THE P
RTAL
PORTAL NEWS
The Faithful Three
By Arnold Herron
January 2011 Page 4
It has been the talk of the Church press . The quality dailies have got in on the act . Radio and TV have done their bit . Five Church of England Bishops were to resign and become Roman Catholics ! Shock ! Horror !
Ok , so two of them are retired and the other three only Suffragan Bishops . Nevertheless they are the leaders of the “ Catholic movement ” in the Church of England . Their job was to care for those unable to accept the ordination of women to the priesthood . Now they are Catholics .
But who are they ? Here we give you a brief biography of each of them , together with their own words about their historic action .
John Charles Broadhurst
John Charles Broadhurst was born in London on 20 th July 1942 . He was the Bishop of Fulham in the Diocese of London having “ the pastoral care of parishes which are opposed to the ordination of women ” in London , Southwark and Rochester .
Baptized a Roman Catholic he grew up in Hendon and was educated at Owens School in Islington before training for the priesthood at King ’ s College London and St Boniface College in Warminster . He was ordained deacon in the Church of England in 1966 and priest in 1967 .
Youngest member of General Synod
He began his ministry at St Michael at Bowes , progressing through St Augustine ’ s Wembley Park to St Michael ’ s Wood Green Team Ministry , where he was Team Rector . He was the youngest elected member of the General Synod in 1972 . Remaining on General Synod until his appointment as Bishop of Fulham in 1996 .
During his time at St Michael ’ s Wood Green he became area dean of Willesden and Edmonton .
Forward in Faith
One of the founders of Forward in Faith in 1992 he was its Chairman until 2010 , a post he combined with
that of vice-chairman of the Church Union .
In 1965 he married his childhood sweetheart , Judith . They have four children ; Jane , Mark , Sarah and Benedict and eight Grandchildren ; Emma , James , Benedict , Joshua , Dominic , Daniel , Alexander , and Samuel .
He is interested in genealogy , gardening and travelling . He was once a beekeeper and a fisherman .
In 2009 there were reports that Cardinal Christoph Schönborn had been meeting with Broadhurst at the suggestion of the Pope .
In October 2010 , he publicly stated his intention of entering the Ordinariate , once established . It was in the same speech he described the House of Clergy in the Church of England ’ s General Synod , in respect of its decision about the way in which objectors to the idea of women bishops may or may not have legislative provision to protect their interests , as having been “... vindictive and vicious .
It has been fascist in its behaviour , marginalizing those who have been opposed to women ’ s ordination ”. It was a statement for which he was much criticized . Yet he was the darling of the faithful at the Forward in Faith National Assembly : Each year receiving a standing ovation for his “ Chairman ’ s Speech ”.
A light in the darkest of places
John Broadhurst has the reputation of being a street fighter , and he was one of the few to understand the rules and regulations of General Synod and to know just how to use that knowledge . Yet to his clergy and laity he is the pastor of pastors . As one priest put it , “ He is the light that has shone in the darkest of places ”.
In his final Pastoral Letter he wrote : “ For 40 years I have been committed to the ARCIC process in which the Church of England seeks to unite with Rome .