A Pathetic Response

The Catholic Group on the Anglican Synod has made an official response to the latest vote. Considering the pain felt by some Anglo-Catholics and their families, and all the agonising that has taken place since the decision to allow the ordination of women, this is surely one of the most pathetic responses I have ever seen from anyone about anything. I'm sorry if that seems harsh, but having read some Anglican blogs and seen the anguish there, I wonder just who this "Catholic Group" means to represent.


However, as one lady contributor to one of those blogs wrote, the damage was done some time ago when Synod agreed to the ordination of women. Whatever is done now, that decision remains, and since the logical outcome was always going to be women bishops, we now have a situation where much of the Anglican "communion" (what does that word mean?) has shut itself out of the great cause of Christian Unity to which ALL Christians should be deeply committed. This is such a serious departure from the Will of Christ, as revealed in Sacred Scripture, that nothing less than straightforward condemnation will now do. Of course, it is done in charity and respecting those who are truly following their consciences, but the damage is great. One of the saddest aspects of all this is that the Anglican Church, by fault of history we might say, was uniquely placed to forward that cause. Since it is intent on damaging its own precarious internal unity it can no longer do that. Surely, if it ever had a part to play in the future of Christianity, that was it. What a tragedy that it this promise has gone.