Church Planting For The 21st Century - The Christian Challenge

ligious dialogue through which we can jointly reach out to
our non-Christian brothers and sisters.”
If taken at face value, the joint statement appears to commit
Williams to oppose what some liberals in his flock support:
abortion, euthanasia, stem cell research that involves the killing
of embryos, same-sex unions, the adoption of children by
homosexual partners, and the idea that Christ might not be
the only way to salvation.
Williams Celebrates At Papal Altar
Moreover, reports indicated that the two church leaders,
both highly intellectual academic theologians, got on well
together.
During the visit, Dr. Williams’ son, Pip, 10, and his wife,
Jane, a theologian, were introduced to the Pope in the Papal
Library, accompanied by the Archbishop of Westminster,
Cardinal Cormac Murphy O’Connor. Afterwards they shared
in midday prayer with psalms sung in Plainsong in the Redemptoris
Mater Chapel in the Vatican, and had lunch.
As well - in a little-reported sign of the warm personal
relationships that Williams developed with high Vatican officials
- the Vatican Secretary of State’s office proposed that
Williams celebrate an Anglican Eucharist at the papal altar of
the Dominican church of Santa Sabina in Rome. Williams
did so on Sunday, November 26. An official of the Pontifical
Council for Promoting Christian Unity read the Gospel
during the service after receiving Williams’ blessing, and the
Archbishop sat in the episcopal throne of the Catholic basilica.
Though this does not imply a Roman recognition of Anglican
orders, the offer to Williams was a “gesture of extraordinary
hospitality” by Rome, one informed source said, especially as
there are two Anglican churches in Rome that Williams might
have used for his service.
At a press conference concluding his Roman sojourn November
24, Williams said the visit had achieved all three of
his goals: to build a “real relationship” with Pope Benedict;
to confirm the continuation of dialogue; and to establish
contacts with various Vatican offices as part of a shared mission.
Williams and Cardinal Walter kasper of the Vatican
department on Christian unity also announced a third phase
of the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission
to continue dialogue in 2007 and beyond.
IN AN INTERESTING SIDELIGHT in the run-up to
Williams’ meeting with the Pope, there were reports - quickly
rebutted by Lambeth Palace and Williams himself - that the
Archbishop was wavering in his support for women’s ordination,
and intended to send female clergy “back to the pews.”
The stories were evidently based on a November 9 interview
with the Catholic Herald, in which Williams supported women’s
ordination, while acknowledging the difficulties that the innovation
had raised. He claimed that the change had come to feel
“very, very normal” for “the huge majority of Anglicans,” so
that “putting it back in the bottle is not an option.” n
Sources: cofe.anglican.org, archbishopofcanterbury.org, The New Liturgical Movement
weblog, Ad Orientem weblog, The Times, timescolumns.typepad.com, Catholic Herald, The
Daily Telegraph, Zenit, BBC, The Associated Press, Forbes, Anglican Communion News Service,
Church Times, The Tablet
Continued on next page
refer to their lovers as “lodgers,” and their bishops tend not
to question the arrangement unless a complaint is made, the
newspaper said.
*CHURCH ATTENDANCE IN WALES has slumped by
almost a fifth in just five years, figures released in September
revealed. Estimates showed that fewer than 180,000 people
in Wales regularly attended church last year, compared with
218,500 in 2000. Church leaders have voiced concern at
the alarming drop in Sunday worshipers, particularly among
younger members where (Anglican) Church in Wales numbers
have dipped by 7 percent in one year alone. A report produced
by the Church in Wales, the nation’s largest-attended Christian
church, noted that, “Average attendances have continued to
fall for both Sunday and weekday services at a relatively small
but steady rate. But once again the rate of decline among
members under the age of 18 is considerably steeper.” Anglican
and Roman Catholic leaders in Wales partly blamed
the decline on increased competition from weekend leisure
activities. And they called for fresh initiatives to help shore up
the number of young worshippers in an increasingly secular
society. - Western Mail
ANGLICAN USA BRIEFS:
*AN EPISCOPAL CHAPLAIN RESIGNED from his job
at a Palmetto Bay, Florida, private school after explicit images
of him appeared on a gay wrestling website and the link to it
was circulated around the school in early November, school
officials said. Father Adrian Parry, 47, of South Miami, quit his
post at Palmer Trinity School after almost two decades as its
chaplain and head of the humanities and history department,
according to school headmaster Sean Murphy. Parry “had
been engaging in what, in our opinion, were inappropriate and
unacceptable outside activities,” Murphy said. The Episcopal
Diocese of Southeast Florida suspended Parry; he will face a
trial unless he resigns his ministry. - The Miami Herald
*ROBERT F. TATE, who had been choir director of Christ
Church in Greenwich, in the Diocese of Connecticut for the last
36 years, pleaded not guilty December 12 to federal charges of
“possessing digital images of a minor engaging in sexually explicit
conduct.” The accusations against the former musician in the
prominent Episcopal Church (TEC) parish also refer to “apparent
foreign travel for purpose of photographing children.”
Tate, 64, had been arrested on November 7 by the FBI in Los
Angeles, was indicted on November 22, and continues to be
held without bail; federal prosecutor Peter Jongbloed claimed
he was a flight risk. Jury selection is to begin in February. If
convicted, Tate may be fined up to $250,000, and imprisoned
for up to ten years. Elizabeth Bush (whose husband, Prescott, is
President George W. Bush’s uncle and former President George
H. W. Bush’s brother) offered effusive praise for Tate when
she appeared – along with 30 Christ Church parish members
– at the federal courthouse to show support for the accused.
She said he had been “a wonderful, wonderful choir director
for 36 years. He’s just the most extraordinarily talented and
spiritual person.” Most other parishioners who came to the
hearing declined to comment to the press, on the advice of
church lawyer Eugene Riccio. Parishioners had been told that
Tate resigned as choir director after “inappropriate materials
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www.challengeonline.org The Christian Challenge November-December 2006 9