Robert Mugabe by seeking to meet the Zimbabwean dictator on Sunday.
Aislinn Laing Zimbabwe Church row as Archbishop of Canterbury visits: meet the child orphans who are its victims
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, arrives in Zimbabwe on Sunday in a bid to heal a growing rift in the country’s church. Aislinn Laing visited an orphanage where 80 unhappy children are among its victims.
Two other earlier reports:
Voice of America has Archbishop of Canterbury Due in Zimbabwe; No Word on Mugabe Meeting
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams, was expected in Harare, Zimbabwe, this weekend for a major service Sunday at the City Sports Centre with Anglicans from the Church of the Province of Central Africa under Bishop Chad Gandiya.
Williams is expected to meet with President Robert Mugabe on Monday in what most see as a bid to end an acrimonious and at times violent rift among Zimbabwean Anglicans that started in 2007 when Harare Bishop Nolbert Kunonga resigned from the church saying homosexual priests and congregants had gained influence…
RadioVOP Anglican Does Not Support Homosexuality – Archbishop Of Canterbury
The Anglican Church of the Province of Central Africa (CPCA) on Thursday said it does not condone homosexuality.
“It is reaffirmed that the CPCA position regarding homosexuality is crystal clear. In terms of Canon 22, marriage is between one man and one woman and in consequence, homosexuality is not acceptable in the CPCA which comprises Botswana, Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe,” Reverend Clifford Dzavo, the secretary for the diocese of Harare said in a statement.“We therefore reiterate that the CPCA does not condone homosexuality. Whatever happens in other Provinces worldwide does not affect us as we do not necessarily share the same views with them.”
Press releases from Lambeth Palace:
Archbishop Rowan arrives in Malawi
Archbishop meets President Bingu wa Mutharika of Malawi
Archbishop’s Malawi sermon – God’s healing and mercy are there for all
Sunday morning updates
ENI via ACO Williams, Malawi president discuss church agriculture projects
New Zimbabwe Mugabe to challenge Williams over sanctions
PRESIDENT Robert Mugabe will engage the visiting Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams over homosexuality and the “illegal sanctions” imposed by the West, a spokesman of the Zimbabwean leader has said.
Zim Eye Mugabe may refuse to meet Rowan Williams
President Robert Mugabe may refuse to meet Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams as it emerged after more thanthree weeks waiting, Mugabe is still to respond to the former’s request for audience, amid fierce fighting between ousted Bishop Kunonga and the current head of the Anglican church in Zimbabwe, Chad Gandiya.
Without providing more details, a source in the President’s office on Friday indicated that it was still not clear President Robert would accept Williams’ meeting request.
His statement was weighed in by presidential spokesman George Charamba who said that “if ever the two are going to meet”, Mugabe and the State in Zimbabwe “have nothing to do with the goings-on in the local chapter of the Anglican Church.”
BBC Archbishop of Canterbury on ‘healing’ Zimbabwe trip
CNN Archbishop wants to meet with Mugabe over Anglican persecution allegations
AFP Mugabe wants to quiz Anglican leader on gays, sanctions
2 Comments…Mugabe’s spokesman George Charamba did not say if the two men would meet, but told the state-run Sunday Mail newspaper that if they did speak, the 87-year-old president would challenge Williams about gays and sanctions.
“Fundamentally, he would want to know why the church of the British state, the Anglican Church, has remained so loudly silent while the people of Zimbabwe, and these people include Anglicans, are suffering from the illegal sanctions,” Charamba said.
“The second issue that the president wants this man of God to clarify is why his Anglican Church thinks homosexuality is good for us and why it should be prescribed for us.
“He thinks the Archbishop will be polite enough to point to him that portion of the Great Book (that) sanctions homosexuality and sanctions sanctions.”
Updated Saturday afternoon to add the Chichester results.
Updated Saturday evening to add the Exeter results.
Updated Sunday to add more details of the Chichester debates (below the fold).
