{"id":1539,"date":"2009-11-19T15:05:00","date_gmt":"2009-11-19T15:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/standingonmyhead\/2009\/11\/mr-williams-goes-to-rome\/"},"modified":"2009-11-19T15:05:00","modified_gmt":"2009-11-19T15:05:00","slug":"mr-williams-goes-to-rome","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/standingonmyhead\/2009\/11\/mr-williams-goes-to-rome.html","title":{"rendered":"Mr Williams Goes to Rome"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>
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Archbishop\u00a0Rowan Williams\u00a0is in Rome to give a speech at the Gregorian Pontifical University and he meets with the Pope on Saturday. I\u2019d like to see a copy of the whole speech, but it seems he downplayed the importance of the new Apostolic Constitution, stuck up for women\u2019s ordination and asked \u201cWhich way Ecumenism?\u201d<\/p><\/div>\n

The Times reports on the Archbishop of Canterbury\u2019s speech in Rome here<\/a>. Ruth Gledhill\u2013the paper\u2019s\u00a0religion correspondent,\u00a0always manages to report on Anglican-Catholic relations with a kind of schoolgirl drama that never fails to entertain. When the announcement of the new Apostolic Constitution was made last month,\u00a0her breathless headline was \u201cPope drives his tanks onto Lambeth Palace Lawn\u201d Today she writes, \u201cThe Archbishop of Canterbury has mounted a direct challenge to the Roman Catholic Church\u2019s stance against the ordination of women priests.\u201d The Daily Telegraph has a more objective and clearly written report on the Archbishop\u2019s speech here<\/a>. The Guardian reports here<\/a>\u00a0saying that the Archbishop challenged the Catholic Church to accept women bishops.<\/p>\n

Ruth Gledhill says his speech was a\u00a0 \u201cdirect challenge\u201d You have to give it to the English. They never fail to inflate their own importance. Ruth Gledhill should remember that from the Catholic perspective the Church of England is an interesting, but small player in the world ecclesial scene. While the Vatican listens carefully and respectfully to the Archbishop of Canterbury we mustn\u2019t imagine for a moment that his words will be taken for more than they\u2019re worth\u2026that is if they can be understood in the first place.<\/p>\n

As usual he speaks in that strangely obtuse and fuzzy language of the Anglican theologian\u2026\u201dI think that in some way I would wish to propse that it might be said that in a manner of speaking it could be asserted that among many views, of course not to say that one might be more as it were \u2018correct\u2019 than another, nevertheless it might be possible to say that one believes (if \u2018belief\u2019 is a category that is possible in the modern world) that some might wish to propose in a way that does not, of course, negate the opposite\u2026..\u201d<\/p>\n

Here are some of his quotes: On the new Anglican Ordinariate: \u201cIt does not build in any formal recognition of existing ministries or units of oversight or methods of independent decision-making, but remains at the level of spiritual and liturgical culture,<\/em>\u201d What on earth does that mean? Did he read the Apostolic Constitution? That\u2019s exactly what it does\u2013it recognizes previous ministries and grants the ordinary his own independent level of decision making.<\/p>\n

On the ways Anglicans muddle through their divisions and dissent he actually seemed to be recommending the Anglican Church as a model of muddle. . \u201cIs it nonsense to think that holding on to a limited but real common life and mutual acknowledgement of integrity might be worth working for within the Anglican family? And if it can be managed within the Anglican family, is this a possible model for the wider ecumenical scene?\u201d <\/em>Uhh. Can anyone offer a translation into simple language? I think he\u2019s saying, \u201cWe Anglicans like each other even though we disagree and we think you ought to too.\u201d<\/p>\n

He went on to say, \u201cI want to propose that we now need urgent clarification of whether these continuing points of tension or difference imply in any way that the substantive theological convergence is less solid than it appears, so that we must still hold back from fuller levels of recognition of ministries or fuller sacramental fellowship,\u201d <\/em>Sorry ABC, you lost me. I think he\u2019s saying, \u201cSo tell me Benedict, are you saying that the ecumenical game is over? You\u2019re not really going to allow intercommunion with us and say our orders are valid after all?\u201d <\/p>\n

About not ordaining women the scholarly Archbishop said, \u201cFor many Anglicans, not ordaining women has a possible unwelcome implication about the difference between baptised men and baptised women,\u201d <\/em>Any idea at all what that means? I think\u00a0he\u2019s saying, \u201cWe think if you don\u2019t ordain women you think they\u2019re second class citizens and that\u2019s not nice.\u201d<\/p>\n

From what I gleaned from the report on the Archbishop\u2019s speech, what is really revealed is the depth of his blindness about the real\u00a0situation between the churches. Can it be that even now he is defending women\u2019s ordination and therefore women\u2019s elevation to the episcopate? He may defend it in his own backyard, but is it possible that he really thinks the Catholic church has not decided on this? Does he honestly think the Pope is going to say, \u201cErrm. I guess we flubbed on that one. For you guys it is obviously working really well. I mean your church is going from glory to glory. Is it too late to jump on the bandwagon?\u201d <\/p>\n

It seems that beneath all the fuzziness that Rowan Williams may really be calling for the Vatican to speak even more clearly. I sense that beneath the bluster and obfuscation and diplomatic and academic speak that the Archbishop is saying, \u201cLet\u2019s be clear. Is there a future in this ecumenical stuff or not?\u201d<\/p>\n

If he is, I hope Rome will grant him the clarification that he longs for.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Archbishop\u00a0Rowan Williams\u00a0is in Rome to give a speech at the Gregorian Pontifical University and he meets with the Pope on Saturday. I\u2019d like to see a copy of the whole speech, but it seems he downplayed the importance of the new Apostolic Constitution, stuck up for women\u2019s ordination and asked \u201cWhich way Ecumenism?\u201d The Times […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":557,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1539","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nMr Williams Goes to Rome<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Archbishop Rowan Williams is in Rome to give a speech at the Gregorian Pontifical University and he meets with the Pope on Saturday. 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