Posted on 04/22/2008 6:09:10 AM PDT by Homer_J_Simpson
LONDON, April 21. – The age-old breach within the Church of England was widened tonight by the Anglo-Catholics, who favor alliance with Roman Catholicism, when a manifesto was issued by the “Catholic Advisory Council” criticizing the Church of England’s Bishops and complaining of repeated violations of church principles of faith, order and morals.
The council, which claims to represent the principal Anglo-Catholic societies and has a membership of more than 2,000 priests and 50,000 laity, uses the recently issued report on doctrine in the Church of England as a springboard from which to launch its attack.
This correspondent understands, however, that there is likely to be a difference of opinion in the ranks of the Anglo-Catholics themselves, especially among Anglo-Catholic scholars in universities who frown on the council’s tactics.
In referring to the doctrinal report the council’s manifesto says:
“The Church of England in the Book of Common Prayer, the Ordinal and the Thirty-nine Articles has expressly adhered to the faith and order of the Catholic Church and in matters of controversy has ever appealed to the teaching and practice of the undivided church. It is on this principle that Anglicans give their allegiance to the Church of England. They cannot, therefore recognize any claim on their loyalty which conflicts with that which they owe to the Church Catholic, of which the English church is a part.”
In reaffirming the doctrinal principles of the Church of England, the council emphasized the “historical truth” of the Virginal conception of the birth of Jesus and the Resurrection and adds:
“The Church of England has ever professed reverence for the Bible as the written work of God, divinely inspired and authoritatively recognized as such.”
The council says that the rejection of biblical evidence for miracles, for the existence of good and evil spirits and for eternal punishment of the finally impenitent is, therefore, “clearly inconsistent with that scriptural and historic Christianity to which the Church of England is irrevocably committed.”
Among current tendencies in official quarters that the council deplores are the movement to admit women to holy orders, the policy adopted by many Bishops in dealing with divorced persons who have remarried during the lives of their former partners and their toleration of contraceptives.
The manifesto concludes with a declaration that the Council is “determined to resist to the utmost this threatened disintegration of the Church of England.”
The text of the council’s manifesto follows:
The Catholic Advisory Council, consisting of representatives from the undermentioned societies for the defense of the Christian faith and the promotion of Christian devotion within the Anglican Communion, issues the following statement:
The council deplores the publication of the report of the doctrinal commission before any known consideration of it by the Bishops, such as was contemplated in the terms of reference laid down by Archbishop Davidson [late Archbishop of Canterbury]. This has increased the serious unsettlement already existing in the Church of England owing to violations more and more frequent of those principles of faith, order and morals which are the sacred inheritance of the whole Anglican Communion and tokens of its continuity of life within the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church.
It is therefore imperative to reassert those principles as they are presented in Anglican formularies.
The Church of England in the Book of Common Prayer, the Ordinal and the Thirty-nine Articles has expressly adhered to the faith and order of the Catholic Church and in matters of controversy has ever appealed to the teaching and practice of the undivided church.
It is on this principle that Anglicans give their allegiance to the Church of England. They cannot, therefore, recognize any claim on their loyalty which conflicts with that which they owe to the Catholic Church, of which the English church is a part.
The Church of England recites creeds in that sense in which they have been interpreted by the universal consent of the church; and particularly in the second and fourth of the Thirty-nine articles, and in its liturgical forms of worship deliberately expresses belief in the virginal conception and birth of Our Lord and in the resurrection of His body for the tomb. Consequently, to recite the formularies of the church while publicly denying their historical truth dishonors the worship of Almighty God, grievously hinders the spiritual and evangelistic power of the church and must compromise the trustworthiness of its ministers in the eyes of the whole world.
The Church of England has ever professed profound reverence for the Bible as the written word of God, divinely inspired and authoritatively recognized as such by the church. The current easy rejection by some accredited teachers of the plain testimonials of Holy Scriptures - e. g., to the occurrence of miracles, the existence of an order of spiritual beings both good and evil and the eternal punishment of the finally impenitent – is clearly inconsistent with that scriptural and historic Christianity to which the Church of England is irrevocably committed.
The Church of England, by requiring all priests at their ordination to promise that they will be “ready with all faithful diligence to banish and drive away all erroneous and strange doctrines contrary to God’s word”; and by requiring all Bishops to renew this vow at their consecration and by appointing that creeds of the church should be recited at public worship and before baptism and by praying in litany for deliverance from “all false doctrine, heresy and schism,” has made it plain that those appointed to be teachers are given no liberty to depart from the doctrinal standards set for the in the Book of Common Prayer.
Admission to holy communion of those who, by the fact of their adhering to dissenting bodies, repudiate, at least implicitly, the faith of the church; who are not “ready and desirous to be confirmed,” or about whose baptism there is reasonable doubt is contrary to the express regulations of the Church of England as well as a grave infringement of the primitive order.