Three more diocesan synods held their debates on the women bishops legislation today.
1) At Lichfield the main motion
That this Synod approves the proposals embodied in the draft Bishops and Priests (Consecration and ordination of women) Measure and in draft Amending Canon Number 30.
was carried in all three houses. Here are the detailed voting figures.
| For | Against | Abstentions | |
| Bishops | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Clergy | 45 | 13 | 0 |
| Laity | 46 | 18 | 2 |
The usual following motion (text below) was defeated.
That this Synod
1. Desires that all faithful Anglicans remain and thrive together in the Church of England; and therefore
2. Calls upon the House of Bishops to bring forward amendments to the draft Bishops and Priests (Consecration and Ordination of Women) Measure to ensure that those unable, on theological grounds, to accept the ministry of Women Bishops are able to receive episcopal oversight from a Bishop with authority (i.e. ordinary jurisdiction) conferred by the Measure rather than by delegation from a Diocesan Bishop.
The diocese has published this: Lichfield Diocese approves draft women bishops’ legislation.
2) At Chichester the main motion (as above) was defeated.
| For | Against | Abstentions | |
| Bishops | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Clergy | 30 | 35 | 0 |
| Laity | 37 | 41 | 0 |
There were two following motions seeking greater provision for opponents. The first (as above) was carried by 80 votes to 52. There was also a motion as at Manchester which was carried by 87 votes to 50.
The diocese has published this: Chichester votes NO.
Alastair Cutting has sent us more details of the Chichester debates as published on the Chalice wesbite; these are copied below the fold.
3) At Exeter the main motion was carried in the houses of clergy and laity (which is what matters for this purpose), although it was defeated in the house of bishops.
| For | Against | Abstentions | |
| Bishops | 1 | 2 | |
| Clergy | 30 | 18 | |
| Laity | 45 | 16 |
The synod also passed the following motion:
That this synod request the General Synod to debate a motion in the following form:
That this synod:
1. Desires that all faithful Anglicans remain and thrive together in the Church of England and therefore
2. Requests the House of Bishops, in exercise of its powers under Standing Order 60 (b) to amend the draft Bishops and Priests (Consecration and Ordination of Women) Measure so as to incorporate the amendments proposed by the Archbishops of Canterbury and York at the General Synod group of sessions in July 2010 as follows:
In clause 2 (1) leave out the words ‘way of delegation to’ and after clause 2(1) insert –
(2) The episcopal ministry referred to in subsections (1), (3) and (5) shall be exercisable by virtue of this section and shall not divest the bishop of the diocese of any of his or her functions.
Here are the voting figures.
| For | Against | Abstentions | |
| Bishops | 3 | 0 | |
| Clergy | 33 | 13 | |
| Laity | 26 | 23 |
The diocese has published this: Women in the Episcopate legislation.
23 CommentsLaura Brosnan asks in The Guardian How can it be fair to say I can’t be saved by God if I’m gay?
“Christian friends rejected me when I came out to them, citing Leviticus. But my faith comes from the love of God, not the Bible.”
Riazat Butt writes in The Guardian about UK chaplains in Afghanistan: ordinary priests with an extraordinary flock.
“With their camouflage Bibles and combat crosses, the forces’ 278 chaplains are outsiders in the church and the military.”
Martin L Smith writes for the Daily Episcopalian about Money, might and the name of God.
23 CommentsThe Irish Times in Dublin reports: C of I planning conference on sexuality for early 2012
A MAJOR conference on sexuality is being planned by the Church of Ireland for next spring and a pastoral letter will be issued by its archbishops and bishops in the next few days. The move follows a three-day meeting of the church’s House of Bishops this week.
It was precipitated by disclosure early last month that the Dean of Leighlin (Carlow) Rev Tom Gordon and his same-sex partner of 20 years had been married in a civil ceremony at a registry office last July. Formerly a lecturer at the Church of Ireland theological institute in Dublin and a co-ordinator of religious programmes at RTÉ, he was installed as Dean of Leighlin last year…
The Belfast News Letter reports: Archbishop had notice of cleric’s gay union plan
…Asked whether when he was first told of the same-sex union he realised that it would be a very difficult issue for the Church, the archbishop says: “Of course, of course.”
