Dean Scott: I will be 'out of commission' untill 10 August so would you please suspend me from the chat room untill then. I won;t be ready for 674853 posts when I return. I've got some health issues and family matters taking me away. I would appreciate your prayers. Ipray for you. Blessings. GDVW+ > > Again END OF ECUMENISM is an appropriate title for the > news of the past week. > > Sometime ago Walter Kasper indicated talks with > Anglicans would have to be put on hold because of > aberrations in Anglicanism. Then the ARCIC document > gave some a hope that rapprochement would continue. > > Walter Kasper again has to draw back with a trenchant > comment, "Without identity, no society, least of all a > church, can continue to survive." > > This situation is no cause for joy. The Archbishop of > Canterbury must be grieved to read such comments. It > is sad to witness the end of a career for one who > thirty years ago must have had dreams of a united > Church, but now sees fragmentation and wounds that > will not soon heal. > > ECUSA is no longer in a position to promote the > ecumenical movement. Who would listen? > > Below is an article from http://www.zenit.org/ > > Charles+ > Church of the Good Shepherd, Indianapolis > > "--------------------------------------- > > ZENIT - The World Seen From Rome Code: ZE06071502 > Date: 2006-07-15 > > Anglicanism at the Crossroads > Changes Put Future of Church in Doubt > > NEW YORK, JULY 15, 2006 (Zenit.org).- Recent decisions > by the Anglican Church in Britain and the United > States have raised the specter of further splits. Last > weekend, the Church of England's Synod voted in favor > of allowing women to be ordained bishops. > > Already 14 out of the 38 autonomous Anglican churches > in other countries have approved women bishops, > reported the BBC on Monday. The British decision, > however, was important given the status of England as > the home of Anglicanism. > > During the Synod debate the Archbishop of Canterbury, > Rowan Williams, told participants that bishops had a > special leadership role in the Church, and that just > because it had women priests, it did not mean that > women bishops were legitimate, the BBC reported. In > the end the vote was 288 in favor of women bishops and > 119 against. > > The vote in favor of women bishops came shortly after > data revealed the increasing presence of women clergy. > Fourteen years after the go-ahead for women priests in > the U.K., 283 women were recommended for the seminary > last year, compared with 295 men, reported the > London-based Times newspaper, June 24. > > The experience of the Anglican Church in Britain was > recently analyzed by Hilary De Lyon, chief executive > of the Royal College of General Practitioners. She > contributed a chapter to the study "Production Values: > futures for professionalism," published June 22 by the > U.K. think-tank Demos. > > The first women deacons were ordained in 1987, and > women were permitted to enter the full priesthood in > 1994, explained De Lyon. Although it has been only 12 > years since women were first ordained, they already > make up over 20% of clergy, and hold 50% of the unpaid > posts held by priests. In addition, they hold only one > in six of the paid posts and one in five of the > chaplaincy posts. > > Two-tier church > > The latest vote comes after a long period of tensions > in the Anglican church. Shortly before the Synod > meeting the Archbishop of Canterbury announced that > all the national churches would be asked to sign a > covenant declaring they believed in the basic biblical > tenets of Anglican doctrine, reported the Times > newspaper, June 28. > > Williams threatened that those who refuse to sign the > declaration would be excluded from full membership of > the Church and would instead become "associates." The > proposal will be discussed by the Anglicans at the > 2008 Lambeth Conference. > > Anglican disunity is not the only threat; ecumenical > relations are also in doubt. Before last weekend's > vote Cardinal Walter Kasper, president of the > Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, > warned that allowing women to be ordained bishops > would further complicate attempts to achieve unity. > > In comments reported by the Times, June 7, the > cardinal said that as it was, the ordination of women > as priests had led to a "cooling off" in the relations > between the two churches. The advent of women bishops > would cause a "serious and long-lasting chill." He > also warned that: "Without identity, no society, least > of all a church, can continue to survive." > > American divisions > > On the other side of the Atlantic, the American branch > of the Anglican Church, the Episcopalians, continues > to be riven by disputes. In May, Episcopalians in San > Francisco did avoid electing a homosexual as local > bishop, reported the Washington Post, May 7. Instead > they chose Mark Handley Andrus, currently the bishop > suffragan