From Episcopal Life:

To find a way out, Episcopalians should consult church history. How did the Christian church in other times free itself from the demoralizing grip of discord? For the most part, it did so by practicing conciliarism — that is to say, by convening regional or worldwide councils to address the causes of discord and reaffirm the bonds of community. Regional councils were the primary means of preserving the unity of the church as early as the second century. Worldwide councils began to be held in the fourth century after the Christian church was granted legal rights in the Roman Empire.

In the Middle Ages, a highly developed theory of conciliarism exercised a check on papal power in the Roman Catholic Church and, contributed to the rise of constitutionalism in the secular realm as well. In the 20th century, the conciliar idea inspired some of the most important gatherings in modern church history, such as the Second Vatican Council of 1962-65 and the Russian Orthodox Council of 1917-18, the greatest Eastern Orthodox assembly since ancient times. In short, there is a rich record of conciliar theory and practice for Episcopalians to consult as they look for a way to reunify their church.

A council is not a routine convention but an extraordinary gathering. Councils work when the issues are clear-cut and the unity of the church is in the balance. The essential questions are perfectly clear: Does the Episcopal Church wish to remain part of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and if so, will the church do what is necessary to restore its good standing, such as declaring a moratorium on the consecration of non-celibate gays and lesbians to the episcopate? A representative Episcopal council would in all likelihood answer both questions affirmatively. By reaffirming their unity with Anglicans around the world, Episcopalians would also renew the spirit of unity in their own church.

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From The Age:

Nevertheless, young Australians are generally less religious than older ones. Among those over 65, only 7.9 per cent have no religion. For those aged 15-34, 8.6 per cent belong to other religions, and 23.5 per cent say they have no religion.

“The mainstream strongholds are literally dying, and the evangelical/Pentecostal churches are the growing edge,” Professor Bouma said.

In mainstream Protestant churches, more than 20 per cent are over 65, compared with 7 per cent of Pentecostals, and 13 per cent of Catholics and the general population.

But the commitment of those in church is higher, according to Professor Bouma. “The mainline churches had echoes of empire ”” in the ’50s it was proper to be Anglican. In the ’80s, Anglican numbers had dropped, but a higher percentage were actually in church.”

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From the Victoria Times Colonist:

Father Antonio Osorio is inviting lesbian and gay couples to be blessed at St. Saviour’s Anglican Church tomorrow.

“They need to know they are not second-class Christians,” said Osorio. “I am going to bless them as a group because they are faithful and beautiful Christians. And if they want to be blessed as individual couples, I will do it too….

The Anglican Church, in my opinion, needs to stop playing games,” said Osorio, who attended the national meeting and voted in favour of blessing same-sex unions.

“I am very pleased the national church has said blessing same-sex unions is not in conflict with the doctrine of the church,” he said. “I believe blessing these unions is a justice issue. Now is the time to start blessing same-sex couples. I have done it and I intend to keep doing it.”

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From the Hartford Courant:

“We firmly believe that our church was built by and given to the Anglican communion there, known as the Trinity Church Society,” Helmandollar said, adding that the church’s construction in 1746 preceded the formation of the Episcopal Diocese. “Our own constitution says we will remain.”

Smith broke the news about stripping Helmandollar of his clerical status during an afternoon press conference Friday with Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, in town for the ordination today of Connecticut’s first female Episcopal bishop, the Rev. Laura J. Ahrens.

Smith said Helmandollar voluntarily renounced his orders with the Episcopal Church, but Helmandollar said that isn’t what actually happened. After he wrote to Smith informing him of the church’s decision to join the North American Anglican group, Helmandollar said, “he suggested that I renounce my orders, and I said I can’t do that.”

A few weeks later, he said, Smith wrote him a letter, dated June 20, that he had taken Helmandollar’s letter to the standing committee.

“Since you have joined another church and have renounced your ministry in the Episcopal Church,” Smith wrote, “I have laid the matter before the clerical members of the standing committee of the Diocese of Connecticut … A majority of the clerical members of the standing committee meeting on June 13, 2007, have agreed that you have renounced your ministry.”

Helmandollar was not surprised.

“I was expecting it,” he said, “but the slant of me having renounced is not sitting well with me.”

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The hot rumor before Dar Es Salaam was that North American reasserters would get a new college of bishops. We got the Pastoral Scheme instead, and a lot of us were steamed. It never seemed like something TEC would actually do. What’s Plan B, we wondered. Well, it seems that the Pastoral Scheme was Plan B. TEC having decided to follow the “you’re not the boss of me” path, those Primates involved in US oversight are reverting to Plan A.