The Church of England, by strict adherence to Catholic requirements in the consecration of Bishops; by the declaration made in the preface to the Ordinal, and by its practice of ordaining ministers of non-Episcopal bodes while accepting without reordination those duly ordained by a Catholic Bishop, has shown its intentions “to continue and reverently use and esteem” the apostolic ministry of the church.
In consistency with these principles the Church of England can neither recognize the non-Episcopal ministries as equal in status or validity to its own nor allow those under its jurisdiction to make use of such ministries for the reception of the sacraments.
Further, no local church can in consistency with the same principles admit to a holy order under any conditions whatever those who by the universal judgment of the church are debarred therefrom by reason of their sex.
In the marriage service the Church of England teaches that matrimony is a holy and honorable estate, that it is not to be taken in hand unadvisedly or lightly, that it has a deep spiritual interpretation “signifying the mystical union that is betwixt Christ and His church”; and moreover requires those who marry to pledge themselves to a strict interpretation of Our Lord’s teaching about the indissolubility of marriage.
Hence the policy adopted by many of our Bishops in their dealing with divorced persons who have “remarried” during the lifetime of their former partners and in their toleration of the use of contraceptives is untrue to this standard and derogatory to the dignity of marriage and endangers the sanctity of Christian family life.
These are not the only points in which the standards of the Church of England in faith, order and morals have recently been compromised by some in authority, but they are among the most disconcerting.
It is in no spirit of panic nor in any confusion of thought as to the particular significance of the doctrinal report that this statement is issued. The authorized formularies of the Church of England remain intact; but the report itself witnesses to the serious errors prevalent among us and bears unconscious testimony to the gravity of the present situation by the complacency with which it regards them. Where this attitude is shared by those who are in positions of high authority and responsibility complacency verges upon complicity.
Further, the report reflects the present trend of opinion by its general lack of reference to the authority and judgment of the church as a whole and by its constant appeal to speculative thought rather than to revelation as a criterion in matters of faith.
In close alliance with this neglect of Catholic authority in doctrine stand the proposals for union in India and elsewhere to which so many Bishops are giving public support; and the regulations concerning deaconesses which have obtained the approval of the upper houses of the convocations.
These things, together with such accomplished facts as the open communion service recently held at Oxford, show how serious the departure is from the teaching and practice of the Church of England as authorized in her formularies.
Our gravest concern is with the liberty claimed by some accredited teachers to treat as open questions article of faith universally received by the church, a liberty carried to such a degree of license as to amount in certain cases to virtual denial of the godhead of Our Lord.
These innovations, standing as they do in clear opposition both to the fundamental principles of faith, order and morals of the whole church and also to the formularies and established practice of the Anglican communion, are creating a situation of increasing strain.
If the doctrinal standards of the Church of England and its established order in regard to the ministry continue to be set aside, the Bishops will eventually force upon many loyal and devoted churchmen a most painful conflict between their attachment to the Church of England and the allegiance they owe to that One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church in which they daily profess their belief.
The council is determined to resist to the utmost this threatened disintegration of the Church of England. It therefore calls upon all faithful churchmen for constant prayer and vigorous support of its efforts toward the maintenance of the integrity of those Catholic principles which are now more seriously endangered than at any time in the last three centuries.
On faithfulness to these principles depends the cohesion of the Anglican communion, the spiritual welfare of Christ’s flock and any hope of a permanent contribution on the part of the Church of England to a reunited Christendom.
The societies represented:
Church Union.
Confraternity of the Blessed Sacrament.
Federation of Catholic Priests.
Society of the Holy Cross.
Guild of All Souls.
Catholic League.
Society for Promoting Catholic Unity.
Society for Catholic Reunion.
Society of Mary.
The statement has also been endorsed by the superiors of the following communities for men which have representatives on the council:
St. John the Evangelist of Oxford.
Community of the Resurrection of Mirfield.
Society of the Sacred Mission of Kelham.
Order of St. Benedict of Nashdom Abbey.
Described by some church leaders at the time as the most important Anglican document in almost 400 years, it declared the Bible was not infallible, historical evidence for Christ’s birth from a virgin mother was inconclusive and the Church of England was bound to resist papal claims.
The commission was divided on whether miracles occurred, but agreed God “could do” them if He “would.” It said “it is legitimate to suspend judgment” on angels and demons or treat them “symbolically.”
VATICAN CITY, April 21 (AP). – A Vatican news service reported today that Pope Pius had delivered a forty-minute speech, the longest with possibly one exception since his grave illness of more than a year ago. He was talking to 150 Italian diocesan presidents of Catholic Action youth about their official duties.
