Sentamu to set up abuse inquiry after allegations of cover-up

The Archbishop of York John Sentamu is setting up an independent inquiry into allegations that his predecessor covered up child abuse by a senior priest in Manchester.

Dr Sentamu's office made the announcement on Saturday afternoon, hours after The Times reported that Archbishop David Hope, now Lord Hope of Thornes, stood accused of covering up allegations that a former dean of Manchester, Revd Robert Waddington, who died in 2007, had abused choirboys and school pupils.

Lord Hope was made aware of the accusations against Mr Waddington, who was once the cleric in overall charge of CofE schools, in 1999 and again in 2003. 

Lord Hope ordered internal investigations, interviewed Waddington and revoked his right to conduct church services, but he did not report concerns to police or child protection agencies, The Times reported following a joint investigation with The Australian newspaper in Sydney.

Lord Hope denied any cover-up, saying he had correctly followed CofE child protection procedures in place at the time, which did not oblige him to report the case to the authorities.

He said was concerned about Mr Waddington's health. "I didn't report to the police. With hindsight, probably there ought to have been [a report]. He was in such a fragile and frail state," Lord Hope said.

Church 'needs to boost media work'

The Church in Scotland must put more time and money into its engagement with the media, the Archbishop of Glasgow has said.

Archbishop Philip Tartaglia said recent months had seen the media carrying the "best and the worst" of news for Catholics in Scotland.

These include the resignation of Cardinal Keith O'Brien as Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh following allegations of sexual misconduct, and the election of Pope Francis.

"Recent events have shown how stretched our resources are, and how dependent we are on the energy and expertise of a tiny number of media professionals whose work for the Church has been more necessary than ever. If we are to engage properly in public life we need to better resource our means of communicating the Church's message," the archbishop wrote in a pastoral letter for World Communications Day. 

The Scottish Catholic Media Office has three members of staff, one of whom is an administrator.

The archbishop praised social media, explaining that Facebook and Twitter can help dioceses engage with people "far from the Church door".

He added: "Avail yourselves of the new aids to living the Catholic life of prayer, charity and solidarity offered by the new media - websites, social media streams and Catholic television, not forgetting the special role and importance of the traditional Catholic paper."

Francis backs Europe-wide bid to limit access to abortion

Pope Francis has strongly backed a new pro-life movement in Italy which is trying to place legal restrictions on access to abortion across Europe.

The Pope praised some 40,000 participants from the third annual March for Life who gathered on Sunday outside St Peter's Square where he had just concluded the first canonisation ceremony of his pontificate.

Francis noted that signatures were being collected in many Italian parishes to support a petition called "One of Us", which has been organised by the European Citizen's Initiative, and aims to guarantee juridical protection of the embryo from conception.

Signatories are calling on the European Commission to stop financing abortion, research or any other activities that lead to the destruction of human embryos.

At the Mass, Francis declared two women religious from Mexico and Colombia as saints, along with 800 Martyrs of Otranto (Italy) who were killed in the fifteenth century by invading Turks for refusing to convert to Islam.

Impersonator in Rome busted for busking as late Pope John II

For a man who seeks to imitate a noble personage, he could play worse than a Pope.

In Rome, however, it is a predilection fraught with potential problems.

A performer from Slovakia — so far unidentified — was arrested in Rome on Friday on a misdemeanor charge for pretending to be the late John Paul II.

For the past several weeks, according to Britain’s Telegraph, the papal lookalike, dressed in a white cassock and decorated with a skull cap and a crucifix on a necklace, has been entertaining tourists near the Via dei Fori Imperiali, the broad avenue that leads up to the Colosseum and a lucrative spot for attracting passers-by. ... Some would drop a few euro coins into his silver tray.

"John Paul was a great Pope. Lots of people ask to have their photograph taken with me," he told the paper, as he sat on a chair and smiled broadly as he held a Bible.

Police who detained him told him he will be hit with a fine of between about $200 to more than $1,200, depending on a court's decision.

"The problem was that he looked a lot like Karol Wojtyla. He was detained for usurpation of title which is a misdemeanour," a police spokeswoman told AFP.

"The cassock he was wearing has been confiscated," she said, adding that the action had been taken after an anonymous complaint.

The Slovak was one of several buskers and street artists who try their luck along the street, from bands of Peruvian pipers to fake centurions and legionaries and performers who stand stock still dressed as the Statue of Liberty.

