Free Republic

Conservative Anglo-Catholics, your time is up. As my colleague Jonathan Wynne-Jones reports, the General Synod committee charged with looking after opponents of women bishops has ruled out the idea of dedicated male bishops to safeguard traditionalists.The logic of the decision makes perfect sense to me. The C of E has the legal authority to decide whether to ordain women priests and bishops. Having acquired that authority, it voted to ordain women priests in 1992 and will now take the obvious step of raising women to the episcopate. Anglo-Catholics lost the battle to stop this happening 18 years ago; for a...

Poland Defends Right to Keep Crucifixes in Schools Friday, November 13, 2009 WARSAW, Poland — Heavily Catholic Poland has joined the Vatican in criticizing a European court ruling against the display of crucifixes in Italian schools. Polish President Lech Kaczynski said his country will never agree to remove crosses from its schools. The Nov. 3 ruling by the European Court of Human Rights does not require that Poland remove the crosses that hang in most public schools. It could, however, eventually force a review of the use of religious symbols in government-run school across Europe. The decision touched a nerve...

Glasgow, United Kingdom, Nov 9, 2009 / 09:54 pm (CNA).- The Archbishop of Glasgow has denounced a publicly funded play which portrays Jesus as a transsexual, saying it is a “provocative and offensive abuse” of Christian beliefs. He suggested the event is part of an agenda to “mock Christianity.”The play “Queen of Heaven” is being staged in the Tron Theatre as part of the publicly funded “Glasgay!” arts festival, which describes itself as “Scotland’s Annual celebration of queer culture,” the BBC reports. Some 300 people held a candlelight protest of the play outside the theatre.Festival producer Steven Thomson described...

IT was one of those quiet summer Sunday mornings when I knew the priest in a distant parish would be away and he would have a stand in for the holiday. I sneaked in to this famous citadel of Pre-Raphaelite beauty and, like most Anglicans, sat as far from the front as possible. The choir sang the opening of the Eucharist, the Gospel was read – Jesus walked on the water and the priest started to preach. Then followed a 20-minute thesis on why the Bible had it wrong. Jesus couldn't possibly walk on water – that would defy nature...

VATICAN CITY — Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, spiritual leader of the world's Anglicans, will meet Pope Benedict XVI on November 21, Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi confirmed Friday. Lombardi told AFP that Rowan's visit to the Vatican was "already planned" before the Vatican's October 20 announcement of a structure for welcoming Anglican converts into the Roman Catholic Church. Williams will be on hand for celebrations marking the 100th anniversary of the birth of Johannes Willebrands, a Dutch cardinal who was a pioneer in Catholic ecumenism and who died in 2006. The Vatican announced last week that Pope Benedict XVI has...

Bishop John Broadhurst London, England, Oct 26, 2009 / 05:13 pm (CNA).-  Members of the traditionalist Anglican group Forward in Faith recently concluded their annual gathering, which was dedicated to discussing Pope Benedict's overture to Anglicans. The general impression left by the conference was the “Anglican experiment is over,” a mood that was reinforced by Bishop John Hind officially announcing he is ready to become Catholic.The 2009 National Assembly of Forward in Faith was held in the Emmanuel Centre, Westminster, London, October 23-24. The Assembly was originally scheduled before the Vatican announced its unprecedented move, but the issue dominated...

After witnessing a gay pride march, committed Christian Pauline Howe wrote to the council to complain that the event had been allowed to go ahead. But instead of a simple acknowledgement, she received a letter warning her she might be guilty of a hate crime and that the matter had been passed to police. Two officers later turned up at the frightened grandmother's home and lectured her about her choice of words before telling her she would not be prosecuted. Mrs Howe, 67, whose husband Peter is understood to be a Baptist minister, yesterday spoke of her shock at the...