He adds: “There was nothing more that I could do. The civil partnership legislation is a freedom that he has and, technically, it’s not just not my diocese, it’s also not my province, it’s in the province of Dublin.
“But obviously then the urgent matter was to try and get an opportunity to begin to grapple with the issues as they have now presented themselves and that’s what we’re trying to do.”
So has he been surprised by the vocal opposition from evangelical and traditional Anglicans, many of them in Northern Ireland?
“I’m not surprised that it’s vocal,” he says. “I think probably the extent to which it has been sustained is interesting but this is a free country; this is a church which believes in people having the right to express themselves freely and I’ll defend that right if it is necessary to defend it.”
Asked whether the Church has a position on whether same-sex activity is sinful or normal, the archbishop says: “Sinful and normal are not alternatives. And so obviously, as you perfectly well know, there are different views within the Church as to whether or not a committed same-sex relationship is sinful.
“There has been a traditional view which has in effect not accepted the appropriateness of sexual relations between same-gender people. That is the traditional view.
“That view had come under question and that is where we find ourselves now and that’s why there’s a debate across the communion and that’s why we’ve got the present situation as it affects the Church of Ireland.
“The Church itself hasn’t thoroughly debated these new developments and the implications of these new developments. “That’s why it is necessary, it seems to me and to my fellow bishops, to put in train a way for the Church to address those matters.”
And earlier Church summit to address gay tensions
3 Comments…last night the News Letter learned that disillusioned conservative and evangelical members of the Church of Ireland are planning their own meeting next week.
The meeting, to be held in Northern Ireland on Monday, is to be addressed by a visiting bishop from outside Ireland, as some parishes become increasingly unhappy at the Irish bishops’ leadership…
Updated Friday afternoon
additional items below the fold
Official press release issued Wednesday:
Lambeth Palace Archbishop to pay a pastoral visit to the Church of the Province of Central Africa with map:
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams is today embarking on a week-long pastoral visit to the Church in Malawi, Zimbabwe and Zambia at the invitation of the Archbishop of the Province of Central Africa, the Rt Revd Albert Chama. During the course of the week Dr Williams will meet with bishops, clergy and parishioners to celebrate the life and ministry of the Anglican Church in the region…
British press reports:
Riazat Butt Guardian Rowan Williams seeks meeting with Robert Mugabe
…The Foreign Office, attempting to quash speculation that Williams is engaging in a form of freelance diplomacy, said that the archbishop’s visit was purely as head of the Anglican church.
A spokesman told the Guardian: “He is not a representative of the government and his proposed meeting with Mugabe in no way reflects a change of government policy.
“The archbishops of Zambia, Southern Africa and Tanzania are also part of the delegation of senior Anglican leaders visiting Zimbabwe.
“It is not for us to comment on the appropriateness of the archbishop’s visit, which is in a pastoral and not a political capacity.”
The Foreign Office said the situation of Anglicans in Zimbabwe had worsened in recent months and as head of the church, Williams’s “desire to support them is understandable”.
The UK ambassador to Harare discussed the visit with the archbishop when they met in London in July, the FCO said, adding that the two will meet again during the visit and that British officials will “continue to offer logistical support”…
Aislinn Laing Telegraph Archbishop of Canterbury to meet Mugabe amid Anglican rift
…Chad Gandiya, the Anglican-appointed Bishop of Harare, said Dr Rowan Williams was “very likely” to meet Mr Mugabe on Monday, with a time and place yet to be confirmed.
“With these things it is impossible to say for sure, but it seems that the Archbishop has been granted an audience with the president,” he said…
African press reports:
ZimOnline Williams visit for solidarity: church
…When Kunonga and former Manicaland bishop Elson Jakazi revolted against the Church of the Province of Central Africa (CPCA), the supreme authority of the Anglican church in the region, they claimed they were doing so because the mother church supported ordination of gay priests.