"If he had been dressed like Tutankhamen nothing would have happened," another police officer said.

Local media had joked that the fake Pope had brought the number of pontiffs in Rome to three, along with Pope Francis and his predecessor Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, who is living out his retirement in a former convent in the Vatican.

Support for LCWR drives monthly California vigils

As the bells of St. Eugene Cathedral tolled for evening Mass on Tuesday and two Marian Sisters of Santa Rosa in long white habits and blue veils hurried into the Adoration Chapel for the traditional Latin liturgy, 18 men and women formed a circle in front of the cathedral to pray for members of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR).

They have held this monthly vigil since LCWR came under strong criticism by the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in April 2012 for what the doctrinal congregation called "radical feminism." LCWR represents about 80 percent of the some 57,000 sisters in the United States.

When the criticism was first made public, supporters of sisters throughout the country held vigils and demonstrations, but the small band in Santa Rosa has continued that effort, meeting each first Tuesday outside the cathedral. They pray, sing and tell stories about specific sisters who nurtured their faith, showed compassion for the poor and confronted injustice.

During the Tuesday vigil, Therese Mughannam-Walrath recounted her family's arrival in San Francisco as Palestinian refugees when she was 10.

"My father visited every Catholic school in the city seeking enrollment for me, and because the term had already started, he was told there was no room. But a Sister of St. Joseph of Carondelet welcomed us to St. Emydius School," she said. "It was the beginning of our life in America."

During each hourlong vigil, the group highlights 20 LCWR members in a litany of remembrance. The Carondelet Sisters were among the congregations recognized at the May vigil.

Vigil participants also sign a letter to all the congregations honored at each vigil.

"Be assured that we are one with you in spirit and in hope," the letter reads. "We pray that you follow your hearts and keep your community tradition alive and vibrant. You are not alone as you discern your response to the allegations made by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith."

When the group gathers next month, they will have sent a letter of support to 178 congregations that are part of LCWR.

"We are most grateful," wrote the Sisters of St. Francis in Syracuse, N.Y., in a recent response. "Your prayers and support remind us that we work together as a wider community."

Sr. Mary Gehringer, provincial of the Servants of Mary in Omaha, Neb., also expressed gratitude, especially that the group "took the time to single out communities and lift them particularly in prayer."

"I believe that one of our most important tasks as religious communities was that of training others to continue the Gospel mission," she wrote. "Knowing people like you lets us know that we have done this well and that the Church is in good hands. ... We are privileged to stand with you."

Cynthia Vrooman of neighboring Sonoma, Calif., organized the first local show of support for LCWR with fellow members of Emmaus, "an inclusive Catholic community" that meets twice a month for a Eucharistic celebration and potluck supper. They held a public viewing of the documentary "Women in Spirit: Catholic Sisters in America" in May 2012 and raised $1,000 for LCWR. From that event grew the plan for monthly vigils, which Vrooman and her husband, Dan, have been coordinating ever since.

In a letter published in The Sonoma Index-Tribune shortly after the doctrinal congregation's decree against LCWR, Vrooman wrote, "If the hierarchy is willing to sacrifice its most dedicated work force (of Sisters) on the altar of blind obedience, then many of us should get ready to stand in line."

And they have. Up to 50 people have attended the monthly vigils. 

When that yearlong effort ends in June, the group says it will discern its next step, likely dependent on how the current situation between women religious and the Vatican evolves.

More exploreAway

The exploreAway vocations discernment programme is to hold its first ever taster session later this month and another in September. 

 

The programme for young single men and women between the ages of 21-40, to explore religious life and the priesthood, runs for five residential weekends. 

 

“It is a lot to commit for five weekends, so this meeting is to see what is lined up and ask questions and to meet other like minded people,” Ann-Marie Gallagher, Vocations Ireland, told catholicireland.net. 

 

“It is going to be an informal relaxed afternoon with input about what is involved, and it will be a social event with pizza and a chat as well.”

 

exploreAway aims to provide support and accompaniment to participants who are discerning their call.  Participants are invited to embark on this journey of exploration in the company of others who are also searching. This was the experience of one participant, Rose aged 25 and who said it was: “a joy to spend time journeying with a group to discern how to live out God's call."