Senior Anglican Bishop Reveals He Is Ready To Convert To Roman Catholicism The Rt Rev John Hind, the Bishop of Chichester, has announced he is considering becoming a Roman Catholic in a move that could spark an exodus of clergy. Jonathan Wynne-Jones, Religious Affairs Correspondent 24 Oct 2009 Bishop Hind said he would be "happy" to be reordained as a Catholic priest and said that divisions in Anglicanism could make it impossible to stay in the church. He is the most senior Anglican to admit that he is prepared to accept the offer from the Pope, who shocked the Church...

Sweden Church Allows Gay Weddings Sweden's archbishop is broadly supportive of the move The Lutheran Church of Sweden - the country's largest - is to conduct same-sex marriages from next month. Around 70% of the church's 250-strong synod, or church board, voted to back the move, making it one of few global churches to allow gay marriage. Sweden's government introduced a new law in May allowing gay couples the same marriage rights as heterosexuals. Three-quarters of Swedes are members of the Lutheran church, though church attendance is low. The Lutheran Church says gay couples can now get married by any...

This is amazing. The wood alone would have cost him a fortune.     Man builds working replica of Noah's Ark (exact scale given in Bible) In Schagen , NetherlandsThe massive central door in the side of Noah's Ark was opened to the first crowd of curious townsfolk to behold the wonder. Of course, it's only a replica of the biblical Ark , built by Dutch creationist, Johan Huibers, as a testament to his faith in the literal truth of the Bible.The ark is 150 cubits long, 30 cubits high an d 20 cubits wide. That's two-thirds the length of a...

A Christian couple in England is now at risk of losing their business after being prosecuted for debating Islam with a Muslim guest. Police arrested Ben and Sharon Vogelenzang, who run the Bounty House Hotel in Liverpool, after a Muslim woman complained that she was offended by comments made to her in March. Because the legal case is ongoing the couple cannot comment publicly. According to newspaper reports, the debate at the hotel involved discussion of whether Jesus was the son of God or just a minor prophet of Islam. Newspapers also reported the debate included comments that Mohammed was...

They praised the Lord by singing their hearts out and chanting prayers at packed services. But members of a congregation in north London have abandoned their church - because of a council noise ban. The Immanuel International Christian Centre was ordered to keep its amplified music and sermons quieter after a neighbour complained. But the church's pastor Dunni Odetoyinbo claimed Waltham Forest council had only told them to keep quiet so as not to offend the Muslim community. The church also argued the council had 'taken away its ability to praise God', and that congregation numbers had dwindled from 100...

Leading atheists are arguing that Adolf Hitler and his Nazi regime were theist and specifically Christian. Christopher Hitchens in God Is Not Great depicts Hitler as a pagan polytheist -- not exactly a conventional theist but still a theist. Atheist websites routinely claim that Hitler was a Christian because he was born Catholic, he never publicly renounced his Catholicism, and he wrote in Mein Kampf, "By defending myself against the Jew, I am fighting for the work of the Lord." Atheist writer Sam Harris writes that "the Holocaust marked the culmination of...two hundred years of Christian fulminating against the Jews"...

Thousands of believers flocked to the Czech Republic's second largest city Brno in south Moravia on Sunday to greet Pope Benedict XVI and attend a mass he celebrated out in the open. A region with the highest concentration of believers in the largely secular Czech Republic, Brno was a key stage on the pope's visit and pilgrims came from near and far to get a glimpse of him – some arriving well before daybreak to get a good vantage point. Jan Richter attended the mass in Brno and reported on the atmosphere there in the course of the morning. Pope...

Pope Benedict XVI sought to reach out to the heavily secular people of the Czech Republic on Saturday, decrying the "wounds" left by atheistic communism and urging them to rediscover their Christian roots. ...Benedict said Christianity has an "irreplaceable role" to play in their lives. The Czech Republic is one of the most secular countries in Europe, with nearly half the country professing to be non-believers.... Vatican organizers are hoping for a crowd of up to 200,000 people for the pope's Sunday Mass in Brno, in the Catholic heartland of the Czech Republic.... The [papal vespers] service was held in...