However this is not true as the Anglican Church in Africa is largely conservative and has strongly opposed ordination of gay priests.
Kunonga and Gandiya were excommunicated in 2008. A staunch supporter of Mugabe, who tried to use the pulpit to defend the Zimbabwean leader’s controversial policies, Kunonga was excommunicated together with several priests and other church leaders who backed his revolt against the CPCA…
The Zimbabwean Archbishop to pay a pastoral visit to Central Africa
And also Coltart intervenes in Anglican saga with a great cartoon:
4 CommentsMinister of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture David Coltart has ordered Mash East Provincial Education Director to produce a detailed report of school children and teachers who were evicted by ex-communicated Anglican church leader Nolbert Kunonga in Mrewa.
I have instructed the Mashonaland East Provincial Education Director to prepare a report detailing what happened to the teachers, headmasters and children. I got a very disturbing report that teachers were physically beaten up. This is very disturbing as it affects lives of school children,” said Coltart in an interview this week.
Kunonga evicted headmasters, teachers and priests for allegedly aligning themselves with the diocese of his arch-rival, Chad Gandiya.
“I have said time and again that politics should stay out of schools. What is happening in the Anglican Church is not religious – it is politics,” Coltart said.
The Venerable Peter Burrows, Archdeacon of Leeds, is to be the next Suffragan Bishop of Doncaster in the Diocese of Sheffield.
He will be consecrated as a Bishop in York Minster on 2 February, and take up his post shortly afterwards.
0 CommentsA complaint has been made, by some members of his diocese, that the Bishop of South Carolina Mark Lawrence has “abandoned” The Episcopal Church.
See these news reports:
Episcopal News Service Mary Frances Schjonberg South Carolina bishop investigated on charges he has abandoned the Episcopal Church
…The allegations are being investigated by the church’s Disciplinary Board for Bishops. Communicants in the Diocese of South Carolina filed the information with the board, according to the Rt. Rev. Dorsey Henderson, board president. Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori and the House of Bishops were not involved in making the claims, Henderson said in a fact sheet released by the church’s Office of Public Affairs.
“Therefore, the matter is not being handled by the Presiding Bishop’s office or anyone in the employ of the Episcopal Church Center,” Henderson said in the fact sheet.
Henderson said he has been in contact with Lawrence, whose ministry has not been restricted during this phase of the process.
Under Title IV, Canon 16, a bishop is deemed to have abandoned the communion of the Episcopal Church by an open renunciation of the doctrine, discipline or worship of the church; by formal admission into any religious body not in communion with the church; or by exercising episcopal acts in and for a religious body other than the church or another church in communion with the church…
Living Church Doug LeBlanc Board Hears Case against Bp. Lawrence
The Rt. Rev. Mark J. Lawrence, Bishop of South Carolina, is being investigated on accusations of abandoning the Episcopal Church, and his diocese has released a 63-page document of the evidence brought against him.
Lawrence and the Very Rev. Paul C. Fuener, president of the diocese’s standing committee wrote in a letter to members of the diocese that on Sept. 29 the bishop “received communication from the President of the Disciplinary Board for Bishops that ‘serious charges’ have been made under Title IV of the Canons of The Episcopal Church. … Since several of these allegations also include actions taken by the Convention of the Diocese of South Carolina, after sustained prayer and discernment, it has seemed appropriate to both the Bishop and the Standing Committee to make these allegations available to the members of the Diocese.”
See these documents:
A Statement From The Archbishops And Bishops Of The Church Of Ireland.
20 CommentsWe met over three days in an atmosphere of prayer and worship to reflect on current disquiet in the Church caused by disagreements on the matter of human sexuality. We acknowledge that this tension is a cause of distress to many.