 

The programme involves five residential weekends in Dublin. The weekends provide input on vocation call, discernment, prayer and religious life - its core values and the various ways it is lived. So far there have been two exploreAway programmes with six participants in the last in 2012-2013 – slightly up on one held in the previous year. Some attendees are at the initial stages of discernment and establishing which community or diocese they might join and others are already linked with a religious community.  

 

“You have the whole spectrum and that is what makes it so interesting, that they can learn from each other and can support each other. It was a very lively group last year and the format seems to have worked well,” said Ann-Marie Gallagher. “When they finish the programme, they are further along their discernment journey and are clearer as to what direction they would like to go and maybe more prepared and more empowered to take steps, for example maybe to live in with the community or spend more time with a community and to go further with that. There are always one or two who are still not too sure.”

 

The last figures for vocations showed that in 2011 there were 22 new entrants to the religious life (not including diocesan priests). More men than women entered religious communities.

 

The exploreAway Taster is on Sunday 26th May 2013 from 2-6pm in St. Teresa's Church, Clarendon Street, Dublin 2. 

 

See: www.exploreaway.net 

 

and 

 

www.vocationsireland.com

Washington Post accused of abortion bias in coverage

The leader of a conservative think-tank is calling for more balanced abortion coverage from the Washington Post after the paper’s publisher reportedly said that its production team members “do make mistakes.”
 
At a meeting of shareholders in The Washington Post Company May 9, David Almasi, executive director of the National Center for Public Policy Research, argued that the paper’s biased coverage of the March for Life could be contributing to its financial woes.

“In January, as almost every year, the March for Life got a tiny little story in the Metro section,” Almasi told CNA on May 10.

“That's bad enough, but then the next day, there was a rally of under 1,000 people, by the Post's own reporting, for gun control, and they gave it almost the same length of coverage.”

Almasi added that the Washington Post's article on the March for Life included a photo which prominently featured signs from pro-abortion counter-demonstrators, while the gun control article had “two photos that were of a positive nature towards the rally.”

The Post's Jan. 27 issue featured the headline “Nearly 1,000 rally on Mall to call for more gun control,” while the previous day's issue featured an article title “On Roe's 40th anniversary, more prayers to overturn it.”

Well down the article, the Post noted that the March for Life's permit was for 50,000 but that “organizers said the attendance was several times that number” and that participants “stretched for at least five blocks.”

“With something like the March for Life, they're busing people in, people are taking a lot out of their lives to be a part of this, and they're marching in weather I won't march in anymore … and I see little coverage,” Almasi said.

He contrasted this with the “better coverage” of the gun control rally and an environmentalist rally against the Keystone XL pipeline, both of which had far fewer participants.

At the shareholder meeting, Almasi told Post management that such biased reporting is “a credibility problem that's obviously hurting your bottom line.”

The previous week, the Washington Post Company had reported a sharp decline in profit in the first quarter. The company has explained the decline by costs related to early retirement, severance and restructuring, according to the New York Times.

Almasi participated in the shareholder meeting through Accuracy in Media, which own stocks in numerous companies.

He argued that the bias in abortion coverage is much the same as it was more than 20 years ago.

“This almost mimics 23 years ago when there was a very large pro-abortion rally in ‘89 and a very large pro-life rally in ‘90. The pro-abortion coverage was huge – days long, every section of the paper – and the pro-life rally the next year got in the Metro section.”

At the meeting, Post Company chairman Donald Graham, who in 1990 was the paper's publisher, “said he was appalled by what happened 23 years ago, though he didn't really say if he was appalled by what happened this year.”

Almasi said that Katherine Weymouth, current publisher of the Post, also responded to his concerns, saying “we're far from perfect – we do make mistakes.”

The allegation against the Post comes as the broader mainstream media have come under fire for their failure to cover the trial of abortionist Kermit Gosnell, who faces murder charges over the death of one mother and several babies, who were allegedly killed in his Philadelphia clinic after being born alive following botched abortion procedures.

Gosnell's trial began March 19, but it was not picked up by most of the large media outlets outside of Philadelphia until mid-April.

Almasi reports that in a private conversation following the shareholders' meeting, Weymouth said that 90 percent of the Post's newsroom is probably liberal and at times, “obviously their bias comes through.”

Now that the Post's representatives admitted the paper's bias and previous mistakes, Almasi said that they need to do better.

“But we just need to see if they take that to heart, or it's just something they say every year at the shareholder meeting when we ask them,” he stated.

