Dagens LOL - Anglikanska kyrkan

George Pitcher, anglikansk präst: "I haven't conducted an empirical survey, but from briefings at Synod, to dinner parties in Sussex, I have spent much time in the company of my Anglo-Catholic brothers and, frankly, I'm invariably the only straight in the village."

Notera att jag absolut inte har någonting emot att Church of England/Anglikanska kyrkan eller kanske snarare delar av den kanske snart kommer att vara en del av vår Katolska Kyrka. Tvärtom är det något utav det mest glädjande besked jag hört på mycket länge, trots att jag inte riktigt ser hur det påverkar oss här i Sverige särskilt mycket tyvärr. Men detta måste vara någon av de lustigaste reflektionerna i ämnet jag har läst, och då har jag ändå hållit ett öga på flera brittiska tidningar nu på senare tid just med anledning av den anglikanska frågan.

George Pitcher menar på att det är en "elefant i Sakristian": "It is this: a very significant proportion, perhaps even a majority in some dioceses, of Anglo-Catholic clergy are homosexual men. Everyone with a ministry in the Church of England knows this."

Känns som att detta nog ändå måste vara en av de mera "lustiga" problemen för Anglikanska kyrkan/Church of England, hur lustigt det nu är. Om någon nu inbillar sig att jag hänger mig åt skadeglädje är så heller ej fallet. Fallet är som sådant att det helt enkelt var något så främmande som, ja, jag aldrig förstod var ett problem ej heller så utbrett som George Pitcher gör gällande: "As gay Anglican priests, they are meant to be celibate. They may well have given their bishop an assurance that they are – and while many of them really are celibate, many of them are not. Some are footloose and fancy free, some have settled partners and some are even in civil partnerships, though they will have continued to reassure their bishops about their separate bedroom arrangements."

Låt oss i alla fröjdas åt att vi kanske kommer att få fler systrar och bröder i tron!

Telegraph: Sex is a stumbling block for Anglicans on the road to Rome

Tim Collard, också Anglikan, skriver något mycket tänkvärt: "What I wonder is why the British Catholic Bishops are so frightened of a resurgence of the Latin Mass. It seems odd that Catholic liberals are so wedded to modernism in liturgy and music, whereas the hardcore traddies prefer Tridentine rites, Gregorian chant, etc. On the Anglican side it is the hardline evangelicals who are keenest on modern “choruses”, tambourines, clapping etc, while the liturgical traditionalists, who cherish the great tradition of English church music, are closer to the liberals." - Telegraph: As an Anglican, I can't understand why Catholic bishops fear the Latin Mass

Så frågan är om vi av beslutet får in personer som faktiskt i verkligheten inte håller sig till det bibliska utan snarare ser till vikten av en "fin" liturgi?

Troskongregation har vidare skrivit: "Some Anglicans have abandoned the tradition of conferring holy orders only on men by calling women to the priesthood and the episcopacy. More recently, some segments of the Anglican Communion have departed from the common biblical teaching on human sexuality–already clearly stated in the ARCIC document 'Life in Christ' – by the ordination of openly homosexual clergy and the blessing of homosexual partnerships."

"Rowan Williams has ordained openly homosexual clergy in his previous job as archbishop of Wales, even if he now thinks this is wrong. But he has not backed down on his support for women priests. In fact he can't. And today's announcement is the endgame in the Church of England's long struggle against women priests. The Anglo-Catholic opponents have at last been offered a church without them, where they may keep their own organisation. That's all they ever really wanted." skriver Andrew Brown i Guardian: The end of the Anglican Communion.

Han fortsätter: "If the former Anglicans can train up successors who will also be able to have wives, the Roman Catholic church may have found a way to escape the prospect of a largely gay priesthood to which the doctrine of compulsory celibacy appeared to condemn them. It is ironic that Anglican efforts to deal honestly with the problem of sexuality should have provided the Catholics with the excuse they needed to strike this decisive blow. God always did move in mysterious ways."