Church of England and Same Sex 'Marriage' - Another Fudge
The Church of England is to bless same-sex, civil marriages after its bishops proposed to "change" its stance on same-sex relationships. But its position on same sex marriage will not change and same-sex couples will still not be able to marry in Church of England churches.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, said the decision was an attempt to “seek the common good” (cough .. cough). The plan will go to the General Synod next month and will allow same-sex couples to come to church for services including prayers of dedication, thanksgiving and God’s blessing following a legal marriage ceremony.
Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury, said: “This response reflects the diversity of views in the Church of England on questions of sexuality, relationships and marriage – I rejoice in that diversity and I welcome this way of reflecting it in the life of our church.
“I am under no illusions that what we
are proposing today will appear to go too far for some and not nearly far
enough for others, but it is my hope that what we have agreed will be received
in a spirit of generosity, seeking the common good.
“Most of all I hope it can offer a way for the Church of England, publicly and unequivocally, to say to all Christians and especially LGBTQI+ people that you are welcome and a valued and precious part of the body of Christ.”
The bishops will issue a formal apology on Friday to LGBTQ+ people for the “rejection, exclusion and hostility” they have felt within the church because of its previous stance, and will be offering pastoral guidance to its ministers and congregations urging them to welcome same-sex couples “unreservedly and joyfully”.
The Archbishop of York, Stephen
Cottrell, said: “We are deeply sorry and ashamed and want to take this opportunity
to begin again in the spirit of repentance which our faith teaches us.
“This is not the end of that journey but we have reached a milestone and I hope that these prayers of love and faith can provide a way for us all to celebrate and affirm same-sex relationships.”
Jayne Ozanne no introduction needed, said: “I cannot believe that five years of pain and trauma has got us here. We have had countless apologies over the years but no action to stop the harmful discrimination. It is insulting to all who trusted the process. There is absolutely nothing radical or inclusive about these proposals."
Labour former cabinet minister Ben
Bradshaw told the House of Commons: “You may have heard that today the Church
of England bishops have recommended no substantial change to the church’s
current ban on same-sex couples being married in church in England, although
this is, of course, already possible in Scotland and soon will be in Wales.
“Many members across this House, I
would judge a majority, believe that by continuing to exclude lesbian and gay
people from its full rights, the church is no longer compatible with its
established status, which confers the duty to serve the whole nation.”
And so the slow, drip, drip., drip continues.
In March 2021 the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith nade the Catholic position clear. Priests cannot bless same-sex unions since God "cannot bless sin."
The decree states: "It is not licit to impart a blessing on relationships, or partnerships, even stable, that involve sexual activity outside of marriage." The Church's position is that "homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered."
According to the new decree, a priest can bless a person who has same sex attraction, but they must "manifest the will to live in fidelity to the revealed plans of God as proposed by Church teaching." The same conditions apply to "any union that involves sexual activity outside of marriage."
It is a complete muddled nonsense, and they all know it deep down. It is also blasphemous to suggest that unresisted and unbattled temptations are part and parcel of the body of Christ. These Bishops have preferred to be popular and cool in this world to loyalty to Christ. They are free to make that choice, but both going astray and leading others astray bears a double judgement in the next world when they meet Christ. I fear they will meet him in abject terror rather than in love, since they have made it crystal clear that they think they know much better and his way is a redundant way; it is not worth the ephemeral 'with-it' ness they have bought. They have destroyed the Church of England, which was once beautiful.
ReplyDeleteThe Church of England is to bless same-sex, civil marriages [but] same-sex couples will still not be able to marry in Church of England churches.
ReplyDeleteBack to square one, then. Are they still pretending that supportive parishes haven't been blessing same-sex relationships up until now?
What do they mean by 'marriage'? A heterosexual couple marries in the Church of England insomuch as the church acts as the state registrar and contracts a civil marriage within the structure of a religious ceremony. The Church of England doesn't, doctrinally, believe that matrimony (i.e., religious marriage), is a sacrament: so what is it? Surely, without the civil aspect, it's simply a pronouncement of God's blessing on the couple and their relationship. What's the difference? Will there be a legal obligation on clergy to perform these blessings, or will it be a matter of conscience?
There's a growing movement in Belgium and Germany to "bless" these same sex 'marriages' in defiance of the CDF's formal statement.
ReplyDeleteBelgium Roman Catholic bishops have issued a document allowing the blessing of same-sex unions, in direct defiance of the Vatican. The document suggests a ritual that includes a prayer and a benediction for stable same-sex unions. It said the Church wanted to be "pastorally close to homosexual persons" and be a "welcoming Church that excludes no one."
In Germany, individual priests are blessing same sex attracted persons.
Jack, does the name Jean-Claude Hollerich ring a bell at all? He’s the Archbishop of Luxembourg, and a cardinal. Here are a couple of links about him. The first one discusses his views on blessings for same sex couples. The second one discusses his electoral prospects when the time comes to pick a successor to the chair of Peter.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/252640/cardinal-hollerich-church-blessings-for-same-sex-unions-not-a-settled-matter
http://magister.blogautore.espresso.repubblica.it/2022/02/10/if-the-conclave-wants-a-second-francis-here-is-the-name-and-the-program/
Unfortunately Ray, Jack is all too familiar with the name. God help His Church should he be the next pope!
DeleteWonder what Lain makes of this:
Delete“I am a bishop who comes from Japan and I think those experiences have offered me another horizon of thought and judgment. The Japanese do not think as in the European logic of opposites. If we say a thing is black, it means it is not white. The Japanese, on the other hand, say: “It is white, but perhaps also black.’ In Japan opposites can be combined without changing the point of view.”
