Sunday 25 October 2009

Welsh updates

Fr Alan Rabjohns SSC, Chairman of Credo Cymru, speaking at the Forward in Faith Assembly this weekend, said that traditionalists in Wales had been in recent discussions with the Welsh Bishops about a restoration of their episcopal provision. Essentially, the Bench were going to go away and think about it!
It was during that meeting that Fr Alan was told by the Bishop of St Asaph about the Vatican announcement of the Apostolic Constitution.

The Bishop of St Asaph, the Rt. Revd. Gregory Cameron, has also now been quoted in the Sunday Telegraph today as saying the following in response to news of the Pope’s initiative:

"Rowan has worked very hard for unity both within the Anglican Communion, and with Rome, and I suspect he may feel that what has happened is little short of a betrayal, not by the Catholic Church, but by some of those in his own ranks."
"He is likely to be saddened that they felt driven to seek such a radical solution and that some of them now feel they have to go."
"Up until now, the Roman Catholic Church has been putting its weight behind Rowan, but now it is appearing to put its weight behind the conservative groups it can most easily win over."
"The danger is that they’ll have every disaffected Anglican beating down the pathway to their door and asking for special treatment."


I’m sorry to be so impolite and so un-anglican, but this is unbelievably disingenuous, even accounting for the Anglican establishment’s modern obsession with having to put the best possible "spin" on every development! The Welsh Bench of Bishops has taken away our “additional” episcopal provision and has steadfastly refused to make ANY subsequent arrangement for traditionalists in the Province.
Loyalty can never be a one way street. This is not betrayal or the wild adoption of “a radical solution”: we have been thrown overboard and Pope Benedict has sent a boat to the rescue. I'm afraid my own sense of loyalty does not extend to allowing myself to drown so as not to upset those who couldn’t even bring themselves to throw us a lifebelt.

Now I’m definitely on holiday!

1 comment:

  1. My thoughts about the new "ordinariates" can be found here: http://melbourneorthodox.blogspot.com/2009/10/thoughts-on-creation-of-anglican.html

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