The Pope’s display of strength, coming so soon after his exertions during the Easter ceremonies, astonished many of the pilgrims.
Persons who listened to the speech said that the Pontiff appeared as vigorous at the end as when he started.
Colonel Adam Koc, founder of the Unity Camp and also its first chief, some months ago organized the Young Poland group with a view to winning over the college youth, a stronghold of opposition fascist and nationalist elements. He chose as his aides several young Fascists under whose leadership the Union of Young Poland became just another unruly Extreme Right organization enjoying the camp’s support. It was mainly resoponsible for the anti-Jewish outbreaks in the universities last Fall.
In the wider political field it sought to spread totalitarian ideas and urged the removal of the progressive and democratic Pilsudskists. These activities widened the split in the Unity Camp where old legionaries mobilized their forces against Colonel Koc. The outcome was Colonel Koc’s resignation.
General Skwarzynski’s first task as Colonel Koc’s successor was to restore unity within the Pilsudskist ranks and to sever contacts with the extreme nationalists. His obvious aim is to make of the camp a conservative governmental party, moderately nationalist, moderately anti-Semitic and non-totalitarian. He succeeded in restoring peace in the Camp and appointed as members of his general council old-time Pilsudskists who are experienced and cautious politicians.
Extremists rose up in revolt and when yesterday the leaders of the Union of Young Poland announced the severance of their connection with the camp, General Skwarzynski dismissed them and nominated a committee that “will not obey outside orders.”
Thus the Camp is now expected to embark on a great propaganda campaign in the country districts in order to enlist peasant support.
I don't know what kind of "alliance" this refers to. For most of the story it seems like it is about the Anglican Church, period, but some of the organizations named at the end sound plain RC. Like Federation of Catholic Priests, for example. I am sure someone will be able to explain what goes on. There is probably an Anglican ping list but I don't know who keeps it.
What are the chances a piece like this would be front-page news in 2008?
Colonel Adam Koc, founder of the Unity Camp and also its first chief, some months ago organized the Young Poland group with a view to winning over the college youth, a stronghold of opposition fascist and nationalist elements. He chose as his aides several young Fascists under whose leadership the Union of Young Poland became just another unruly Extreme Right organization enjoying the camp’s support. It was mainly resoponsible for the anti-Jewish outbreaks in the universities last Fall.
This sounds vaguely familiar for some strange reason...
This little gem illustrates that the New York Times was painting the right-wing with its own totalitarian brush seventy years ago.
Homer, I don’t post much but do sincerely appreciate your posting these old articles from the NYT. It is absolutely fascinating to see the real-time coverage of history as it unfolded 70 years ago, especially when we know where events ultimately led.
This article was actually on the FRONT PAGE in 1938?!? Amazing.
Yes, there is an Anglican ping list, I believe sionnsar keeps it, I’ve just pinged him to this thread. (sionnsar, Homer is posting 70-year old articles from NYT microfiche archives not otherwise available online, incredible stuff.)
Again, I look forward to your pings to these fascinating articles.
Traditional Anglican ping, continued in memory of its founder Arlin Adams.
FReepmail Huber or sionnsar if you want on or off this moderately high-volume ping list (sometimes 3-9 pings/day).
This list is pinged by Huber and sionnsar.
Resource for Traditional Anglicans: http://trad-anglican.faithweb.com
Humor: The Anglican Blue
Speak the truth in love. Eph 4:15
OK, you got me. I read the whole thing through before I noticed the 1938 date. Actually the Anglican stuff sounds quite contemporary...
So, can either of you explain the alliance referred to at the beginning of the article? I realize the Anglicans and the Romans are on speaking terms, but I also thought they had agreed to disagree over certain matters of theology that stem from the time of Henry VIII.
I think the article speaks of a desire for an alliance on the part of Anglo-Catholics at the time, not any formal alliance. Of course any formal alliance requires agreement on terms, so there has been no formal alliance in the decades since, although there have been individual Anglo-Catholics that have entered into communion with the Pope, and recently there was a group in Ireland that had asked for corporate union. In this country, also, there has been pastoral provision in places for an Anglican Use liturgy in the Catholic Church. Also the Anglican/Catholic ARCIC committee produced a report several years ago about potential points of unity, including a role for the Bishop of Rome, but nothing seems to have come of it, particularly as some provinces of the Anglican Communion, most notably the Episcopal Church (TEC) in the USA, seem to have been moving further away from Catholic doctrine by the minute.
Yep. Most of the articles I post are from the front page. Typically they only fill one column and then move to a page farther back. When there are accompanying related articles they are usually from the page where the first article finished. For a really big story there may be two or even three front page articles. On days when there are articles on different subjects, say, on the Sudetenland and the Sino-Japanese war, they are probably the lead and secondary articles from the front page.
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