Southwark Declaration

“It is with great sadness that I posted the Southwark Declaration in Canterbury Cathedral.

This building that stands sentinel over the Church of England has been a symbol of Anglican leadership with, perhaps, the greatest global reach for centuries.

Now it has become synonymous with abdication and dereliction of duty; it stands accused as a distracted and negligent parent that has abandoned its children. …”

– Kent Vicar, the Rev. Stephen Rae, has issued a press release (PDF) to explain why he posted the Southwark Declaration on the doors of Canterbury Cathedral on Reformation Day.

Anglican Mainstream has links to a number of relevant articles.

Nepal Criminalises Christian Conversion and Evangelism

“Last week, Nepal enacted a law to curb evangelism by criminalizing religious conversion, joining neighboring countries like India and Pakistan, where the region’s small-but-growing Christian minority faces government threats to their faith. …”

– Report from Christianity Today.

(Link via SydneyAnglicans.net. Map via Unesco.)

Archbishop of Canterbury to lunch with the Pope today

“The Archbishop of Canterbury will meet and have lunch with Pope Francis today, in what will be the pair’s fourth meeting together in in the Vatican.

Archbishop Justin Welby travelled to Rome to formally commission his new Personal Representative to the Holy See and Director of the Anglican Centre, Archbishop Bernard Ntahoturi, which took place during evensong last night. 

This morning Archbishops Welby and Ntahoturi will meet with Francis and will then go to the Pope’s residence, the Casa Santa Marta. It is not common for Francis to invite people he meets for official audiences to lunch so the gesture can be read as a sign of the warmth and ease of the relationship that exists between the Pope and Welby. …”

– Just in time for Reformation Day. Report from The Tablet.

Related:

Why the Reformation is Definitely Not Over – Mark Gilbert.

Is the Pope a Catholic? Understanding the Catholic Church – Mark Gilbert.

How should I share the gospel with a Roman Catholic? – Sugel Michelén (9Marks)

Euthanasia: Bill passes Victoria’s Lower House after 24-hour debate

“Victoria’s controversial voluntary euthanasia legislation has been passed in the Lower House of Parliament after a marathon debate that lasted more than 24 hours. …

The bill will now go to the 40-member Upper House, where the numbers are also tight, for debate in a fortnight.

If it gets through the Upper House, terminally ill people over the age of 18, in severe pain and with only a year to live will be able to access lethal drugs.”

– Story from ABC News.

Please reject euthanasia: Church to Victorian Parliament

Here’s a media release from the Diocese of Melbourne:

October 20 2017

Please reject euthanasia: Church to Victorian Parliament

Melbourne Anglicans have pleaded with the Victorian Government not legalise medically assisted suicide and voluntary euthanasia.

The church’s synod discussed the Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill last night at their annual synod at St Paul’s Cathedral as a few blocks away Victorian MPs debated the bill in State Parliament.

Medical ethicist Denise Cooper-Clarke told the synod the bill’s proposed safeguards were inadequate, that it was inherently discriminatory, and that improved palliative care was a much safer and more compassionate way to address “bad deaths”.

She said the bill would fundamentally change attitudes to suicide at a time when the Government was trying to reduce youth suicide

Social Responsibilities Commission chairman Gordon Preece noted that media coverage advocating euthanasia was usually accompanied by links to BeyondBlue and Lifeline – an odd contradiction.

The synod voted to urge the Government to better resource palliative care, especially in regional and remote communities, Aboriginal communities and nursing homes, and to provide more palliative care training for health professionals. It resolved to oppose introducing a legal framework for “assisted dying”.

Dr Cooper-Clarke said the legislation would not cover only the small number of extreme cases but a much broader range of circumstances, where the suffering of the patients may not involve severe pain or physical symptoms at all. Overseas studies had shown pain was not the primary reason for requests for assisted dying but psychological factors: depression, hopelessness, being tired of life, loss of control and loss of dignity

“Elderly, frail and sick patients are especially vulnerable to implied or explicit messages from relatives that they are a burden and that they would be ‘better off dead’. It is naïve to assume that people always have the best interests of their relatives at heart. Elder abuse is prevalent in our society,” she said.

“Many people support assisted dying because they believe it is a compassionate response to suffering. But how is it compassionate to agree with someone who is so distressed that they wish to end their life that yes, their life is not worth living, and yes they would be better off dead?”