”˜Course, this is difficult and uncertain work. Anyone who thinks that it’s just a matter of out with the old, in with the new” needs to read the chapter “Bad Bishops” in [Ephraim] Radner’s Hope among the Fragments. Dealing with corrupted parts of the Church has always been extremely difficult, and those of us who call ourselves traditionalists should be at least listening to older voices about this mess. We shouldn’t be doing whatever we want, because we want to. That’s the behavior that got us into this mess. On the other hand, I’m not sure that this situation isn’t wholly unprecedented. We’ve got an independently governed Christian unit that is fully in the hands of heretics who have rejected any outside calls to mend their ways, who are actively engaged in persecuting those who disagree with them, and who reject any interference.

So what will ++Rowan do after he writes his book on Dostoevsky? I dunno. His recent actions, or actions taken on his behalf, have fallen even deeper into a sort of chaotic inscrutability….

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I realize that the normalization of relations with the People’s Republic of China requires time and presupposes the good will of both parties. For its part, the Holy See always remains open to negotiations, so necessary if the difficulties of the present time are to be overcome.

This situation of misunderstandings and incomprehension weighs heavily, serving the interests of neither the Chinese authorities nor the Catholic Church in China. As Pope John Paul II stated, recalling what Father Matteo Ricci wrote from Beijing,11 ”˜”˜so too today the Catholic Church seeks no privilege from China and its lead- ers, but solely the resumption of dialogue, in order to build a relationship based upon mutual respect and deeper understanding”.12 Let China rest assured that the Catholic Church sincerely proposes to offer, once again, humble and disinterested service in the areas of her competence, for the good of Chinese Catholics and for the good of all the inhabitants of the country.

As far as relations between the political community and the Church in China are concerned, it is worth calling to mind the enlightening teaching of the Second Vatican Council, which states: ”˜”˜The Church, by reason of her role and competence, is not identified with any political community nor is she tied to any political system. She is at once the sign and the safeguard of the transcendental dimension of the human person”. And the Council continues: ”˜”˜The political community and the Church are autonomous and independent of each other in their own fields. They are both at the service of the personal and social vocation of the same individuals, though under different titles. Their service will be more efficient and beneficial to all if both institutions develop better cooperation according to the circumstances of place and time”.13

Likewise, therefore, the Catholic Church which is in China does not have a mission to change the structure or administration of the State; rather, her mission is to proclaim Christ to men and women, as the Saviour of the world, basing herself ”“ in carrying out her proper apostolate ”“ on the power of God. As I recalled in my Encyclical Deus Caritas Est, ”˜”˜The Church cannot and must not take upon herself the political battle to bring about the most just society possible. She cannot and must not replace the State. Yet at the same time she cannot and must not remain on the sidelines in the fight for justice. She has to play her part through rational argument and she has to reawaken the spiritual energy without which justice, which always demands sacrifice, cannot prevail and prosper. A just society must be the achievement of politics, not of the Church. Yet the promotion of justice through efforts to bring about openness of mind and will to the demands of the common good is something which concerns the Church deeply”.14

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From the Economist:

Yet in one way Mr Bush is unfairly maligned. Contrary to the Democratic version of history, America did not enjoy untrammelled influence abroad before he arrived. The country that won the cold war also endured several grievous reverses, notably Vietnam (where 58,000 Americans were killed””16 times the figure for Iraq). Iran has been defying America since Jimmy Carter’s presidency, and North Korea for a generation before that. As for soft power, France has been complaining about Coca-Cola and Hollywood for nearly a century.

From this perspective of relative rather than absolute supremacy, a superpower’s strength lies as much in what it can prevent from happening as in what it can achieve. Even today, America’s “negative power” is considerable. Very little of any note can happen without at least its acquiescence. Iran and North Korea can defy the Great Satan, but only America can offer the recognition the proliferating regimes crave. In all sorts of areas””be it the fight against global warming or the quest for an Arab-Israeli peace””America is quite simply indispensable.

That is because America still has the most hard power. Its volunteer army is indeed stretched: it could not fight another small war of choice. But it can still muster 1.5m people under arms and a defence budget almost as big as the whole of the rest of the world’s. And it could call on so much more: in relation to the country’s size, its defence budget and army are quite small by historical standards. Better diplomacy would enhance its power. One irony of the “war on terror” is that Mr Bush’s hyperventilation worked against him in terms of getting boots on the ground: neither his own countrymen nor his allies were sure enough that they were really under threat. (And why should they be? An American-led West spent four decades tussling with a nuclear-armed empire that stretched from Berlin to Vladivostok; al-Qaeda is still small beer.)