Italian pro-lifers hope Rome march has global reach

The main organizer of Italy’s March for Life hopes that its location in Rome means it has global influence by sending “a message to the whole Christian world.”
“This event is very important for us and it gives a worldwide impact since it is in Rome. And I think in the future it could be the most important one,” said Virginia Coda Nunziante, organizer of Italy’s March for Life.
“Rome is the seat of Christianity and to host this here is important because it gives a message to the whole Christian world,” she remarked May 12 during the annual March for Life.
Sunday’s demonstration was the third time the Italian March for Life was held and the second time it took place in Rome.
Some news accounts reported around 40,000 participants for the demonstration, but CNA’s staff on the ground estimated the crowd at around 20,000 marchers.
The annual March for Life in Washington, D.C. regularly draws crowds in the hundreds of thousands that are underreported in the American media.
The most recent march, which took place on January 25, drew around 400,000 people, with about 80 percent of those demonstrators being young people, according to organizers.
People from the United States, Europe and Africa gathered on May 12 outside the Coliseum where they heard from pro-life advocates before beginning their route to Castel Sant’Angelo.
After completing their march, they joined thousands of pilgrims at Saint Peter’s Square who were there for a canonization ceremony and Pope Francis’ weekly Regina Caeli address.
The pro-life marchers were not disappointed, since the Pope greeted them in particular.
“I greet the participants of the March for Life which took place this morning in Rome and invite everyone to stay focused on the important issue of respect for human life, from the moment of conception,” he said.
However, contrary to some news reports, the Pope did not join the march but made a brief trip in the popemobile outside of St. Peter’s Square, as he has done in recent weeks. Participants in the march were at the end of his route and had the chance to see Pope Francis.
The event was organized by several Italian pro-life groups and featured well-known speakers, such as the president of the U.S. March for Life, Jeanne Monahan, pro-life activist Lila Rose, and the Mayor of Rome, Giovanni Alemanno.
“We would like to spread the culture of life in Italy so this is an occasion to get all of Italy’s associations and groups together to say a clear ‘yes’ to life and ‘no’ to abortion,” said march organizer Coda Nunziante.
Italy legalized abortion in 1978, leading to the deaths of six million babies between then and now, according to Coda Nunziante.
But Italians were not the only ones present, since groups from Poland, France, Belgium, Ireland, Spain, Albania and Nigeria also traveled to Rome to defend the unborn.
“This is very important for Italians to understand that abortion is a worldwide problem, so we all have to be tied together in order to have a wider impact,” she said.
A pro-life group from Szczecin, which is very active in Poland, also participated in last year’s march in Rome.
“We shouldn’t only demonstrate defending life in Poland but in the whole world because life is the most important value, it is global and universal,” said Alicia Kanselarcik outside the Coliseum.

Catholic Church Set to Reconcile With CAN

The Catholic Church in Nigeria is set to reconcile its differences with the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN).

Speaking in Abuja as part of the ceremony marking this year's World Communication Day, the director of communications, Catholic Archdiocese of Abuja, Rev Fr Tom Asen, disclosed that discussions were underway to ensure that the Catholic Church in Nigeria returned to CAN.

It would be recalled that the Catholic Church in Nigeria recently pulled out as a member of the association due to some irreconcilable differences between the two bodies.

Fr Asen noted that disagreement and reconciliation were part of human existence, because it existed in every organisation, including families.

"We are hoping that very soon, the catholic church in Nigeria will return as a full member of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN). This is based on the on-going discussions at various levels over the issue. Nigerians should realise that disagreement and reconciliation are part and parcel of human existence, because even family members at times quarrel and reconcile", he said.

Also speaking, a representative of the Director General, Nigerian Broadcasting Commission (NBC), Mrs Francisca Aiyetan, advised media practitioners in the country to always stick to the ethics of journalism profession to avoid sanctions from the commission.

Aiyetan who is a zonal director in the commission urged Nigerians not to be influenced by information coming from the social media, since the channel has became an all comers medium.

Cardinal Dolan and America’s troubled Catholic Church (Opinion)

Cardinal Dolan, president of the USCCB, says he needs an “attractive, articulate, intelligent” woman as his personal spokesperson, claiming that “the days of fat, balding Irish bishops are over.”  

He has chosen Kim Daniels, a long-time effective advocate of conservative causes,  and ex-personal domestic policy czar to Sarah Palin.   

Might one say that Daniels has gone “from Sarah Palin’s brain to Cardinal Dolan’s voice?”   