Our discussions were frank and careful and, at times, painful. We committed ourselves to listen carefully to one another and speak openly about our differences within the context of a variety of reactions within the Church. Strengthened by our honest interchange of views, we corporately agreed a way forward.
A pastoral letter to the Church will be issued through the Clergy in the next few days. It will highlight key themes and outline a process by which the Church may move forward. This will involve a major conference in Spring 2012 to which members of the General Synod and others will be invited. The conference will provide an important opportunity to learn from and listen to one another as the Church strives to discern the mind of Christ.
As Bishops we commit ourselves to work together on these issues. In addition, we envisage that further study and research on biblical, theological and legal issues will be required.
The Archbishops and Bishops of the Church of Ireland
- The Most Revd Alan Harper, Archbishop of Armagh
- The Most Revd Michael Jackson, Archbishop of Dublin & Glendalough
- The Most Revd Richard Clarke, Bishop of Meath & Kildare
- The Rt Revd Harold Miller, Bishop of Down & Dromore
- The Rt Revd Paul Colton, Bishop of Cork, Cloyne & Ross
- The Rt Revd Ken Clarke, Bishop of Kilmore, Elphin & Ardagh
- The Rt Revd Ken Good, Bishop of Derry & Raphoe
- The Rt Revd Michael Burrows, Bishop of Cashel & Ossory
- The Rt Revd Alan Abernethy, Bishop of Connor
- The Rt Revd Trevor Williams, Bishop of Limerick & Killaloe
- The Rt Revd Patrick Rooke, Bishop of Tuam, Killala & Achonry
- The Rt Revd John McDowell, Bishop of Clogher
We first reported on Sydney Anglicans and the threat to world Anglicanism at the end of August. Now here’s an update.
The coverage at ABC in Australia in response to the original excerpt from the book continued: in addition to the article Serious flaws in Muriel Porter’s misguided polemic by Mark Thompson previously linked, there was also another one by Michael Jensen, Are Sydney Anglicans actually Anglicans? and another by Peter Kurti It’s Anglicanism, Jim, but not as we know it.
Later, Bruce Kaye wrote about all this in Terms of engagement in Anglican war of words.
Now, Anglican Media Melbourne has published two articles: a news report on the book launch by Roland Ashby Sydney’s ‘harsh sectarianism’ a threat to church and a review of the book by Alan Nichols Exposing the agenda of the Sydney Diocese.
And, in England, John Richardson has written a review for New Directions which can be read here.
9 CommentsUpdated Saturday night to add the Peterborough results.
Two more diocesan synods held their debates on the women bishops legislation today.
1) At Ripon and Leeds the motion
That this Synod approve the proposal embodied in the draft Bishops and Prietsts (Consecreation and Ordination of Women) Measure and in draft Amending Canon No 30.
was carried overwhelmingly in all three houses. Here are the detailed voting figures.
| For | Against | Abstentions | |
| Bishops | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Clergy | 42 | 3 | 0 |
| Laity | 30 | 4 | 2 |
A ‘following’ motion calling for stronger legal provision for alternative male bishops to be set up by statute rather than a code of practice was debated but was defeated by 70 votes to 12.
The diocese has issued this press release: Overwhelming vote for women bishops.
2) At Peterborough the main motion (in favour of the legislation) was carried in all three houses with these voting figures.
| For | Against | Abstentions | |
| Bishops | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Clergy | 37 | 10 | 2 |
| Laity | 30 | 14 | 5 |
The following motion, seeking more provision for opponents, was defeated in all three houses:
| For | Against | Abstentions | |
| Bishops | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Clergy | 9 | 35 | 3 |
| Laity | 20 | 27 | 2 |
At Michaelmas Scott Gunn writes about Angels: setting the record straight.
Andrew Brown writes for The Guardian: Creationism explained.
“You can believe in a Creator without being a ‘scientific creationist’. The distinction is important and needs preserving.”
Alom Shaha writes for The Guardian that Faster than light story highlights the difference between science and religion.
