WATCH, true colours

The Rt Revd Philip North, Bishop of Blackburn                   Source: Geoff Crawford/Church Times

 

A Review of the appointment of the Rt Revd Philip North as Bishop of Blackburn has concluded that his nomination followed the proper processes, but makes several recommendations how these processes could be improved.

The Church Times reports that

 "Campaigners had raised concerns about Bishop North’s views on the ordination of women, which he has said is an area on which the Church of England should not be at variance with the wider Church (News, 15 September 2017).

"A submission by the campaign group Women and the Church (WATCH) centred on concerns about how having a bishop who does not ordain women could undermine clergy in the diocese and the diocesan bishop’s function as a figure of unity..."

Forward in Faith commented:

"The Independent Reviewer has rightly restated that, following a submission to her from Women and the Church (WATCH) regarding the appointment of diocesan bishops in the Church of England and in line with the Church’s Five Guiding Principles, being a traditionalist is not a bar to becoming a diocesan bishop.

"However, Forward in Faith also notes with concern that the Independent Reviewer has recommended in her report that consideration be given to re-examining the scope of her role. It is not clear to Forward in Faith from the contents of the report exactly what deficiency in the current arrangements would be met by such a change.

"As WATCH has demonstrated in its referral on the appointment of diocesan bishops, any individual or interested party can make a referral to the Independent Reviewer. The Independent Reviewer can then assess the points made in those referrals.

"The critical question must always be how those referrals relate to the 2014 House of Bishops’ Declaration on the Ministry of Bishops and Priests. If there has been any breach of that Declaration, from whatever part of the Church it might have come, then it needs to be addressed directly and transparently. However, simply not agreeing with, or feeling uncomfortable with, the contents of the Declaration can never be, and should never be, grounds for a referral to the Independent Reviewer.

"The direction of travel being opened up by the Independent Reviewer runs the risk of undermining the Declaration, which quite rightly seeks to promote the flourishing of all parts of the Church and to uphold and protect the minority position in the Church of England, which in part occurs through the work of the Independent Reviewer.

"Forward in Faith remains strongly of the view that the Church of England benefits from the breadth of its witness, including the catholic teaching and practice which it holds in common with the universal Church."

Once again WATCH show themselves in their true colours as a group of feminists using the Church to further their feminist cause regardless of the effect on others.

Christians surrendering to Islam

The Islamic Grand Iftar celebrated recently at Bristol Cathedral 
Source: X (formerly Twitter)

The organisers of the Islamic Grand Iftar in Bristol Cathedral last week claimed it shows unity. 

The reality is different as witnessed here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here among many other references to be found on X (formerly Twitter) and news outlets.

There is no reciprocity. No concessions to those Islam regards as infidels and dhimmis yet Muslims are allowed to pray in Christian churches which are then regarded by them as mosques in which to pray that there is no god but Allah. 

What hope is there for Christianity in this country when the Churches surrender to Islam in this absurd one-way traffic!

Postscript [10.04.2024]

Adhan (Call to Prayer) in Buckingham Palace. What next? 

Poor judgement

 

 Already anticipating her own retirement as Bishop of Llandaff, June Osborne rushed into the appointment of a new dean after the resignation of the Dean of Llandaff, Gerwyn Capon, in May 2022.

One would imagine that with hindsight the bishop now regrets the above video presentation. On 31st March 2024, after another difficult period for Llandaff Cathedral, the retirement of Dean Richard Peers  was announced.

From the tone of the announcement it is clear that deviancy in the Church in Wales has become the norm: "Father Richard has been the Dean of Llandaff since November 2022 and lives with his husband Jim, a garden writer, and their dog Teilo."

A patron of The Open Table Network, Cherry Vann, the Bishop of Monmouth who lives with her civil partner Wendy and their two dogs, invites all to a diocesan celebration with the logo 'Faith in our future'.

The archbishop of Wales has predicted that same-sex couples could marry in church 'within five years'.

For Anglicans in Wales who do not accept the new norm of a secularised Church in Wales but keep the Christian faith as received the future is bleak.

Postscript [07.04.2024]

The bishop of Llandaff has announced that the Rev’d Canon Dr Jason Bray has accepted her invitation for him to become the next Dean of Llandaff Cathedral.