But her promotion also signals that the cardinal as head of the USCCB has had more failures than successes.

This is not to deny Dolan’s talents.  

 Seldom has Catholic America had a prelate so effective with media. He uses lunch-pail comparisons to explain even the most complex of church teachings. He stood up to inquisitorial Catholic right-wingers and invited President Obama to the annual Al Smith Dinner.  

But I believe an honest appraisal would show that influence and respect for the USCCB is lower now than when Dolan assumed the office. These are moments when I think his leadership struck out.

Strike one was in allowing division between Catholic America’s religious sisters and the bishops.  

Perhaps he could not have controlled a Vatican investigation into the LCWR, but surely he could have influenced Rome’s maladroit handling.  

Moreover, the Nuns-On-the-Bus tour turned into a symbolic civil war with the sisters on one side and the bishops on the other. Dolan should have known his side would lose because the nuns have always held the warmest spot in Catholic hearts.

Strike two was in silence after the over-the-top comparisons by clerics like the Bishop of Peoria. who compared President Obama to Hitler and by laypersons like the Knights of Columbus’ Supreme Knight Carl Anderson who promoted Catholic resistance to Obama in the spirit of the Mexican Cristeros.  

The latter group of Catholics, it will be remembered gathered armed militias against the Mexican government and eventually assassinated a president.  

The legal principle here is “Qui tacuit, consentire,” and it means that silence is the same as acquiesce.  

This criticism extends to Bishop Finn of Kansas City who was found guilty of violating civil law and his own policy against pedophile clerics. By going easier on Catholic males than on the religious women battling for social justice on economic matters, Dolan widened the deepening rifts in Catholic America.

Strike three was allowing the Fortnight to Freedom to become identified with politicking for Mitt Romney.  

This effort had been spawned in the murky dark places of the Manhattan Declaration with obvious partisan intent.  

Tacking on the current immigration law as another instance of “religious persecution” was not enough to dislodge the public perception that the Fortnight was intended to instruct Catholics to vote for Republicans.  

This alliance with evangelicals was unfruitful.   

The original evangelical partners were a questionable crew embracing entrepreneurial pastors who raise fabulous amounts of money for partisan causes.  

Our Catholic tradition, however, obliges bishops to pastoral roles.  

When the bishops jumped into the same barrel with the right-wing pastors they diminished Catholic tradition.  

Dolan should have seen this coming. 

(Let me classify this as a “foul ball” so that the cardinal gets another swing.)

The last strike was in undercutting the policy of a full committee of the USCCB with contradictory statements by individual bishops.  

After the Social Justice Committee of the USCCB had condemned the Paul Ryan budget, Cardinal Dolan and Madison Bishop Robert Morlino rejected the conclusion that Ryan’s plan was outside Catholic teaching.  

Given new life, Ryan quickly dismissed his episcopal critics as “not all the bishops”  happily trivializing the USCCB committee structure with his quip.

Once you break the code yourself, you give others license to do the same.  

Thus, while Dolan stated the need to consider more carefully the Obama remedy to the HHS mandate on February 2, 2013,  Philadelphia’s Archbishop Chaput issued a statement on February 4, 2013 that jumped the gun, claiming total rejection came from “courage that gives prudence spine and results in right action, whatever the cost.”  

Two days later, Dolan said “me too.”  

I consider it appalling that the president of the USCCB needs a personal spokesperson in addition to the USCCB’s resident Sister Mary Ann Walsh. 

Ensuring division among bishops to promote the influence of an individual cleric is never good.

Rowan Williams urges Kirk not to split over gay ministers

The former Archbishop of Canterbury is urging Presbyterians in Scotland not to split over gay ministers. Dr. Rowan Williams is counseling the Kirk to stay together.

The Church of Scotland has been decisively shaped by the Scottish Reformation and traces its roots back to the beginnings of Christianity in Scotland, but its identity is principally shaped by the Reformation of 1560. 

Its current pledged membership is about 9% of the Scottish population-though according to the 2001 national census, 42% of the Scottish population claim some form of allegiance to it.

Williams is urging evangelical congregations within the Church of Scotland not to "walk away" over the ordination of gay ministers. Some 50 congregations have said they might.

