Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Viewpoint: New Archbishop of Canterbury: The Man to Bring Anglicans to Rome?


Note to readers: I add more links to related articles at later times in the day so you may want to check the articles you have already read in today's edition of Anglicans Ablaze for such additions.

The bishop of Durham, Justin Welby, will be the next archbishop of Canterbury, it was announced November 9. The archbishop has strong links with the Catholic Church, and as leader of the Anglican Communion, he could bring that church closer to Rome.

All Church of England clergy have a spiritual director. But Welby’s director is Catholic. A person will usually stick with the same spiritual director for years, meaning Welby’s religious thinking will have been heavily shaped by the Catholic Church.

During his press conference after the announcement of his appointment, Welby singled out the Catholic Church, mentioning no other groups. “Learning from other traditions than the one into which I came as a Christian has led me into the riches of Benedictine and Ignatian spirituality, the treasures of contemplative prayer and adoration, and confronted me with the rich and challenging social teaching of the Roman Catholic Church.” Read more

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

What a nasty little piece of hate mongering...

Hudson said...

Why should we not think that Welby is the worse of all worlds, a man with fondness for popes, female bishops, and non-liturgical worship, to name just a few? Whether taken to Rome or driven to Rome, the destination is not in question.

Mr. Mcgranor said...

Those charlatans hiding among Protestantism, pretending the spirit of God, need to be insulted regardless of their vast numbers. Whith that i say -- leave.

Robin G. Jordan said...

Among the reasons I posted this article was that it threw into question Justin Welby's "evangelical" credentials.

At the same time the articles does not explain how an archbishop designate who supports the ordination of women and is rethinking his position on gay marriage would actually accomplish the bringing of Anglicans to Rome. Despite what may be described as Roman Catholic sympathies, Welby is clearly at odds with Rome on a number of key issues. The logic of the article is problematic. Because Welby has particular leanings, it does not follow that he might be the one to engineer the reunification of two denominations. For this and other reasons, I labeled the article "viewpoint."