“‘Belief’ means something different to scientists and the faithful … we’re open to the idea Einstein may have been wrong.”
Giles Fraser writes in The Church Times that we should Examine the inequalities of a feral society.
Jaweed Kaleem reports in The Huffington Post on a survey: [American] Readers Prefer Literal Bible Translations Over Common English, New Survey Shows.
9 CommentsUpdated Wednesday afternoon
Changing Attitude reports on this, see New Bill prohibiting same-sex marriage placed before Nigerian Parliament.
For the third time in five years the Nigerian parliament is considering a law seeking to prohibit same sex marriage after a new bill was presented to the House. The Nigerian Vanguard newspaper reported on Wednesday September 28, 2011, “The bill had its second reading yesterday September 27, just as senators described the act as ungodly, morally and religiously unacceptable”. The bill is sponsored by Senator Domingo Alaba Obende, Edo North senatorial district and had its first reading in July…
Box Turtle Bulletin has the text of the bill, see Here It Is: Nigeria’s Proposal To Criminalize Same-Sex Marriage:
A BTB reader found a copy of Nigeria’s latest proposal to not just ban same-sex marriage (it’s already illegal in Nigeria), but to impose criminal penalties on anyone who enters into a same-sex marriage — as well as for anyone who “witnesses, abets and aids the solemnization of a same gender marriage contract.” The penalty for entering into a same-sex marriage under the proposed measure would be three years’ imprisonment. The penalty for witnessing/aiding/abeting a marriage would bring five years imprisonment or a fine of ₦2,000 (2,000 naria, or US$13 in a country where the average annual income is US$1,200). If a group of persons witness/aid/abet a marriage, the fine is ₦50,000. It’s unclear whether two people at a wedding would be considered two individuals or a group. The bill also does not define what constitutes witnessing, abetting or aiding in the solemnization of a marriage.
This bill is a considerably scaled down from an earlier bill that was being considered as late as 2009…
Meanwhile, the Primate of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), Nicholas D. Okoh, spoke recently on this subject, see this report from thisdayonline.com: Anglican Primate Launches Attack against Gay Marriage, Homosexuality.
Peeved by the growing malaise of sexual immorality in the country, Primate, Church of Nigeria, the Anglican Communion, Most Rev. Nicholas D. Okoh, has described the practice of homosexuality, lesbianism and gay marriage as great evils that must neither be condoned nor allowed to further exist in our society…
But Changing Attitude also reports that Nigeria Human Rights Defenders condemn 2011 Same Gender Marriage Prohibition Bill.
Wednesday updates
Savi Hensman has written Nigeria’s anti-gay Bill: remembering human rights at Ekklesia.
Some Nigerian politicians are again trying to push through legislation to further criminalise lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT) people and their friends.
Sex between people of the same gender is already a crime, and in some parts of the country, men who have sex with each other can be put to death – but certain people seem to believe this is not harsh enough.
The Same Gender Marriage (Prohibition) Bill 2011 is a scaled-down version of earlier anti-LGBT bills. These were dropped after strong protests by human rights advocates at home and abroad., “We as a country need to act very fast for this trend not to find its way into our country,” the Bill’s main sponsor, Senator Domingo Obende, reportedly said. “Same sex marriage cannot be allowed on moral and religious grounds. The Muslim religion forbids it. Christianity forbids it and the African traditional religion forbids it. It should not be allowed because it will lead to a breakdown of the society.”
Apparently he warned that the results would be catastrophic if action was not taken to prohibit same-sex marriage: “With the legalisation of same sex marriage, every school in Nigeria would be required to teach that this perversion is the moral equivalent of traditional marriage between a man and a woman. Textbooks would have to depict man/man and woman/woman relationship and stories written for children as young as kindergarten would have to give equal space to homosexuals…
And Changing Attitude reports that Changing Attitude Nigeria will campaign against the prohibition marriage between persons of the same sex bill.
5 CommentsUpdated again Sunday morning
The Zimbabwe press contains reports of Bishop Kunonga’s statements about the forthcoming visit of the Archbishop of Canterbury.
