THE P RTAL
February 2015
“The other thing is, I am an Anglican woman who
has lived with the grief of the endless debate over the
ordination of woman for just about the entire time I’ve
been a member of it - for my whole adult life we’ve
been tearing ourselves apart over this - which means
that one of the things that I love and in a way admire
about the Roman Catholic Church is that when it does
make a decision of monumental importance, it’ll take
it next Thursday; none of this agonising and grief.
“On the one hand you’re absolutely right that I do
think it has made the likelihood of any realistic union
much more difficult; on the other hand the Roman
Catholic Church is going through a profound time of
change itself. The profile of Roman Catholic priests,
where they are coming from, is changing. You have
ex-Anglicans who are married, who are exercising
priesthood in the Roman Catholic Church, which is
a step that many would not have believed would be
possible going back a few decades.
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“What about other provinces of the Church of
England?” I wondered. “The Anglican Communion
is a curious beast, like the Church of England. They
say the reason why God created the CofE was in order
to keep herself amused. But it’s a bit like that with
the Anglican Communion. What is it? It’s a kind of
federation of churches that have a kind of common
history and relationship, but very little in the way of
formal structures that bind them together. It’s a very
strange beast.
“You have profoundly conservative provinces,
which differ from others; dioceses in America that
have been pushing all kind of boundaries that would
bring horror to some conservative African dioceses.
Of course, the issue of homosexuality is another one
that’s coincided, so it’s not just one fork flying, it’s two
major ones. I very much hope we can remain together
because I think we learn from one another and as you,
Ronald, know, my favourite definition of community
is that community is the place where the person you
least want to live with always lives and the important
thing is you need that person there because if that
person isn’t there, how do you learn to grow in love
and grace?”
“That’s actually quite a radical shift [