Sunday, July 9
Women Bishops in England
The Church of England has voted to approve women bishops, though the actual implementation of this vote will take months or years.
Nonetheless, the CofE has officially given the finger to structural communion with Rome, which the Church had formerly promised to pursue, at the meeting of the Pope and ++Canterbury in the 1960's.
IMHO, this is a relatively positive development. The continuing theological difficulties of the Anglican Communion have created such divergent ecclesiastical cultures that union with Rome was no longer a feasible possibility. Now, however, Rome no longer needs to worry about hurting ecumenical sensibilities by creating "uniate" Anglicans at a corporate level: we didn't break the promise. So, Benedict's hand is much more free, now, than it formerly was to negotiate, if he so desires, with Anglicans seeking union at the corporate level.
The only question is, then, whether he so wills. Given the surprisingly close attention he paid to conservative Anglican groups as Cardinal, I anticipate that he does so will. But, of course, time will tell.
The Church of England has voted to approve women bishops, though the actual implementation of this vote will take months or years.
Nonetheless, the CofE has officially given the finger to structural communion with Rome, which the Church had formerly promised to pursue, at the meeting of the Pope and ++Canterbury in the 1960's.
IMHO, this is a relatively positive development. The continuing theological difficulties of the Anglican Communion have created such divergent ecclesiastical cultures that union with Rome was no longer a feasible possibility. Now, however, Rome no longer needs to worry about hurting ecumenical sensibilities by creating "uniate" Anglicans at a corporate level: we didn't break the promise. So, Benedict's hand is much more free, now, than it formerly was to negotiate, if he so desires, with Anglicans seeking union at the corporate level.
The only question is, then, whether he so wills. Given the surprisingly close attention he paid to conservative Anglican groups as Cardinal, I anticipate that he does so will. But, of course, time will tell.
![[SMMMHDH]](http://www.mgilleland.com/music/smmmhdh.png){kind=small}