VOL: And Williams did such a sterling job holding the Anglican Communion together that he quit 9 years before he had to precisely because he could not see, or refused to see, the enormous damage he and his homosexual views and its attending sexualities are doing to Western Anglicanism while the Global South firmly aligned itself against him to the point that many of its leaders would not even be seen in the same room with him and US Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori.

The former Anglican leader was so conflicted over homosexuality that his schizophrenic views brought about realignment in the communion and the formation of FCA/GAFCON, forcing him into the liberal/revisionist camp from which he could never extricate himself. He drove Global South Primates crazy over his wobbling views on sodomy.

Early on, following his elevation to the highest post in the Anglican Communion, Williams made it clear that his personal views on homosexuality would be kept separate from his public stance saying he would uphold the Church's received teaching that homosexual behavior could not be condoned.

However, that bipolar position was unsustainable. The Global South never bought it. Under Williams, an already divided Anglican Communion became even more divided. He proposed a Covenant to keep the communion together. It now lies in tatters. The long struggle to prevent a schism over women and gay bishops and same-sex unions has gone badly, making realignment of the Anglican Communion inevitable. His Affirming Catholicism failed to take hold in the communion. His speeches and sermons, couched in riddles and convoluted language structures, only frustrated orthodox Anglicans.

The 77-million-strong worldwide Communion had been threatened with division for several years. Progressives, liberals and revisionists were pushing the boundaries on sexuality and women bishops, while conservatives pushed back forming new alliances. Williams's book, The Body's Grace, only cemented orthodox Anglicans claims that he was truthfully on the "other side" on sexuality issues. Williams never fully embraced the Biblical prohibitions on sex outside of marriage between a man and a woman.

His prevarications and failure to safeguard his Anglo-Catholic wing of his church resulted in the Pope offering a safe harbor Ordinariate for traditionalists who could no longer stomach the theological innovations of the Church of England and, more specifically, the Episcopal Church. Ironically, a former Episcopal bishop was selected to lead the worldwide movement for Anglicans wishing to become Roman Catholic while retaining some of their liturgical traditions.

One African Anglican leader hammered Williams' leadership.

In a blistering attack, not seen in modern memory, the Metropolitan and Primate of the Anglican Province of Nigeria ripped the Archbishop of Canterbury saying his sudden resignation announcement would leave behind a Communion in tatters, with highly polarized, bitterly factionalized, issues of revisionist interpretation of the Holy Scriptures, and human sexuality as stumbling blocks to oneness.

Archbishop Nicholas D. Okoh noted that when Dr. Rowan Williams took over the leadership of the Anglican Communion in 2002, it was a happy family. He is leaving it with decisions and actions that are stumbling blocks to oneness, evangelism, and mission all around the Anglican world. Okoh went so far as to say that it was like being "crucified under Pontius Pilate".

The leader of the world's most populace Anglican Province - over 20 million - said the lowest ebb of this degeneration came in 2008, when there were two "Lambeth" Conferences -- one in the UK, and an alternative one, GAFCON in Jerusalem -- that saw more than one third of the Anglican Communion's bishops as "no-shows" at Canterbury. The trend continued recently when many Global South Primates decided not to attend the last Primates' meeting in Dublin, Ireland.

Now, speaking on the eve of a visit to Scotland as the new chairman of Christian Aid, Williams said he understands that some congregations might threaten to break away if the Kirk's ­General Assembly votes to allow the ordination of gay ministers later this month, but warned against such a divisive move.

"The impulse to walk away, while deeply understandable, is not a very constructive one," he said. "The things which bind Christians together are almost always more profound and significant for themselves and the world than the things that divide them. When you do walk away from other Christians you are in effect saying well, either I can do without you or I've got nothing to learn from you. That can't be good for us. You may disagree, you may think somebody else is tacitly perverse, but you might want to hang in there with them."

Williams' remarks ­ after Scotland on Sunday ­ revealed that up to 50 congregations could leave the Church of Scotland if ordaining openly gay ministers is passed. Two congregations and a number of ministers have already left over the issue, which they ­believe goes against Biblical teachings.

VOL: So, after a decade of disastrous leadership of the Anglican Communion, Williams now seeks to lecture the Kirk on what they should do. Oh the hubris of it all.

Although he said it would be "inappropriate to comment on a sister church with its own issues", Williams said the church community was part of a wider family and there was a case for keeping it together. "We are stuck with each other, in a very important way. If we believe as I do that God calls us into the church, rather than choosing to sign up, then God's calling us to find our way in the company of these people however obnoxious some of them may seem. You don't agree with all the members of your family, but it's a family."