Don’t do it: Paul Keating in 11th hour bid to stop euthanasia laws

“Paul Keating has made a dramatic last-minute bid to stop Victoria’s Parliament from approving voluntary euthanasia laws as state MPs prepare for their third late-night debate before a vote he characterised as ‘a threshold moment’ for the entire country.

The 73-year-old, who was Australia’s 24th prime minister and has virtually unrivalled status within the Labor Party, slammed the ‘bald utopianism’ underlying the case for change, which assumed rules would never be bent by doctors and families when it becomes more convenient for carers or financial beneficiaries to see a gravely ill person die sooner. …”

– Story from Mark Kenny in The Sydney Morning Herald.

See also: Paul Keating: Voluntary euthanasia is a threshold moment for Australia, and one we should not cross. – SMH.

“No matter what justifications are offered for the bill, it constitutes an unacceptable departure in our approach to human existence and the irrevocable sanctity that should govern our understanding of what it means to be human. …

Once this bill is passed the expectations of patients and families will change. The culture of dying, despite certain and intense resistance, will gradually permeate into our medical, health, social and institutional arrangements. It stands for everything a truly civil society should stand against.”

GAFCON Chairman’s October 2017 letter

“Let me humbly advise Canterbury here to take urgent steps to recognise ACNA as an authentic Province of the Anglican Communion before new realignments make that need unnecessary.

It appears that the Episcopal Church of the United States (TEC) and other revisionists have now got what they failed to get at the 1998 Lambeth Conference. It seems it is now ‘officially’ possible to teach the opposite of what the Bible teaches and still be fully part of the Communion, with the only penalty being a few procedural handicaps which in practice amount to very little.

Is this now how the Primates of the Anglican Communion understand ‘Walking Together’? It has become clear that the Communiqué does not represent the reality of the meeting. …”

– Read all of GAFCON Chairman Archbishop Nicholas D. Okoh’s October 2017 pastoral letter at this link.

Related:

Ferrying the Primates across the rubicon: Lambeth Resolution I.10 and the 2017 Primates Meeting – Dr Stephen Noll.

Can Two Walk Together Unless They Are Agreed? – GAFCON’s Initial Response to the Primates’ Meeting 2017 Communique.

Communique? from the Primates’ Meeting Canterbury Cathedral, England, 2-6 October 2017 (PDF).

‘Faith protections doomed under Yes vote’ — John Howard

“John Howard is warning that broad protections for religious freedoms are unlikely to pass the Senate if the Yes vote wins, following Labor’s decision to back a same-sex marriage bill proposed by West Australian Liberal senator Dean Smith.

The former prime minister — a key campaigner against gay marriage — argued the decision by Labor to lock in behind Senator Smith’s bill was an ‘added reason’ for Australians to vote No in the $122 million postal survey … saying a Yes outcome could force faith-based schools, charities and social-service providers to close or change the way they operate. …”

– Story from The Australian. (Subscription.) Photo: ABC.

Sydney Synod support for Archbishop Davies in the Consecration of Bishop Andy Lines

Last night, the closing night of Sydney Synod for 2017, strong support was shown for Archbishop of Sydney Dr Glenn Davies, Bishop of Tasmania Richard Condie and Bishop of North West Australia Gary Nelson, who travelled to Wheaton in June to participate in the consecration of Bishop Andy Lines.

This motion was passed, and was followed by a standing ovation for Archbishop Davies, who had left the Synod chamber while the motion was debated and put.

“Synod gives thanks to God for the leadership of our Archbishop in representing our Diocese and participating in the consecration of Bishop Andy Lines as the Anglican Church in North America (“ACNC”) Missionary Bishop to Europe in Chicago on 30 June 2017.

The announcement of Bishop Lines’ consecration, within hours of the Scottish Episcopal Church announcing its amendment of canon law on marriage in order to allow same sex marriages on 8 June, was a message of hope to Scottish Episcopalians and others who have been left without faithful episcopal oversight for these stranded Christians and we rejoice that three Australian bishops (Archbishop Davies, Bishop Richard Condie and Bishop Gary Nelson) were among the consecrators.

We note with gratitude that the Archbishop took this step with the unanimous support of the Standing Committee.

We commit to continuing in prayer for Bishop Lines and all faithful Anglicans who stand for biblical truth and faithful Christian discipleship.”