New Zimbabwe Kunonga scorns Williams visit
REBEL Anglican cleric Nolbert Kunonga claims the Archbishop of Canterbury is visiting Zimbabwe in October to “lobby for homosexuality” and “represent neo-colonialism”.
Kunonga, who was banished by the main Anglican Province of Central Africa and the worldwide Anglican Church in 2007, charged that Archbishop Rowan Williams was a “civil servant on a mission”.
“The Anglican Church is a political organisation when it is in England,” said Kunonga, who denied he was a Zanu PF “puppet”.
He added: “Rowan William was appointed by the Queen and the Prime Minister and he is a civil servant of Britain. In a political and economic environment, the civil servant represents and symbolises with his State…
Zimbabwe Guardian Archbishop Kunonga: I’m no Zanu-PF puppet
…Speaking to journalists yesterday, Archbishop Kunonga said he supported democracy that involved the passing on of natural resources to people.
He said he spoke his mind in his capacity as a church leader and not as a Zanu-PF activist.
“I do not need any favours from anyone. I am fighting for this land, mines, natural resources of this land and economic power, which is in the hands of the whites. That’s my fight with the British.
“I am not a puppet of Zanu-PF and if I am a puppet, then I am a proud and educated puppet,” he said…
And according to the Telegraph in London in a report by Peta Thorneycroft Rowan Williams is ‘lobbying for homosexuality’, claims Mugabe-backed bishop:
Reverend Admire Chisango, the secretary for Mr Kunonga’s “diocese”, told The Daily Telegraph: “We have not received an invitation to attend the Archbishop’s service.
“You know Lambeth is just a club, the Lambeth Conference is a fellowship and the Archbishop of Canterbury marries women marrying women and men marrying men.
“He is on the wrong side of the scriptures and commits blasphemy.”
Meanwhile, the Voice of America reports that Evictions of Anglican Clerics Continue as High Court Rebuffs Application.
Evictions of Zimbabwean priests from properties owned by the Harare Diocese of the Anglican church continued following a High Court decision late last week refusing to stop the removals by a faction led by the former Harare Bishop Nolbert Kunonga.
Supreme Court Chief Justice Godfrey Chidyausiku recently gave Kunonga control of all church properties until a final ruling is made on control of the church’s assets. On Friday, High Court Judge Tendai Uchena dismissed an application in which Bishop Chad Gandiya of the Church of the Province of Central Africa – the regional branch of the worldwide Anglican Church – sought protection for clergy against evictions from their rectories and houses. Explaining his ruling, Uchena said Chidyausiku was expected to deliver a final judgment so there was no need for a lower court to rule in the case.
Chidyausiku had promised to deliver a judgment on Friday, but did not do so.
Saturday updates
Some further reports have appeared.
Newsday Kunonga dubs self ‘life Bishop’
Anglican Bishop Nolbert Kunonga who has called himself “life Bishop” remained defiant and claimed ownership of 3 800 properties in and outside Zimbabwe. He argues there is nothing to apologise for.
On Friday, Kunonga evicted two families from St Luke’s Church in Rhodesville.
The latest eviction precedes a wave of evictions targeted at those refusing to recognise Kunonga’s authority.
On Thursday Kunonga described the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, who is set to visit Zimbabwe, Malawi and Zambia in October, as a non-entity and said there was nothing to stop him from being “Bishop forever”.
“I would prefer not to meet him because I will not be in solidarity with him. I am taking things from Williams because I am indigenising…”
ZimEye Chief Justice speaks on Anglican row
CHIEF Justice Godfrey Chidyausiku has blasted the Bishop Chad Gandiya-led faction of the Anglican Church for seeking political intervention in the long-drawn property ownership wrangle still pending before the courts.