@ Jack
DeleteThat's true, but perhaps also not true.
Japanese thought (and Eastern thought more generally) is happier with apparent paradoxes and contradictions than Western thought is, which tends towards the binary and absolute. But this comes from a certain depth and maturity of thought, it's not an excuse for wishy-washy New Age-ism, as it's often misappropriated as by some westerners. If you rob a Japanese bank, you're still going to prison no matter how hard you try to argue that 'it was robbed but also not robbed'.
Zen Buddhism, which has deeply influenced Japanese culture since the 9th century, says that 'truth' lies in our pure experience of 'reality' without the mediation of mental constructs. As soon as we label something or speak of it, we immediately distort it, and thus make it false. If I say something is 'a tree', for example, I'm no longer purely experiencing the tree itself, but my concepts of 'treeness', which have no reality of their own outside the human mind - there's intrinsically no such thing as a 'pine tree' unless an observer classifies certain trees as such. As Dōgen says, 'Before one studies Zen, mountains are mountains and waters are waters; after a first glimpse into the truth of Zen, mountains are no longer mountains and waters are no longer waters; after enlightenment, mountains are once again mountains and waters once again waters'. The Christian mystics also speak this way about our experience of God.
Something that is white (or any colour) is white, but it's also not white. What is white? Looking around me, I can see four or five different whites just here. And there are different colours within each white object depending on how the light and shade fall upon it and what it's made of. What colour is a white object in the dark?
But Joseph Zen's sayings are always perfectly clear and unambiguous.
DeleteAre we allowed to pray for homosexual couples l that they may achieve harmony?
ReplyDeleteWe should pray for all sinners.
ReplyDeleteOur Lady, when she appeared at Fatima, commended this prayer to us all:
"O my Jesus, forgive us our sins; save us from the fires of hell; lead all souls into Heaven, especially those who are in most need of thy mercy."
On reflection, it strikes me that 'all souls' and 'those who are in most need of they mercy' refers to the same thing.
DeletePerhaps Our Lady was adopting a Zen position. The prayer was asked to be d=said after meditation on the mysteries of the rosary.
DeleteGranted we are all sinners in need of God's mercy. That's why there's a Church and the sacraments, particularly confession and the Eucharist to fortify us. However, there are some sinners so entangled in a life-style of sin and so resistant to God's grace, that divine intervention is required to free them. Jack believes this is what Our Lady had in mind.
Isn't divine intervention necessary to save everyone?
DeleteOf course, but Catholic teaching refers to two types of grace - "actual" and "sanctifying" grace.
DeleteActual grace is extrinsic to the soul, it is an impulse to do good or avoid evil that is sent by God and acts upon the soul gently nudging us towards the good. sometimes these nudges aren’t very subtle, as in the case of Saul. This actual grace “nudged” him to convert to the Christian faith.
Sanctifying grace, on the other hand, is intrinsic to the soul, meaning that it takes up residence in the soul. Saul surrendered his heart to Christ and entered the Church the Holy Spirit infused his soul with sanctifying grace. By cooperating we are transformed into the adopted children of God - there's a second birth.
Actual grace moves us towards God’s redemptive work - God brings sinners to conversion and causes the good deeds of the saints - if we cooperate with the "nudging" or, in some cases, being dragged.
The Orthodox Church doesn't make distinctions between types of grace: grace is simply dwelling in the uncreated energies of God (our natural state). It is available to all, but compels none.
DeleteThe Orthodox revision of the 16th century Unseen Warfare says, 'Thus teach the holy fathers. Saint Diadoch is the most definite among them, when he says that before holy baptism Divine grace moves a man towards good from without, while Satan is hidden in the depths of the heart and soul. But after a man has been baptised, the demon hovers outside the heart, while grace enters within.'
St. Theophan the Recluse expands: 'Thus, for arousal of the slumbering spirit within man and the leading of it to contemplation of the divine way, divine grace either 1) directly acts upon it, and, in carrying out its power, gives the opportunity to break the bonds that hold it, or 2) indirectly acts on it, shaking the layers and meshes off of it and thereby giving it the freedom to assume its rightful position.
The divine grace that is everywhere-present and fills all things directly inspires the spirit of man, impressing thoughts and feelings upon it that turn it away from all finite things and toward another better, albeit invisible and mysterious world.
Here is an interesting discussion about the different understandings of grace in the East and West.
Not a huge distinction ....
DeleteJust a thought. At marriage, the spouses make their vows to each other. The priest doesn't marry them, they marry each other. It has to be so, otherwise there would have been no marriages before the ministry of Christ. NATURAL marriage has always existed, and it never included gay couples. That is something that's only been shoehorned in over the last couple of decades. Nobody had ever thought of it before, even though homosexuals had always been around, not even the homosexuals themselves because it ISN'T natural.
ReplyDeleteThat's because marriage always included the (possibility of) procreation. 'Matrimony' comes from the Latin root word mātrem, which refers to motherhood. Once that purpose has been removed from the definition of marriage and marriage has been reduced to emotional support and sexual satisfaction, then there's no reason to exclude same-sex couples from 'marrying', on that understanding.
DeleteA priest near us is very keen on sodomy (not for himself, I should say). The doctrine appears to be that the urge is 'natural' and therefore must be created by God. So are the urges to rob, steal and murder. There are 10 commandments for a start all aimed at combatting natural urges. I shudder to think of ceremonies of blessing for these urges.
ReplyDeleteWell, why not bless all sin?
ReplyDelete