In pictures: Pope's Czech visit http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8276373.stm

Pope Benedict XVI will not visit the Czech Republic's most atheist region Only a large wooden cross resists the ravages of time in a church with a collapsed roof and walls overgrown by wild bushes in the small village of Zlovedice. The neglected village and its dilapidated sanctuary lie in northern Bohemia, the most atheist region in the generally secular Czech Republic, where religion was crushed during World War II and under more than 40 years of Communist rule. "When I came to Zlovedice for the first time, a woman told me: 'It's been 40 years since I last saw...

It started as a religious discussion over the breakfast table at a private hotel. Several months later, the Christian owners face ruin after a Muslim guest complained that she had been insulted. Ben and Sharon Vogelenzang are being prosecuted under controversial public order laws designed to target yobbish and abusive behaviour on the streets. If convicted they face a fine of up to £5,000 and a criminal record. They have also lost 80 per cent of their bookings and have been forced to put the business up for sale. The charges relate to a heated conversation the couple had with...

End-times mania and wild-eyed apocalyptic predictions have long been a staple in certain sectors of the Protestant world. In addition to the more mainstream Protestant prognosticators who have made a very comfortable living off their end-times related books and broadcasts (e.g., Hal Lindsey, Jack Van Impe, and Tim LaHaye, to name but three of the more prominent ones), groups which derive from Protestantism, such as Seventh-day Adventists and Jehovah's Witnesses, also spend an inordinate amount of time and energy trying to map out the contours of the rise of the Man of Sin and the dire happenings described in...

Considering that top Christian leaders in the UK actually backed the opening of the Sharia Courts there, I guess that this should come as no surprise. The slow suicide continues. CROSS BAN FOR CHURCH SCHOOLGIRL Young Lauren banned from wearing her necklace By Emily Fox A CHURCH of England school has ordered a pupil to remove her necklace with a cross even though children of other faiths can wear religious jewellery.

Christian pupils are now outnumbered by Muslims at Roman Catholic schools in some parts of England A survey has found 24 Catholic primary schools in the North West and the Midlands teach a minority of churchgoing children. Fewer than one in 10 children are Catholic at one school in Birmingham, while the Church is ending its involvement with a similar establishment in Blackburn. Overall, Catholics make up 73.34 per cent of pupils at the 2,300 schools linked to the denomination across England and Wales. But The Tablet, a weekly Catholic magazine, found that in Oldham, Blackburn, Wolverhampton and Birmingham there...

BELFAST, Northern Ireland -- While America debates whether the federal government should dictate which insurance policies and medical treatments it will allow us to have, here in the UK, the conversation has "advanced" to the approval of assisted suicide. Debbie Purdy, who suffers from multiple sclerosis, has won a landmark ruling in the House of Lords that many believe will move Britain one step closer to self-destruction. Purdy must be told under what circumstances her husband could be prosecuted should he accompany her to the Dignitas euthanasia clinic in Switzerland. The Director of Public Prosecutions will now be required to...

The bishops of England, Wales, and Scotland are warning that a proposed EU directive against discrimination and harassment could lead to the erosion of religious freedom. Msgr. Andrew Summersgill, general secretary of the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, writes: Discrimination under this Directive is not restricted to employment, and so this subjective approach to harassment will apply in all walks of life, including academic discourses, sermons, theatre, television and radio discussions. Various pressure groups are likely to use the provisions of the Directive to curtail the expression of views they disagree with by the simple expedient of declaring themselves...

One of the UK's oldest Christian denominations - the Quakers - looks set to extend marriage services to same-sex couples at their yearly meeting later. The society has already held religious blessings for same-sex couples who have had a civil partnership ceremony. But agreeing to perform gay marriages, which are currently not allowed under civil law, could bring the Quakers into conflict with the government.

