Wednesday 21 November 2012

Church of England in total Chaos

Blessed Dominic Barberi
The Catholic Herald carries a number of editorials and reports on the recent Synodal meeting of the Church of England.  The C of E  just rejected a vote for "women bishops", which, as is pointed out in the Herald is a preposterous position to take once one takes the position that women can be "priests". The votes were 44 for and three against with two abstentions in the House of Bishops; 148 for and 45 against in the House of Clergy, and 74 for and 132 against in the House of Laity. Rowan Williams and his successor both voted in favour of bishopesses.

The attempted ordination of women is the overthrow of the sacred priesthood.  The Catholic Church has really done all that She can do (e.g. ARCIC). A great achievement deriving from the Council was cordial - hence charitable - relations. The Church managed to, on an official level, dialogue  with our separated Anglican brothers. Sadly, due to the various intellectual factors that had penetrated deep into Anglicanism since the 19th century - rationalism, modernism - Anglicanism has fluctuated from one spiritual crisis, each building in intensity and confusion. We have now reached the point where - as Sir Humphrey pointed out - though the Queen is essential, God is an optional extra. How far all this seems from my great-Aunt's Anglican Book of Common Prayer, when there was a time when Anglicans at least held to the major Christian beliefs. 

The Beatification Mass of Cardinal Newman
Of course, the Church of England has been in perpetual chaos since the fateful decision by an evil and lustful monarch to indulge in schism and then inevitable heresy. What can we do? We can pray for Anglicans that they see in all of this great evil, and return home to Rome. "Gallican" pressure is mounting to change the decision to permit women "bishops". 

Recommended reading should be Bl. Dominic Barberi and Bl. John Henry Newman.  These two great men - one as a missionary, and the other as a convert unmasked (with great charity) the errors of Anglicanism. 

Pray for our Anglican brothers, that they may quickly return to Catholic Unity. Pray that they may reject the domination of the State and turn to the freedom of Christ and His Church. Pray that the various new Ordinariates in the UK (and the USA) may bear much fruit. 

Blessed Dominic Barberi and Blessed John Henry Newman, Pray for England. 

5 comments:

Freyr said...

Need I point out that since the time of Leo XIII and Apostolicae Curae this entire question is moot? Once you have discarded the magisterium and embraced personal judgement you can pretty much do as you wish.

Barona said...

Agreed. Rome's efforts were not completely in vain. We can see the beauty of always waiting with the door open: the Ordinariates are the fruit of this love for the person; for his salvation. Veritas in caritate: the Pope has beautifully put this into action.

Freyr said...

Anglican errors... seems to me these things are not exclusively Anglican. Dressing a protestant minister with a calvinist theology in a stole and chausible does not make him Catholic. Now that some of them have crossed the Tiber and professed the Catholic faith, apparently their unwillingness to embrace the tridentine rite means they are not Catholic enough. Apparently unity of faith is not enough. It's the look and feel that matters. Wait a sec... isn't that what traditionalists accuse liberals of?

Barona said...

The persecution of the Ordinariate of St. Peter by various "traditional" elements is a case in point of religion being reduced to feelings and party politics. Interesting.... both modernists and their extreme "traditionalist" counterparts reduce religion to feelings .... I mean immanentist perception of religion...

Barona said...

The explosion of hatred towards Msgr. Steenson was and is repugnant. He was cast into outer darkness because.... well, it was alleged that he was an enemy of "tradition".