VOL: We are not "stuck with each other." The formation of FCA/GAFCON, the formation of the ACNA in North America, the intrusion of CANA in North America, the CEEC and multiple other Anglican jurisdictions is living proof that we are not stuck with each other. It is further proof that heresy is worse than schism. There are multiple New Testament passages that speak of separating oneself from open unbelief and the need to discipline erring church leaders. Why did he never speak up when New Westminster Bishop Michael Ingham got the ball rolling in 2002 by issuing a rite for blessing same-sex relationships. And we must not forget that in the OT, God divorced himself from Israel for the purpose of bringing about repentance and reconciliation. Williams never once talked about active homosexuals needing to repent of their behavior.

Williams flip flops continue when he said he is "not convinced" of the case for gay marriage, having opposed legislation to introduce it in England, but added, "Because we are all breaking up over issues of sexuality these days, can we all stop and think why it is, this issue, sex is the great divider, given that we have lived with radically different approaches over the years, for example to pacifism."

VOL: Because scripture is abundantly clear that "fornicators, adulterers and homosexuals will not inherit the Kingdom." (I Cor. 6: 9 -11). Ya think? Pacifism and just war theories are not remotely in the same category. Christians can disagree on the latter because their salvation is not at stake.

To demonstrate how conflicted he was over homosexuality, in 2003 Williams approved the appointment of Canon Jeffrey John, the gay Dean of St. Albans, as suffragan bishop of Reading, but later backed down in the face of a conservative revolt. Now the openly homosexual dean who is in line for Bishop of Durham has threatened to sue his employer, the Church of England, under the Equality Act 2008, if it fails to make him a bishop in fairly short order. This is what happens when you have no clear stated position. The other side pushes their agenda to the point that if the orthodox don't cave, they are accused of homophobia and hate and ultimately vilified, sued and lose their properties. Look at what has happened over the last 30 years in the Episcopal Church.

Williams' prevarications only weakened his position not strengthened it to the point that the Global South, who are the majority of the Anglican Communion, eventually came to despise his authority and walked away from him at Lambeth and again in Dublin.

Andrew Goddard's sympathetic book His Legacy on Williams described his views as "expansive" based on the notion "I have no need of you" and looking for the "authentic, genuine and good" failed to deal with liberals like those in the Episcopal Church who berated him for not doing enough to promote the cause of gays and lesbians. At the same time he viewed conservatives as narrowly fixated on one issue, lacking in expansiveness and generosity. In the end conservatives had no use for him, with one noted Anglican theologian Dr. J.I. Packer calling for his resignation.

But the Law of non-contradiction, one of the basic laws in classical logic, states that something cannot be both true and not true at the same time. Either homosexuality is good and right in the eyes of God or it is not. Williams never resolved that to the satisfaction of both sides, and he left office a failed leader.

His speaking up in Scotland about the issue only undermines Archbishop Justin Welby, an Evangelical, who probably wishes Williams would just shut up. The truth is it is none of Williams' business what the Kirk decides; he should mind his own business. His views on homosexuality nearly destroyed the Anglican Communion. One hopes Welby can put it back together again.

Most of full-time staff at CoI college are Catholics, reveals archbishop

The Church of Ireland Archbishop of Dublin the Rev Dr Michael Jackson has confirmed that a large majority of full-time staff and students at the Church of Ireland college of education in the Republic are drawn from the Roman Catholic community. 

Archbishop Jackson told his Church’s general synod that the spirit of the college of education in Dublin recognises its “pivotal public role” as a state institution in which the values and aspirations of the Church of Ireland for society at large are afforded central place.

“They shape the learning environment for all who contribute to its life and educational input and output,” he said, speaking during the synod’s education debate.

The bishop confirmed that 85 per cent of full-time staff at the college are members of the majority Roman Catholic community in the Republic, as are 75 per cent of the students admitted to the courses in the college each year.

“This has long been the case and ought to be no surprise to any member of our general synod,” he said. “Both groups are attracted by and contribute to its Anglican ethos of open inclusion, critical inquiry and compassionate service of others irrespective of race, gender, creed or denomination. It is not, nor can it ever be, a place of tribal identity. It is first and last a place which is a community of respect and of generosity of spirit. The excellence of what the Church of Ireland college of education is and what it does is well attested and well documented. The members of the staff of the college are a treasured component and integral to the life of the college. They show impressive and sustained commitment to all students.”