Quakers 'to allow gay marriages' The Quakers have supported same-sex unions for more than two decades One of the UK's oldest Christian denominations - the Quakers - looks set to extend marriage services to same-sex couples at their yearly meeting later. The church has already held religious blessings for same-sex couples who have had a civil partnership ceremony.But agreeing to perform gay marriages, which are currently not allowed under civil law, could bring the Quakers into conflict with the government. The issue of active homosexuality has bitterly divided other churches. But the BBC's religious affairs correspondent Robert Pigott said the...

CANTERBURY, UK, July 29, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Suggesting a "two-track" model for the Anglican Church, Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, said in a statement released Monday that the crisis over the acceptance of homosexuality in the Global Communion could be resolved by acknowledging "two styles of being Anglican." Williams was responding to the decision earlier this month by the US Episcopal Church to continue to ordain active homosexual clergy and bishops and "bless" same-sex partnerings. In one "track," said the archbishop, the mainstream of Anglicanism would continue to hold to Christian beliefs of sex and marriage, and the...

Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams London, England, Jul 29, 2009 / 03:21 am (CNA).- Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, head cleric in the Church of England, has responded to the Episcopal Church’s decision to allow the ordination of homosexual bishops. Saying that a change in Anglican teaching, if necessary, would require broader agreement, he proposed a “two-track” church structure which recognizes “two ways of being Anglican.”On July 14, the Episcopal Church’s General Convention voted to approve homosexual bishops. It was seen as a rejection of the Archbishop of Canterbury’s and the Anglican Communion’s call for a moratorium on the...

July 14, 2009 Schism closer as US Anglicans vote to overturn ban on gay ordinations Ruth Gledhill, Religion Correspondent A formal split in the Anglican Church worldwide moved closer yesterday after clergy and laity in the US voted to allow the consecration of openly gay bishops. The Archbishop of Canterbury expressed “regret” over a decision by Anglicans in the US that represents a blow to his hopes for Church unity. Dr Rowan Williams made clear his concern after the Episcopal Church voted at the triannual General Convention in California to overturn a moratorium on gay ordinations. Clergy and laity in...

Bishops of the Anglican Church in the United States have voted to overturn a three-year moratorium on the election of gay bishops. The decision seems likely to lead to the Episcopal Church's eventual exit from the worldwide Anglican Communion. The Communion has been fighting to avoid disintegration since the Episcopal Church consecrated the openly gay bishop Gene Robinson in 2003. The decision is expected to be confirmed in the next few days. Archbishop's regret The election of the Bishop of New Hampshire, the Right Reverend Gene Robinson, created an apparently irreconcilable rift between liberal and traditional Anglicans. Liberals believe the...

In a rebuke to the more conservative branches of the Anglican Communion, the bishops of the Episcopal Church voted 99-45 on July 13 to affirm the ordination of non-celibate homosexuals” to “any ordained ministry” within the church, so long as they are in “lifelong committed relationships.”

KNOWLEDGE of the Bible is in decline in Britain, with fewer than one in 20 people able to name all Ten Commandments and youngsters viewing the Christian holy book as "old fashioned", a survey said today. Forty per cent did not know that the tradition of exchanging Christmas presents originated from the story of the Wise Men bringing gifts for the infant Jesus, while 60 per cent could not name anything about the Good Samaritan, the Durham University study found. Youngsters were particularly disillusioned, telling researchers that the Bible was "old fashioned", "irrelevant" and for "Dot Cottons" - a reference...

Church accuses Government of favouring Muslims Church leaders have accused the Government of giving preferential treatment to the Muslim community because of "political correctness". By Jonathan Wynne-Jones, Religious Affairs Correspondent 11 Jul 2009 Parishes are being starved of state funds to help the poor as a result of money being diverted to other faiths, senior clergy told the General Synod, which is meeting in York. A report endorsed by Dr John Sentamu, the Archbishop of York, claimed that the Government had become "unbalanced" in its approach to faith groups. It argued that the determination of ministers to tackle Islamic extremism...

