The Hermeneutic of Continuity

The vote against women bishops at the General Synod by the House of Laity may be puzzling to some; perhaps even more so if you are told (correctly) that a significant number of those who voted against it are themselves in favour of women bishops. Tom Sutcliffe has written a balanced and helpful article for Anglican Ink which explains things well. See:  A "liberal" member of Synod explains his "no" vote on women bishops . (H/T The Deacon's Bench ) Essentially he and others considered that the proposal was misguided in its approach to those who opposed women bishops, and would over-ride assurances given in 1992 to those who opposed women priests. They viewed this lack of care as something that would damage the Church of England and accelerate its decline. The measure was considered overly clerical in not allowing the laity in a parish to decide whether or not they wished to have a woman priest. The assurances given over and over again, that provision would...

There is a very healthy and positive atmosphere at the seminary at Wonersh. I normally only get a snapshot on my flying visit from Sunday evening to Monday lunchtime but this week I spent a few days to do some work in the library and to bask in the luxury of regular mealtimes and the discipline of the timetable. Sung Lauds at 7.30am, and the Holy Hour with Compline and Benediction on Thursday evening were particularly beautiful. The library is well-stocked, though it is an uphill struggle to keep it in order. I love the unbound tomes of Migne and the elusive gems such as Jugie's Theologia Dogmatica Christianorum Orientalium ab Ecclesia Catholica Dissidentium. published by Letouzey et Ané.) The wheely ladder is necessary to get at some of the Latin tomes useful for an unreconstructed ossified manualist : Old boys of Wonersh may be interested to see that there is now a lift installed where there used to be a luggage lift. Without this, guests with mobility difficultie...

Guido Fawkes' blog  is one of our leading political blogs. I don't put political blogs on the sidebar but I do read them from time to time, especially Guido who is always entertaining. I had a chance to catch up this morning and laughed out loud at the post  No woman no tie . Sir Tony Baldry, resplendent in his bright pink shirt and salmon and cucumber Garrick Club tie, fulfilled his duty in the House today at the Second Church Estates Commissioner (the Church’s representative in Parliament, aside from that constitutional abomination that lets Bishop vote of legislation, of course.) Baldry was arguing for Women bishops, but as  Ann Treneman  points out, the Garrick still do not let women join.  Nor do the Freemasons… Which reminds me of a verse from the Bible. I shall quote it in the Douai Rheims version: The scribes and the Pharisees have sitten on the chair of Moses. All things therefore whatsoever they shall say to you, observe and ...

I work in a highly charged target-driven environment with tight deadlines. Sometimes I explode with anger at colleagues or subordinates in order to get the job done. Is this contrary to my Christian faith or simply part of my work? Catholic moral theology talks of the “passions”, those feelings and affections which are part of our psyche and “incline us to act or not to act in regard to something felt or imagined to be good or evil.” ( Catechism 1762) These feelings in themselves are neither good nor evil but they can contribute to our choice of good or evil. Put simply, we cannot always help how we feel, but we can decide what to do with those feelings. In your workplace, it is a good thing to meet targets and deadlines and it is possible that someone acting badly or negligently may interfere with this good, thus giving a just cause for reasonable anger. However we all know that because we are not Jesus Christ, and we are affected by original and actual sin, our anger is usually...

The November issue of the Catholic Medical Quarterly is now online. The issue looks at Humanae Vitae 45 years on and has articles by Pravin Thevathasan, Greg and Aghi Clovis, Adrian Treloar, Patrick Pullicino, Pia Matthews, Fr Thomas Crean and many others. When we hear daily of new unethical practices in the medical profession, it is an enormous encouragement to see Catholic medics standing up for Humanae Vitae by producing a journal like this.

"No, Father, you got that wrong - it was six votes" I hear you say. In fact I am referring to the vote of 1992 in favour of women priests. Back then, those who opposed women priests lost by just two votes. But of course that was a great triumph of democracy and there was no need for the Prime Minister to say in the House of Commons how sad he was, or for a team of lawyers to start investigating ways of getting round the vote, or for all right-thinking MPs to witter on for over half an hour's parliamentary time saying how dreadful it is, and that something should be done.

Wishing all my American readers a very happy Thanksgiving. May your turkey be delicious, and your family at peace. God bless America!

Kate Winslet has just received a CBE for her services to drama. Apparently Her Majesty congratulated her and asked about her enjoyment of acting. Kate Winslet said that ashe loved it but not as much as she loved being a mother. The Queen said "Yes well that is the only job." That is rather encouraging. I wonder how long it will be before some fool in the House of Commons moves to censure Her Majesty for her discriminatory approach to the traditional family. This was reported in the Daily Telegraph but I picked it up from a recently started blog Sub Umbra Alarum Suarum which is the latest addition to the list of blogs written by Blackfen parishioners. "Mattheus" has some good articles up already and I recommend his blog for your sidebar.

The London District of the Confraternity of Catholic Clergy are holding a meeting on Wednesday 5 December at St Patrick's Soho Square. With reference to the Year of Faith, Canon Luiz Ruscillo will be reflecting on the importance of Catholic education. The CCC website has further details . Starting at 11.15-ish, the day finishes with Benediction at 2.30pm so the timetable is suitable for parish clergy. I'm hoping to get there for at least part of the day after coming back from Hull where I am speaking to the Faith Forum.

As you all probably know, the General Synod of the Church of England failed to vote through the measure that would allow the ordination of women as Bishops. For those entirely baffled by the Church of England, Fr Longenecker has a good post on  Understanding the Crisis in the Church of England . People not familiar with the Church of England (especially from other European countries) sometimes ask me "What does the Church of England teach about x?" to which there is no straightforward answer. Fr Longenecker's post will be helpful in understanding why. William Oddie in the Catholic Herald examines some of the key points in an article today . As most Catholic commentators have observed, if women can be priests, there is no theological reason why they cannot be Bishops. With the ordination of women priests, it became clear that the Church of England allowed for an understanding of priesthood or ministry that was fundamentally different from that taught in the Catholic C...

BPAS advertisement spotted by Bones at Victoria station. The text reads: What do you call a woman who's had an abortion? Mother. Daughter. Sister. Friend. Abortion. No more names. The majority of people seeing it will not know much about the work of pro-life organisations. They will not know that the Sisters of the Gospel of Life , the Good Counsel Network and LIFE offer help to women who are in a crisis because of their pregnancy, both during the pregnancy and after the baby is born. They will not know of the help that SPUC gives through its British Victims of Abortion service, or the many other services offered by pro-life groups for women who have had an abortion. They will not have read the kindly words of Blessed John Paul in Evangelium Vitae n.99 to women who have had an abortion. What they will now think they know, is that people opposed to abortion call women names if they have had an abortion. They won't know what those names are, because pro-lifers d...