Easter 2024

Resurrection of Christ (Bellini and Mahler)  Source: Wikipedia

Wishing You a Happy and Blessed Easter

Blind guide

The Archbishop of Wales enjoying the Cardiff Iftar Source: X (Twitter)

Posted on X (formerly Twitter) by Archbishop Andrew John:

"What a delight to attend the Cardiff #Iftar organised by the Bangladesh Chamber of Trade. We  have much to celebrate and learn from each other."

The archbishop certainly has much to learn. He could do no better than start by watching this video from Dr Gavin Ashenden: 

A simple Google search shows that 'Iftar' is the fast-breaking evening meal of Muslims in Ramadan at the time of adhan, the call to prayer declaring that there is no God but Allah. Ramadan is the month in which Muslims believe that the Qur'an was sent down from heaven "as a guidance for men and women, a declaration of direction, and a means of salvation."

If archbishop John believes in Christian salvation he should be familiar with Jesus' declaration in John 14:6 - "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

However well intentioned, such gestures as made by the archbishop are a one-way traffic which help endorse a political ideology that regards Christians as infidels to be persecuted for their witness to Christ.

Whilst it is true that the majority of Muslims live peacefully, it takes only a few to stir up trouble and wreak havoc by those who follow the Qur'an literally. 

The Islamic State group have already claimed responsibility for recent atrocities in Russia and in Afghanistan. See also here and here. 

Similar events have been perpetrated in Great Britain by members of the so called religion of peace.

While it is understandable that politicians are eager not to offend Muslim voters it is inexcusable that some Christian leaders appear not to believe their own Bible.

New First Minister's shame

New Welsh Labour leader and First Minister nominee, Vaughan Gething Source: BBC

 Gaining 51.7% of the vote, Vaughan Gething secured a narrow victory over his cabinet colleague to secure the top job in Welsh politics, First Minister of Wales.

It is not an auspicious start. WalesOnline reported that Gething "received a huge £200,000 donation from a man whose companies have been convicted of environmental offences. On the same day that he received the donation, one of the donor's companies submitted an application to build a large solar farm in Cardiff that would require Welsh Government approval." 

The First Minister nominee has refused to return the donations arguing that they were "within the rules". He has since declared another £51,000 in donations.

They may be within the rules but not in the spirit of good government.

Nation Cymru reported that the offences entailed "illegally dumping toxic sludge in the Gwent Levels, a sensitive wetlands landscape near Newport", regarded by former First Minister, Mark Drakeford, as a 'fantastic wild haven' equivalent to the Amazon rainforest for sheer diversity of wildlife.

Toxic sludge to kill off wildlife but not the much needed M4 relief road which Drakeford killed off.

It can only get worse with plans to raise the number of Senedd members from 60 to 96. 

As Penny Mordaunt, Leader of the House of Commons argued, if Westminster were expanded in the way planned for the Senedd it would have more than 2,000 MPs. 

But it gets even worse. Described by the bishop of St Asaph as 'bad news' for democracy, from 2026 votes will be cast for parties instead of individual candidates enabling the Labour Party to tighten its grip in Wales despite its lamentable record, particularly on NHS waiting lists. 

There was a time when Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer regarded Welsh Labour as his "blueprint" for power but no longer. He has twice declined to repeat his claim.

No surprise there. 

Postscript [23.03.2024]

Nation.Cymru reports that "New First Minister Vaughan Gething is facing his first major constitutional clash with the UK Government over a controversial Bill that would enforce a gender-balanced Senedd by law and allow election candidates to self-identify as the gender of their choice."

Self-identifying gender balance! Completely crackpot.

Exclusion!

Source: 'X' (formerly Twitter)

From OneBodyOneFaith - 'Empowering LGBT+ Christians; advocating for change':

"With the Bishops in the Church in Wales, we are organising the second national memorial service to remember and commemorate all LGBT+ people who have lost their lives to suicide or experienced harm following exclusion from Christian faith communities."

Suicide is a tragedy not confined to LGBT+ people. Nor is exclusion.

When will the Church in Wales do something for the many faithful Anglicans who are excluded for keeping the faith?