.
Whatever others might say about them, the doctrines and disciplines of the Roman Catholic Church are mainly understood by its subscribing members. One might not agree that its priests and bishops have to be celibate males, but that’s the very clear rule and understood by everyone.
Contrast then the muddle in the Church of England which, if its not careful, is about to have a schism open up among its members. It is constantly worried about the ordination of homosexuals and women as priests and bishops even though some of its provinces have gone along happily with both.
An openly gay priest was recently barred from the Anglican bishopric of Southwark, and a vote in the General Synod went against compromise proposals by the Archbishops of Canterbury which would have allowed women bishops.
There are yet more mutterings about a defection of some Anglican priests and bishops to the Roman Catholic Church under what has been called a ‘fast-track conversion’ scheme.
All this may be of no real concern to the fabled Man on the Clapham Omnibus, but it is a situation which has the possibility to be highly damaging to the Anglican Church nonetheless.
.
Whatever others might say about them, the doctrines and disciplines of the Roman Catholic Church are mainly understood by its subscribing members. One might not agree that its priests and bishops have to be celibate males, but that’s the very clear rule and understood by everyone.
Contrast then the muddle in the Church of England which, if its not careful, is about to have a schism open up among its members. It is constantly worried about the ordination of homosexuals and women as priests and bishops even though some of its provinces have gone along happily with both.
An openly gay priest was recently barred from the Anglican bishopric of Southwark, and a vote in the General Synod went against compromise proposals by the Archbishops of Canterbury which would have allowed women bishops.
There are yet more mutterings about a defection of some Anglican priests and bishops to the Roman Catholic Church under what has been called a ‘fast-track conversion’ scheme.
All this may be of no real concern to the fabled Man on the Clapham Omnibus, but it is a situation which has the possibility to be highly damaging to the Anglican Church nonetheless.
.
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