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The lessons of all these transitions from unaddressed discontents to religious fanaticism hold true for violent outbreaks down the centuries on virtually every continent and in all major faiths. When regimes insist that time must hold still and deny traditional or perceived rights, fundamentalist religion is always lurking nearby. At the beginning of “The Plague,” Albert Camus speaks of how a bacillus can lurk, dormant and undetected, only to reappear unexpectedly when conditions are right. Extremist religion has its own bacillus, and it has proven impossible to exterminate: There are no proven antibiotics for the plague of fanaticism. When political sanitation goes wanting, it strikes.

Yet, that does not mean religious extremism can be addressed strictly through political measures (or through diplomacy, that great Western superstition). The only chance to minimize the violence is to intervene early on to create political and social breathing space for restive populations. Once religious extremism has taken hold, the pattern cannot be reversed. This is an absolutely vital point for American leaders to grasp. If the banner of jihad (or a crusade) has been raised successfully, the peaceable kingdom is finished. Only shedding blood ruthlessly can eliminate or at least reduce the problem ”” the enemy enraptured by faith must become more terrified of you than he is of his god. Usually, you must kill him.

This matters vitally today as the U.S., disappointed by its experience in Iraq, threatens to return to its disastrous “Habsburg” policy of the latter half of the 20th century, in which the greatest democracy in history and the beacon of humankind supported a long parade of vile dictators and authoritarian regimes in the interests of stability.

The great strategic problem today isn’t instability. The current instability confronting us is the result of our insistence that outwardly stable Middle Eastern states were the highest geopolitical good in the region. The great enabler of Islamist terrorism has been the artificial stability imposed on the Middle East by local despots backed by foreign powers. Increasingly, populations saw no hope of meaningful change. Right on schedule historically, charismatic religious bigots stepped in to offer not only hope, but a divine dispensation. It cannot be repeated too often or too forcefully: When human beings see no hope of remediation on this earth, they become susceptible to the prophets of religious violence, to the argument that their God wants them to punish their oppressors. And their conversion is a one-way street.

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Does Scripture have a place on the campaign trail?

In a previous blog post at chicagotribune.com/seeker about U.S. Sen. Barack Obama’s speech Saturday to the United Church of Christ, I mentioned how journalist Bill Moyers tried to rally 10,000 of his brethren to save democracy. In doing so, Moyers reflected on the Gospel of Matthew as a road map for quiet revolution and social change.

When asked earlier this year how Matthew factored into Obama’s political thinking, the Illinois Democrat told me:

“It’s powerful, and I think it’s one that’s important for all of us to pray on. One of the things that I’m always interested in when it comes to politics is making sure I can continually translate values that are grounded in my religious faith into universal values that appeal to all people. If I’m in church I might quote some Scripture. If I’m outside a church I might quote FDR. Hopefully, they both lead to the same place.”

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A car on fire has been driven at the main terminal building at Glasgow Airport, police have confirmed.
Eyewitnesses have described a Jeep Cherokee being driven at speed towards the building with flames coming out from underneath.

They have also described seeing two Asian men, one of whom was on fire, who had been in the car.

The airport has been evacuated and all flights suspended following the incident at 1515 BST.

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Many of us in the Anglican blogosphere have been saddened this week to learn that our friend and one-time fellow Anglican blogger (now a Roman Catholic) Fr. Al Kimel is giving up blogging for personal reasons. Pontifications has been one of the best theological blogs on the web, applauded by Catholics, Anglicans, Orthodox, with a very large and loyal readership.

It was near the top of the non-Anglican links list we’ve compiled, but haven’t yet had a chance to format and post on our side-bar here.

We first read the news on Orthodox priest Fr. Stephen Freeman’s blog, Glory to God for All Things, which Fr. Al introduced many of us to. Todd Granger, Brad Drell and Sarah Hey of Stand Firm all picked up the news and added their comments.

Just this morning, I read Ralph Webb’s comments on his blog, Anglican Action.

