If, as widely predicted, http://timescolumns.typepad.com/gledhill/2009/12/britain-on-course-for-first-woman-bishop.html the Scottish Episcopal Church elects its first female bishop on January 16th, how long will it be before legislation is brought back to the Church in Wales’ Governing Body?
Come on! “Liberal” credentials are at stake here! Bishops - it's in a good cause - who's for early retirement?
Seriously, if this does happen in Scotland I don't think anyone would put money on a bill not being brought back in Wales in April 2011, if not in the autumn of next year.
Let's indulge in a bit of unhelpful speculation. Given the age profiles of the present Bench, the dioceses of Llandaff, St Davids and Monmouth will most likely all be in line for episcopal elections over the next few years. A woman diocesan bishop at Llandaff is, I think, still unlikely, if not out of the question; St Davids perhaps a bit too rural and still somewhat conservative in these matters? Monmouth first? The momentum could be hard to resist if a "suitably qualified" candidate could be found; after all we do have a proven track record in these matters!
The refusal to reappoint a PAB, bad enough at the time, for "Catholics" now takes on its real, fatal, significance. The trap is closing - game over. There's a contradictory thought for the last days of Advent.
+Bazzer will not be pleased that despite his manipulation of the Bench he couldn't engineer a lady bishop in Wales ahead of anywhere else in the UK. The fact that he had to look outside the province to find, in his opinion, a suitable lady candidate to be his archdeacon, would suggest that he thinks that his own +Bazzer's-Babes are not up to the job (or couldn't cope with it?). I predict that he will go for the nuclear option: push to pass the legislation through the GB, get +Monmouth to retire ("for the greater good"), and fix the election of a lady. To complete his project, she would have to be a lesbian so that +Bazzer can claim his part in the history of the destruction of the Anglican Communion. All that will be left will be "a little church for a little man" ± his little cronies.
ReplyDeleteI thought the Rev'd Canon F A Jackson had been imported in preparation for Monmouth! All we need is for the Archbishop to tell his flock how to proceed in his usual infallible manner before he too sails off into retirement having achieved his ambition. She has impeccable credentials for ++Barry's Church:
ReplyDeletehttp://womenandthechurch.org/watch_papers/Legislation%20for%20Women%20Bishops-Peggy%20Jackson.pdf
Petros
Surely another, different Archdeacon in Monmouth diocese is lined up to take over from +Dom - I wouldn't be supprised if Fanny Jackson was being prepped for Llandaff, if she spoke Welsh, the she'd be ideal for St David's - +Carl crushed most catholic opposition, and had put ladies in former SSC parishes before he left... I think a few evening classes, and she's be ready to follow in Dewi's footsteps
ReplyDeleteWell we all know that +Carl loved the ladies - he couldn't get enough of some of them!!!
ReplyDeleteWhatever happened to +Carl? He was indeed a good friend to the ladies, keen to satisfy their career desires and show that women can perform as well as many of our male clergy. The sort of bishop the Church in Wales needed to show how men and women can live together in mutual love for one another. As Col Thrumpington-Mange rightly says, a good lesbian bishop would provide an excellent example of what the modern church should look like.
ReplyDeleteWe musn't be uncharitable to + Carl. He did have the ladies interests at heart and did his level best to demonstrate that they could perform under him as well as some of the male clergy in the Church in Wales but the suggestion by Col. Thrumpington-Mange that we should have a lesbian bishop is a whole new ball game.
ReplyDeleteThis is probably the time to say that posted comments on the blog do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the blog itself!
ReplyDeleteCome, come Fr Michael you've already blown your chances of a canonry with the previous posts on this blog!!
ReplyDeleteNot necessarily Fr? Hmm!
ReplyDeleteBut returning to the final paragraph of your post, if a woman were appointed, a PAB would be a non-starter anyway since it would be a nonsense to have a woman bishop's assistant serving our needs. We can only hope and pray that ++Rowan can deliver an arrangement similar to the proposed Ordinariate extending it to cover Wales. Where there is a will....
Petros
Let me clarify: "not necessarily" because that applies to all comments on the blog. I think despite all provocation we should try to steer clear of personal comments as far as we can; there but for the grace of God and all that!
ReplyDeleteAs for my chances of a canonry - as John MacEnroe once said - "you cannot be serious!"
I'm afraid I've not lost too much sleep over that.
Yes, of course, your comments about a PAB serving in a province with women bishops is absolutely right. I only meant that with episcopal provison of some sort already in place it would be perhaps easier to negotiate something more ecclesiologically coherent. But given the situation in England, maybe not....?
ReplyDeleteThe one consolation is that now this isn't the only game in town!
In his novel "Windswept House: A Vatican Novel" (1996) Malachi Martin describes with chilling prophetic accuracy the attempted destruction of the Church by a hard core of fanatical liberals. Faith, reason, revealed truth and doctrine and even the worship of God are all dismissed in favour of a liberal-secular agenda. The similarities with the modern CinW are uncanny. When was the last time anyone heard a CinW bishop actually teach the Faith, rather than promote some media-friendly issue? Look at the CinW website at the past Easter and Christmas messages from the Bench - references to God are infrequent. To use modern management speak one questions whether we in the pews, and our hard working parish priests, are getting value-for-money from our church leaders?
ReplyDeleteA little more joy in this season of Advent please Antient Scholar. It's not all doom and gloom. A quick glance at the CinW site will reveal that not only has a striking new portrait of the Archbishop of Wales has been unveiled to hang in the foyer of the RB offices but + S&B has given an illuminating reflection on Christmas decorations plus the offer sanctuary for tired shoppers. And yes, God did have one mention. So as the learned bishop says, don't point the finger at people enjoying themselves in this secular paradise.
ReplyDeleteQuite right anon we need more joy. I will augment my Advent devotions on the wonder of the Incarnation by pondering +Bazzer's portrait! Is the image of His Grace to be regarded as some sort of icon? I wonder who paid for it? Probably came out of our quota.
ReplyDeleteSince you asked Magister:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.welshicons.org.uk/news/arts/new-portrait-of-archbishop-of-wales-unveiled/
- but he hasn't reached the iconic status his illustrious predecessor.