Sydney Synod on the Scottish Episcopal Church decision

At the last night of Sydney Synod this motion, proposed by the Dean of Sydney, Kanishka Raffel, was passed with strong support. It is the same motion he brought to the General Synod. It was passed there with some amendments.

Here is the text passed by Sydney Synod on 17 October 2017:

Synod –

a. notes with regret that the Scottish Episcopal Church has amended their Canon on Marriage to change the definition that marriage is between a man and a woman by adding a new section that allows clergy to solemnise marriage between same-sex couples as well as couples of the opposite sex,

b. declares that this step is contrary to the doctrine of Christ and the doctrine of our Church, and therefore inconsistent with the Fundamental Declarations of our Churches,

c. notes with sadness that the Scottish Episcopal Church has thereby put itself out of fellowship with the wider Anglican Communion,

d. expresses our support for those Anglicans who have left or will need to leave the Scottish Episcopal Church because of its redefinition of marriage, or who struggle to remain in good conscience, and

e. prays that the Scottish Episcopal Church will return to the doctrine of Christ in this matter and be restored to communion with faithful Anglicans around the world.

Lyle Shelton National Press Club Address

The Australian Christian Lobby has published an abridged version of Lyle Shelton’s address to the National Press Club in September 2017.

You can also watch the full address at the link. (Image: ABC TV.)

Ferrying the Primates across the rubicon: Lambeth Resolution I.10 and the 2017 Primates Meeting

“Nearly one year ago I wrote an essay titled ‘Crossing the Rubicon: Lambeth Resolution I.10, the Church of England, and the Anglican Communion,’ which began this way:

Earlier this year I was speaking with an English friend concerned about the direction of the Church of England. ‘Where do we draw the line?’ he asked. ‘That’s easy,’ I replied: ‘It’s called Lambeth Resolution I.10.’

I then analyzed (‘fisked‘) a letter by Mr. William Nye, the Secretary General of the Archbishops’ Council, who had clearly been authorized to speak for the Archbishops of Canterbury and York. In this letter Mr. Nye attempts to relativize the 1998 Lambeth Resolution I.10 on Human Sexuality as speaking for that Conference only, hence having no ongoing normative authority.

In the light of the Communiqué from the October 2017 Primates’ Meeting, I would go a step further and say that in the view of the Lambeth Establishment, Resolution I.10 was a huge mistake and aberration, the effects of which will be undone at Lambeth 2020. …”

– On the GAFCON website, Dr Stephen Noll takes a look at what really happened at the 2017 Primates’ Meeting.

Sydney Catholic Archbishop says religious believers could lose their jobs

“Religious believers would be vulnerable to discrimination suits and some could lose their jobs, promotions, businesses and political careers if same-sex marriage is legalised, the Catholic Archbishop of Sydney says. …”

– Story from The Australian (subscription).

See also: Same-sex marriage: Governments should ‘keep out of the bedroom’ Catholic Archbishop says – ABC News.

Scottish Anglican Network statement on the Meeting of the Primates of the Anglican Communion

“The Scottish Anglican Network is grateful to the GAFCON primates who gave courageous leadership by not attending the meeting of the Primates of the Anglican Communion this week. We are thankful too for the GAFCON Primates and others who did attend and who robustly supported the complementary nature of biblical marriage. …”

– Read the full statement here.

Also from the Scottish Anglican Network:

Secxit (or why I must leave the Scottish Episcopal Church) – Daniel Davies.

Can two walk together unless they are agreed?

“Today’s Communique from the Primates’ Meeting 2017, in Canterbury, England, is very disappointing, but it is not surprising.  As we have consistently said, the current ‘Instruments of Unity’ are broken, and as Archbishop Ntagali, Primate of Uganda, has said, ‘every attempt to repair the torn fabric and heal the betrayal has made the situation worse.’ This has again proved true.

When the leaders of Gafcon and the Global South, representing the majority of the world’s Anglicans, met in Cairo last month it was their prayer that ‘the outcome of the upcoming [Primates] meeting would be decisive and lead to coherent and responsible action regarding the issues which continue to tear apart the fabric of the Communion, issues that have eternal consequences.‘ Judging by the Communique, their hopes for the meeting have been disappointed. …”

– An initial Response to the Primates’ Meeting 2017 Communique from GAFCON.

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