Namarie indeed, Father Kimel. But as you say goodbye, do know that your faithful service to our Lord and your work to renew the Episcopal Church has not been in vain. You have inspired people who you do not know and who have never met you to stay faithful to our Lord and Savior. We remember your work on the Baltimore Declaration. In your departure from TEC, our loss was Rome’s gain. We thank you for providing us with, for a few years, one of the most spiritually sound, astute, and challenging blogs out there. And if our Lord ever leads you to take up blogging again, many of us will be grateful.

May our Lord grant the healing that you need, for “the hands of a healer are the hands of a king” (Tolkien again, rough paraphrase from memory).

This elf says “Amen!” to all of what my fellow bloggers have written so eloquently, and adds my profound thanks to Fr. Al for Pontifications and all he contributed to TitusOneNine as well in many comment threads. And it is worth noting that Fr. Al’s essay “The Grand Question” holds the records for most comments ever on TitusOneNine, with a staggering 561 comments!

May the Lord bless you and your family Fr. Al and grant you His peace.

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Note: at least for the moment, it seems impossible to access the original post of “the Grand Question” which Kendall excerpted and linked on Titusonenine, is not accessible online. Fortunately, Fr. Al seems to have preserved that entry on his page of entries on the theme of Justification on his new blog:

Justification
Look for entry # XXXIV which begins:

>XXXIV

The justification of sinners””this is “the grand question,” declared Richard Hooker, “which hangeth yet in controversy between us and the Church of Rome.” Hooker notes that Anglicans and Catholics agree on many points about justification. They agree that all human beings are sinners and need to be reconciled to God. They agree that God alone is the efficient cause of justification: the justification of sinners is the work of the Holy Trinity. They agree that no one attains justification but by the merits of Christ Jesus: we are justified by grace alone for the sake of Christ, on the basis of his saving death on the cross.

Finally, dearly beloved Archbishop Fred Hiltz, you will keep alive your passion for God, his Church and his world if, like the Apostle Paul, you continue to have Christ at the Centre of everything.

The Apostle Peter always had JESUS CHRIST AT THE CENTRE OF HIS LIVING. “For me to live is Christ.” (Philippians 1:21)

He always had JESUS CHRIST AT THE CENTRE OF HIS THINKING. “Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:5)

He always had JESUS CHRIST AT THE CENTRE OF HIS PLANNING. His aiming, his motivation. “I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:14)

I beg of you to look at your past achievements and failures with the eyes of an accountant. And so whatever you have lost or gained, let Christ be your prize. Let Christ always be your balance sheet.

I beg of you to look at the present with the eyes of a sportsperson. Train for Christ. Throw yourself into the race for Christ. Aim for Christ. Let your faith be ready for adventure — ready to go into the unknown and forsaking the right to ask where you are going. May our Lord give you a reckless willingness to adventure. A venturesome faith — like that of Abraham.

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Police were last night hunting a suspected al-Qaida-inspired terrorist cell after the discovery of two “Iraqi style” car bombs, which UK officials said were designed to cause mass murder. One was outside a London nightclub, and a second nearby.

Only luck and probable faults in the bombs’ construction meant that the first device, inside a metallic green Mercedes, could be disarmed, while the second, in a blue Mercedes 280E, failed to explode. Police say both were capable of causing severe casualties and were intended to have been detonated remotely, most likely by a mobile phone.

Counter-terrorism officials said the first device – made up of 60 litres of petrol, several propane gas cylinders, nails and a detonation mechanism – was similar to those used by al-Qaida in Iraq.

The second car, containing similar lethal materials, was given a parking ticket at 2.30am before being towed to a car park in Park Lane, central London

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From the Church Times:

AN UNPUBLISHED REPORT about frustration among older clerics in the Church of England is under discussion by bishops and senior staff, amid fears that under-fulfilled clergy are holding back the Church’s mission. The 45-page document, From Frustration to Fulfilment: The final ten years of licensed ministry, calls for a national vocational assessment for the over-50s.

The report identifies a small group of clerics who have lost their sense of vocation and faith in God. It suggests that such clerics should not move to another post, but be helped to leave the ministry with as much dignity as possible.

The Clergy Appointments Adviser, the Revd John Lee, wrote the report, drawing on the findings of a working group of seven clerics from a variety of backgrounds. He said on Monday that he had discussed its findings at staff meetings around the dioceses. “It has hit the spot, and they are very positive. It was commissioned because a lot of time was being taken up with people in trouble or on the verge of losing the plot. We wanted to know what we shall do and how are we going to use [them].”

The House of Bishops has discussed the report, and referred it to the dioceses. There would be a revised report later this year, Mr Lee said.

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