Thursday 17 December 2009

From Forward in Faith: Very Interesting News from Scotland.

This is very significant: http://www.forwardinfaith.com/artman/publish/article_498.shtmlfrom Forward in Faith  in Scotland (most important comments in red)
 For even longer than in Wales, Scottish traditionalists have suffered at the hands of a triumphalist, exclusive, liberal establishment. Some say the rot set in in what was traditionally a largely orthodox, catholic province (sounds familiar?) with the appointment of the liberal, Michael Hare Duke, to St Andrews.
But now it would seem that Anglicanorum Coetibus has concentrated minds and has led to a questioning of the somewhat unthinking ecumenism of the recent past which has avoided all actions which could be (mis)construed as exploiting the difficulties of another Christian tradition. At last it has been recognised, and not only by the Holy Father, that those being purged by the Anglican liberal "elite" in fact share the same faith as the Catholic Church, with whom the Anglican leadership hypocritically claims to be pursuing the search for full and visible unity. One must hope that the generosity which is now being shown by the Scottish Catholic hierarchy (as a first step towards the setting up of a Scottish Ordinariate?) will point the way forward for us all. Please remember Forward in Faith Scotland and its clergy and people (like us in Wales, episcopally orphaned) in your prayers this Christmas tide and beyond.

"Traditionalist Anglicans in Scotland celebrate Christmas

Traditionalist Anglicans in Scotland are setting up a new community in Edinburgh. This is being made possible because of a generous offer from the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St Andrews and Edinburgh to provide a place of worship for their first service this Christmas Eve.
Canon Len Black, Regional Dean of Forward in Faith Scotland, the organisation which represents orthodox Anglicans world-wide, said, “This move has come about because of the rapid drift of the Scottish Episcopal Church away from the traditional faith, morals and practices of the universal Church. We are most grateful to Cardinal Keith O’Brien for the generosity he has shown us in making a place of worship available, not just for Christmas but in the months ahead, as we seek to serve those Episcopalians who look to us for spiritual and sacramental support.”
When the Scottish Episcopal Church first decided to ordain women as priests some 15 years ago we were assured of a ‘valued and honoured place’ within the church ‘for all time to come’. That promise has not been honoured and today some of our people even find that they are being told they are no longer welcome in the churches in where they were baptised as infants. Now we find that the provision we were hoping for from our own Church is being offered to all disaffected Anglicans by the Catholic Church.”
“Episcopalians in Scotland have a long and rich history and liturgical tradition and the offer from the Catholic Church to enable us to take this tradition with us is something we and all traditionalists must consider carefully.”
Cardinal O’Brien commented, “I am delighted to help provide a place of worship for these Traditionalist Anglicans, taking the lead from Pope Benedict XVI and his predecessor Pope John Paul II.”
The first service – a Christmas Vigil Mass - is being held on Thursday 24th December at 7pm in the Chapel of the Convent of Mercy (St Catherine's), 4 Lauriston Gardens, Tollcross, Edinburgh EH3 9HH -
www.forwardinfaith.info/scotland.

Canon Len Black


Forward in Faith Scotland Regional Dean "

4 comments:

  1. Significant indeed Father. Given some of the warnings, not least from ++ Vincent Nichols about due process this does appear to be a remarkably generous welcome. Well done Scotland. Nothing from Credo Cymru of course!
    Petros

    ReplyDelete
  2. Remarkable!

    Many thanks for that - haven't checked FIF Scotland for a while...

    ReplyDelete
  3. Yes Petros where are Credo Cymru? We've heard nothing from them for ages. No positive response to the Apostolic Constitution. One wonders whether all those words about Christian unity were just window dressing, and now there is a chance for some real action Credo Cymru has just faded away. The same applies to SSC Wales - Fr Michael of this blog seems to be the only SSC priest in Wales giving us some leadership and encouragement. Where are all those SSC priests who in the past have gone on about "Rome this, and Rome that" and now Rome provides an unique opportunity they've done a runner?

    ReplyDelete
  4. No, that's too kind to me and much too dismissive of everyone else! I may be the only priest of our integrity currently running a blog - that's the easy bit - but there are many others who are giving a great deal of leadership and encouragement in other ways both to their own flocks and beyond. We are very much in a period of discernment.

    ReplyDelete

Anonymous comments will not be published