This, the Chief Justice said, was tantamount to interference with the independence of the judiciary…
Sunday update
Standard Kunonga speaks on Anglican chaos
8 Comments…Kunonga told journalists on Friday that as long as he was alive, all the 3 800 Anglican properties in the country would remain in his custody. He said whoever wants to use the property should rejoin his group, because it was impossible to have him and Chad Gandiya as bishops. “There is always one diocese, one bishop and one throne, not two,” Kunonga said.
“People simply walked out in thousands, they simply walked out on their own after being misled by nonentities. If they want to come back, they are free to do so and we are not going to ask them anything.
“Those who ran away from the church and do not want to come back just have to rest their case, because they donated the properties to the church, they donated to God,”
He said a lot of people had begun retracing their steps back to his faction. “There was a time when there were only five of us in the hundreds of churches, but now the situation is improving and some churches now have 300 parishioners, and these are the same people coming back after realising they had been lied to,” he said.
While extending a conciliatory hand to ordinary members of the church, Kunonga dismissed possibilities of reconciliation with the Gandiya faction. “We call for reconciliation, everybody is free to come and worship with us. We invite people and we don’t chase them away,” he said. “The dispute of bishops has nothing to do with worshippers, as has been said in the media, some people choose to politicise the dispute, others choose to be judgemental.
“The dispute is between ourselves and the Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, and bishops of the Province of Central Africa and it is purely doctrinal and has nothing to do with politics.”
The Church of England has announced the publication of its latest finance and ministry statistics with the following press release.
Church of England publishes latest statistics on web
29 September 2011– parish giving holds up; younger vocations increase
The Church of England has today published its latest information about parish income and expenditure and trends in ministry numbers in Church Statistics 2009/10. The attendance statistics included were published in February 2011.
This year’s financial statistics show that the 2008 credit crunch began to affect church income in 2009, though not in terms of parish giving nor as hard as many charities.
Parish income
Despite the difficult economic times, parishioners’ tax-efficient planned giving continued to increase in 2009, topping an average of £10 a week (£10.06p) for the first time. The total income of parishes dropped to £889 million, mainly due to a fall in restricted income from £204 million to £176 million and a fall in one-off donations. Restricted income is monies given for specific purposes designated by the donor. Unrestricted voluntary income, mainly the regular and plate giving in churches plus the tax recovered through Gift Aid, rose from almost £505 million to more than £511 million. At the same time, total parish expenditure rose to £886 million, with nearly £49 million of this being donations made by parishes to external charities.
Dr John Preston, the Church’s National Stewardship and Resources Officer, said:
“Whilst figures for giving to the wider charity section showed a dip following the credit crunch, giving to parishes in 2009 saw a further increase, albeit a small one; a sign of the high level of commitment that so many have to supporting the mission and ministry of their local parish church. Gift Aid reclaimed on donations also reached a new high.”
Ordination candidates
Another 515 candidates were accepted to train as future clergy in 2010, with those aged 20-29 showing a 45 per cent increase from 74 to 108. In total, 563 new clergy were ordained in 2010. Of those, 284 were entering full-time paid ministry.
Revd Preb Lynda Barley, Head of Research & Statistics for the Archbishops’ Council, comments: “It is encouraging that the Church is responding confidently to the challenge that the changing age profile of our nation brings, with one in five future clergy entering training being under 30 years of age.”
While the numbers of people being training for ordination remained buoyant across 2009, the number of retirements also remained high. Taking retirements and other losses into account, there was a net loss of 129 full-time paid clergy. The total number of licensed clergy (including part-time and self supporting ministers whose numbers increased) was down by 72.
At the end of 2010, there were some 29,000 licensed and authorised ministers, ordained and lay, active across the 13,000 parishes and a growing variety of chaplaincies (in local communities, hospitals, education, prisons and the armed forces) in the Church of England.
The latest statistics have been added to the Church of England website, alongside attendance statistics published in February, at http://www.churchofengland.org/media/1333106/2009churchstatistics.pdf .
It should be noted that many of the statistics are for 2009. These seem to be the ones that require data from parishes.
5 Comments