Brothers+ The secular press in the U.S., Australia, Canada and the U.K. have too many articles for me to print in regard to the furor caused by the appointment of homosexuals to high office in the church. I don't recall this much controversy being generated on other issues, such as denying the deity of Jesus or other creedal affirmations. Perhaps, even for Church leaders, the theological issues were too abstract. Most people have a deeply ingrained notion of what a family should be. We know that many young people have no concern about church until they marry and begin rearing children. It may be that the cultural iconoclasts have raised an issue that will cause a counter-revolution. "That's my mother you're attacking when you try to sell me alternative lifestyles," may be the unspoken thoughts of those who are opposing the effort to dilute the definition of marriage. ++Williams appears unable to keep dialogue going. First world Bishops are joining with Bishops from the third world in opposition to the revisionists. Charles+ --------------------------------------------- The Church of England Newspaper Reading crisis deepens Number: 5672 Date: June 26, The Reading Bishop crisis deepened this week, as the Bishop of Oxford closed the door on further discussion of Canon John’s appointment, despite a plea for calm and continued ‘discernment’ by the Archbishop of Canterbury. On Monday night Bishop Richard Harries told BBC2’s Newsnight that the appointment of Canon Jeffrey John to be Bishop of Reading was now for him a matter of integrity and would go ahead. He also criticised the debate in the Church of England over the past decade, hoping now for a more open debate. He estimated that over half of the House of Bishops’ sympathies lay with Canon Jeffrey John. His remarks angered Oxford clergy and laity who believed that Archbishop Rowan Williams’s intervention on Monday had opened the door a ‘chink’ to a renewed debate in the diocese. Dr Philip Giddings, a member of the Archbishops’ Council and a leading layman in Oxford Diocese, issued an immediate response to Dr Williams’s letter to English Bishops, welcoming the acknowledgement that their concerns “must be addressed and considered”. But in an interview with The Church of England Newspaper after the Newsnight interview, Dr Giddings said that the Bishop of Oxford’s mind was closed. Oxford theologian Andrew Goddard said that despite the Archbishop’s call for calm the situation had worsened. He said that “the Bishop of Oxford’s attitude and unilateral actions remain a major problem, especially for those of us who believe this appointment is not acceptable to the diocese or the wider Church.” Dr Williams’s letter to bishops of the Church of England was criticised on both sides of the debate for not taking a strong enough stand. The Independent newspaper referred to it as a “failure of leadership” while some conservatives believed it did not go far enough in addressing their concerns. But as a holding operation it demonstrated the Archbishop’s intent to keep both sides talking. It contained an important warning that the protracted debate on sexuality was in danger of diverting attention from the priorities of mission. Dr Williams’s intervention followed a week of activity in reaction to Canon John’s appointment. Nine mainstream bishops released an open letter expressing their concern, and eight liberals responded. Bishop Richard Harries was rarely out of the media defending the appointment and meeting with Oxford clergy. But last Friday, after a meeting with representatives of a group of nearly 100 concerned clergy and laity, both sides walked away from the meeting believing that talks could progress no further. Representatives of the Oxford group and the diocese are now increasingly addressing the issue of what might happen if some of the largest churches withhold parish quotas or seek alternative Episcopal oversight. ____________________________________________________________ Get advanced SPAM filtering on Webmail or POP Mail ... Get Lycos Mail! http://login.mail.lycos.com/r/referral?aid=27005