from the diocese of Alabama. > Andrus ran against six other candidates, three of whom > live openly with same-sex partners, according to the > Post article. > > But the following month controversy arose over the > election by the Episcopal General Convention of Nevada > bishop, Jefferts Schori, as its leader in America. She > is the first woman to head a national grouping of the > Anglican Communion, reported the Washington Post, June > 19. > > Her election immediately raised concerns. Schori had > backed the election of a declared homosexual, V. Gene > Robertson, as a bishop in 2003. Before this, no openly > homosexual bishop had ever been consecrated in the > history of the Anglican Church. Moreover, the same > meeting of American Episcopalians that elected Schori > refused to impose a moratorium on the election of > additional homosexual bishops, reported Reuters, June > 20. > > Reacting to the election of Schori, the Bishop of > Rochester, England, Michael Nazir-Ali, said that > divisions between liberals and conservatives were so > profound that a compromise was no longer possible. His > comments came in an interview published June 19 by the > British newspaper, the Telegraph. > > "Anglicans are used to fudging things sometimes, but I > think this is a matter of such seriousness that fudge > won't do," said Bishop Nazir-Ali. > > Nigeria's Anglican bishops had even stronger words, > saying that the U.S. branch is "a cancerous lump" that > should be "excised," reported the BBC on July 4. > > Doubts over where Schori will lead Episcopalians were > raised by her statements in the days following the > election. In a sermon shortly after her election she > referred to "our mother Jesus," reported the Times, > June 22. > > Then, in an interview published in the July 17 issue > of Time magazine, Schori was asked: "What will be your > focus as head of the U.S. church?" She replied saying: > "Our focus needs to be on feeding people who go to bed > hungry, on providing primary education to girls and > boys, on healing people with AIDS, on addressing > tuberculosis and malaria, on sustainable development. > That ought to be the primary focus." > > Meltdown > > The sort of priorities outlined by Shori were strongly > criticized by Charlotte Allen, Catholicism editor for > Beliefnet, in an opinion article published July 9 by > the Los Angeles Times. The fragmentation of > Anglicanism, she explained, is not just due to > doctrinal disputes. "It also is about the meltdown of > liberal Christianity," she said. > > Liberal Christianity was hailed as the future of the > Christian Church, but Allen observed, all the churches > and movements within churches that have "blurred > doctrine and softened moral precepts are > demographically declining and, in the case of the > Episcopal Church, disintegrating." > > "When a church doesn't take itself seriously, neither > do its members" argued Allen. As recently as 1960 > churches such as the Episcopalians, Presbyterians, > Methodists, and Lutherans accounted for 40% of all > American Protestants. Today the number has plummeted > to around 12%. > > Allen cited data from the Hartford Institute for > Religious Research, showing that in 1965 there were > 3.4 million Episcopalians; now, there are 2.3 million. > > > Her comments echoed the thesis of the book, "Exodus: > Why Americans are Fleeing Liberal Churches for > Conservative Christianity," (Sentinel) published last > year. According to author Dave Shiflett, Americans are > leaving liberal denominations for churches that preach > strict moral norms and uphold traditional beliefs. > > Liberal theologians and bishops get plenty of media > coverage, observes Shiflett. But the average > churchgoer wants to attend a church where they can get > something not obtainable elsewhere, which doesn't > include trendy opinions on current topics. "They want > the Good News, not the minister's political views or > intellectual coaching." > > Shiflett explained that data from the Glenmary > Research Center on church membership showed that > conservative congregations are growing fastest. This > includes the Southern Baptist Convention, up 5% in the > decade 1990-2000; and Pentecostal groups such as the > Assemblies of God, and the Church of God, up 18.5% and > 40% respectively, in the same period. > > As a general observation, churches that adhere to > traditional teaching, offer transcendent truth and > demand a high commitment from their members are those > that enjoy growth. Following the latest liberal > trends, on the other hand, leads to decline. Something > for all Christians to consider. > > > email this article > > To receive ZENIT News Services by e-mail ! > Back > Home Page > > -- > To unsubscribe, send ANY message to: > faithandlife-unsubscribe@... > > ----------------------------------------- Catholic Financial Services Send and Receive all online Payments And Donations No Merchant Account Required! https://www.catholicfs.org/