Then on the way home we bought a Sunday Paper to find the Telegraph spinning nonsense about ”˜defections’ to the Catholic Church. Most of what they wrote was reprinted from a stolen email they had already published months ago. All that was new was an assertion that three of our Bishops had visited Rome. If they did, and no chapter and verse was given, then the Newspaper was unable to find anything about what was said, whom they had met, why they were there. Just daft speculation.
This is the sort of nonsense we must expect to see appearing in the media over the next few months, as preparations are made for the visit to England of the Holy Father. Meanwhile, I am getting ready to go on Pilgrimage to Fatima next week. And, guess what, the Pope will be there too! No doubt the pilgrimage of half a million Portuguese has been specially arranged in order to cloak the secret meetings between me and the Holy Father! I hope I might possibly get near enough to take a photo with my zoom lens, and you should with luck be able to pick out a small figure in white somewhere in the crowds ”“ look for my blog two weeks or so from now”¦ but don’t breathe a word to the Sunday Telegraph.
What a very peculiar piece. Since Wynne-Jones [supported by St Damian] claimed that he was one of the bishops concerned along with +Broadhurst and +Newton, surely it is a simple matter to say: “we did not go to the Vatican last week”.
Arguing that someone else hasn’t proved what he has claimed you have done is the sort of peculiar answer that one hears from the accused in criminal courts when asked whether they did something or not.
Either the bishops went to Rome for discussion with the CDF….or they did not – which is it?
Mind you, who could blame them if they did, given how useless Indabadabaman has been about doing anything about the issue as far as we know, or any other issue for that matter.
I thought it was +Broadhurst, +Newton and +Burnham?
#2 TACit
You are right – too many B’s. Bishop Edwin Barnes was +Newton’s predecessor as Bishop of Richborough.
According to AP, the current Bishop of Richborough has confirmed the trip took place as the Telegraph reported, but also states that:
[blockquote]No decisions have been made,[/blockquote]
Brief as it is, I think +Barnes’ reflection makes an important point. There is indeed an awful lot of sheer gossip and speculation going on. Undoubtedly, there will be an exodus of Anglo-Catholics from the CoE, but the size of it still remains to be seen. However, I thought the line mocking conspiracy theories involving hordes of Portugese pilgrims to Fatima being arranged to cover up a clandestine meeting between Barnes and the pope was just delightful.
David Handy+