Church of England under pressure to accept gay marriage By STEVE DOUGHTY 11th July 2009 The Fellowship Of Confessing Anglicans, a coalition of clergy and lay people, are unhappy with the liberal agenda of some churches The Church of England warned last night that it is under pressure to accept gay marriage. But two senior bishops - writing on behalf of the CofE - said it is not prepared to abandon its traditional teachings in favour of the idea of 'gender neutral' marriage. They said that the Church of England considers 'it is vital for the Church to maintain a...

Chris Bryant, who once posed in his underpants on a gay dating website, said he wanted clergy to be "much more open" to the idea of treating civil partnership ceremonies like traditional marriages. However, his suggestion goes directly against the rules of the Church of England and the Roman Catholic Church, which state that only the union of a man and a woman can be celebrated by a priest in church.

CoE school bans girl from wearing crucifix - but allows Sikh pupils to wear bangles A school told a child to remove a Christian cross she was wearing even though it lets Sikh children wear bangles as part of their religion. Lauren Grimshaw-Brown was told to take off a necklace with a cross on it because of health and safety fears. But the eight-year-old's furious mother has accused the school of double standards because they allow children following other faiths to wear jewellery on religious grounds. The mother-of-two says Lauren and brother Callan, five, have always worn crosses at St...

If recent trends are any guide, many Church of England parishes will have been cheered by higher attendances at Easter services. The last published statistics for 2006/7 show rises of 7 and 5 per cent in church going at Christmas and Easter. But these figures are just about the only signs of hope for the church and certainly not the first green shoots of a revival. Other statistics make for gloomy reading. Annual decline in Sunday attendance is running at around 1 per cent. At this rate it is hard to see the church surviving for more than 30 years...

I begin by referring to a story that some of you may have heard. A couple of years ago a crematorium in Devon removed its crosses on the basis that they did not "want to cause offence" to non-Christians and in particular Muslims. The subject of this crematorium was subsequently discussed in the House of Lords during the debate on the 2006 Equality Bill, when various speakers discussed ways of making crematoriums "Muslim-friendly". Two points are worthy of note during this debate. First, hardly anyone discussed the offence caused to Christians by the removal of the crosses. Second, absolutely nobody...

London, England, Jun 14, 2009 / 07:01 pm (CNA).- Catholic bishops in Britain have voiced “significant concerns” about a proposed Equality Bill, saying it treats the rights of religious believers as secondary and could force Catholic schools and care homes to remove crucifixes and holy pictures if someone finds them “offensive.” It has also been suggested the bill could force churches to hire youth ministers who do not support Christian ethics. The bill, supported by Equality Minister Harriet Harman, penalizes “harassment.” The newspaper The Catholic Herald says this is defined as “unwanted conduct ... with the purpose or effect...

"The Church of Sweden has appointed a lesbian as the Lutheran bishop of Stockholm. Eva Brunne, who is in a registered partnership, is believed to be the world's first lesbian bishop. She won the post by 413 votes against 365 votes and will succeed Bishop Caroline Krook, who is to retire in November. Brunne, 55, has a three-year-old son with her partner Gunilla Linden, who is a priest."

Young clergy face life on the dole after Church of England loses £1.3billion 31st May 2009 No jobs: The Church is turning away graduates of theological colleges The Church of England is turning away trainee clergy for the first time in history after £1.3billion of its investments were wiped out in the financial crisis. Up to a dozen graduates of theological colleges will miss out on their ordination next month and may end up on the dole as there are no parish jobs for them. The Church has previously given all graduates placements in parishes as curates, which they need...

LONDON - The Church of Scotland has approved the appointment of an openly homosexual minister - the latest case of tensions over sexuality to prompt division in the Anglican Communion. The church's ruling body voted Saturday by 326 to 267 to support the appointment of the Rev. Scott Rennie, 37, who was previously married to a woman and is now in a relationship with a man. Rennie was first appointed as a minister 10 years ago, but has faced opposition from some critics since he moved to a church in Aberdeen, Scotland, last year. The case threatens to divide Scottish...