Dr Jackson, the former bishop of Clogher, said he personally considered that ethos very important and precious.

But he said it is always in danger of being diminished and taken for granted.

He said: “Ethos is a series of living relationships. These relationships express a commitment of appropriate care to other members and also to the world outside.”

The general synod also heard a warning that 60 per cent of church schools in the Republic would have to close if a recommendation that a minimum school role of 80 pupils and four teachers is accepted by the Irish government.

Appeals were made for this recommendation to be resisted.

It was pointed out that Protestant Church of Ireland secondary level schools only existed in 13 of the 26 counties in the Republic.

Nineteen of the 23 schools at this level charged fees.

Franciscan friar celebrates his golden jubilee

Half a century of service since his ordination, a Franciscan friar is still dedicated to his work and his faith in Killarney. 

Fr Chris Connolly OFM has spent the last 20 years in the Kerry town, the same period after his 1963 ordination that he served in Rhodesia, or Zimbabwe as it later became, during his missionary work there.

But the Co Meath native has made his home in Killarney since moving there in 1993 and where he is now part of a five-member Franciscan community.

Last week he was honoured with a Mass to celebrate, 50 years to the day since he was ordained in Rome in 1963.

“I suppose the biggest change I have seen, one facing the Church here and all over the world, is the shortage of priests. It seems to me that, eventually, there will have to be more lay people involved in the Church,” he said.

But, despite an accident that damaged one eye last year, he still co-celebrates Mass every day as he approaches his 78th birthday later this month.

Many of his friends from the local community joined the recent golden jubilee celebration, where his kindness and humour were remarked on by well-wishers.

After serving in Zimbabwe, Fr Connolly worked in Waterford, Ennis and also in Co Donegal before moving to Kerry in August 1993.

Charity ‘unable to respond to FoI requests’

A Brothers of Charity service has said it appointed and trained a Freedom of Information officer, but a legal loophole means it is unable to respond to requests.

It has written to the Information Commissioner, Emily O’Reilly, and it wants to release documents but cannot not because the law was not updated to reflect its change of name in 2003.

The service told the Information Commissioner it is anxious to respond to the query, from the Irish Examiner, but if it released information it would not have immunity from legal challenges from third parties affected by the documents.

It said if any of the documents it intended to release defamed people or breached data protection issues the service would have no protection.

“This means that if BOC Clare releases records, in circumstances where it appears not to be subject of the FOI legislation, it would not have any defence under the FOI legislation to any civil or criminal proceedings brought against it,” it said. 

The service said it was caught in uncertain space because when the FOI law was enacted, and a list of schedule of bodies drawn up, it was part of Brothers of Charity, Mid-West region.

However, in 2003 the Clare service became a unit in its own right and it was registered as different company in March 2006.

The new name was never added to the list but the Clare service appears on the Department of Public Expenditure’s central database of bodies covered under the FOI Act.

The service said it was anxious to comply with the request and was prepared to release two items — its fixed assets register and a record of its income streams — outside of FOI.

However, it said it wants the Information Commissioner to clarify it status before going any further.

It said it cannot release the expenses paid to staff, audit records, the details of high-earning workers.

Neither can it set out the severance arrangements worked out for its former chief executive.

“Following careful analysis of the above it appears to us that BOC Clare does not currently stand prescribed to the FOI Acts and is therefore not subject to them,” it said. The service originally looked for a €73 deposit to allow it to begin gathering together the documents.

However, after this was submitted it returned all the fees with a copy of its clarification request to Ms O’Reilly.

Legion priest leaves priesthood to care for son

A prominent American priest of the Legion of Christ religious order has decided to leave the priesthood after admitting he fathered a child years ago.

The Legion said Saturday the Rev. Thomas Williams, a moral theologian, author, lecturer and television personality, had asked Pope Francis to be relieved of his celibacy and other priestly obligations. 

A friend, the Rev. John Connor, wrote in a Legion blog that Williams wanted to care for his son and the mother.

After Williams' admission, the Legion's then-superior acknowledged he had known for years about the child, yet allowed Williams to continue teaching and preaching morality. 

It was another blow to a congregation discredited by revelations that its founder was a pedophile who built a cult-like order which the Vatican is trying to reform.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/05/11/3392628/legion-priest-leaves-priesthood.html#storylink=cpy