Christian fears for NHS hospital job after refusing to remove her crucifix over 'infection fear' By DAILY MAIL REPORTER 23rd May 2009 A Christian hospital worker fears for her job after refusing to take off a crucifix which 'could harbour infection', it emerged today. Helen Slatter, 43, says she will not choose between her faith and her job after the NHS claimed the jewellery could spread disease or even be used as a weapon. Gloucestershire Royal Hospital explained today that health and safety rules applied to everyone and the regulations had nothing to do with religion. The blood collector -...

DUBLIN — A fiercely debated, nine-year investigation into Ireland's Roman Catholic-run institutions says priests and nuns terrorized thousands of boys and girls in workhouse-style schools for decades — and government inspectors failed to stop the chronic beatings, rapes and humiliation. High Court Justice Sean Ryan on Wednesday unveiled the 2,600-page final report of Ireland's Commission to Inquire Into Child Abuse, which is based on testimony from thousands of former students and officials from more than 250 church-run institutions.

Thank God For Our Dinner? Cambridge Students Axe Tradition Of Saying Grace Before Dinner As It Is 'Too Religious' By Daily Mail Reporter 14th May 2009 Students lucky enough to have won a place at Cambridge have plenty to be thankful for. So it is not surprising that grace is said before formal dinners at the university's Newnham College. However, the Christian content of the prayer has proved too much for some students and they have brought in a secular version. Enlarge All change: Newnham College, Cambridge, where undergraduates think saying grace is 'too religious' Their only concession is that...

... “[Hitler] guessed correctly that the French had no stomach for a fight. If only they had, then the tragedy of a Second World War might have been avoided,” Mr Watson said in the sermon he delivered at Kirkmuirhill Church in Lanark. “To claim that the homosexual lifestyle is worthy of a child of God; to demand that a same-sex partnership be recognised as on a footing with marriage; to commend such a lifestyle to others is to deny that Jesus Christ is our only Sovereign and Lord. It is to turn the grace of God into a licence for...

Why can't the BBC understand that we are STILL a Christian country? By STEPHEN GLOVER 13th May 2009 The BBC’s director-general Mark Thompson has said that religious broadcasting gives rise to more controversy in his job than any other subject. I am afraid he hasn’t seen anything yet. On Monday, the Corporation announced that it has appointed a Muslim as head of religious broadcasting. This is not a joke, I can assure you. The person responsible for overseeing the BBC’s — so far — largely Christian output will be Aaqil Ahmed, a practising Muslim. Let me say at once that...

A medal established by the Queen is being withdrawn after it was declared unlawful and offensive to Muslims and Hindus. The cross-shaped honour - The Trinity Cross of the Order of Trinity - has been handed to distinguished members of the former colony of Trinidad and Tobago. The Christian name and cross are now being replaced with the Order of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago - a circular medal featuring a sun, stars, water and a map of the islands. The Privy Council, made up of 12 law lords, ruled the merit decoration was unlawful because it discriminates against...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-s9wsNZq1gPosted by a Muslim it seems Islam triumphing over Christianity in the UK the land of St George The Muslim uploader must be very happy

The Archbishop of Canterbury has asked the BBC not to turn its back on Christianity, it was revealed today. Dr Rowan Williams had a meeting at Lambeth Palace with Director General Mark Thompson in which he said the Corporation should not ignore its Christian audience. The talks came at a time when some senior figures are worried about signs that the BBC is more interested in promoting minority faiths than in broadcasting Christian programming or teachings. A further set of talks between another bishop and BBC managers is set to be held next month. Church leaders have been making their...

A Christian minister who has had heated arguments with Muslims on his TV Gospel show has been brutally attacked by three men who ripped off his cross and warned: 'If you go back to the studio, we'll break your legs.' The Reverend Noble Samuel was driving to the studio when a car pulled over in front of him. A man got out and came over to ask him directions in Urdu. Mr Samuel, based at Heston United Reformed Church, West London, said: 'He put his hand into my window, which was half open, and grabbed my hair and opened the...