From the Star

Head of conservative Anglican group critical of Pope’s message, but some lay members warm to the idea.
ST. CATHARINES–An invitation from Rome to join the Catholic Church is “offensive in the extreme,” the head of a breakaway group of Canadian Anglicans says.

“Apart from being an intrusion at the very highest levels of one major church into the internal affairs of another, under the guise of being ecumenical, this invitation offers very little that is new,” Bishop Don Harvey, moderator of the Anglican Network in Canada, told the group’s annual synod Thursday morning.
The Network left the Anglican Church of Canada last year to join the conservative Anglican Church in North America in a dispute over liberal versus conservative interpretations of the Bible that came to a head over gay marriage and clergy.

Then, last month, Pope Benedict XVI invited dissatisfied Anglicans to join the Catholic church, but keep their Anglican rituals. Details of the invitation, which allows Anglican clergy to remain married, but not become bishops, were released this week.

In his official charge to the synod this morning, Harvey took offence to the invitation, saying it overstates the overlap between the two churches’ beliefs. He also took a swipe at the media.

“I find the words in the official joint communique referring to ‘the Catholic Church and the Anglican Tradition’ offensive in the extreme and reporters who suggested that this may be a solution to the Network’s needs are not really aware of what we truly profess,” he said.

The Network has long maintained that the disputes over gay marriage and clergy were a symptom of a larger disagreement over a perceived liberal drift by mainstream Anglicanism.

Harvey said the Pope’s invitation was neither helpful nor welcome.

“This is not the way to foster good ecumenical dialogue,” he said in his charge.

Both Harvey and Archbishop Fred Hiltz, primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, have said they do not expect many to take up the Pope’s offer.

Despite Harvey’s misgivings, several lay members of the Network at the synod told the Star on Monday they took comfort from the invitation.

“I was absolutely elated,” Phillip Wiebe of Vancouver said Monday.

Wiebe saw the Pope’s move as evidence that the Network has support for its conservative interpretation of the Bible.

David Jenkins of Oakville said he likes the Catholic Church’s opposition to abortion and homosexual rights.

“From that point of view, being Catholic is pretty tempting to me,” he said.

He would not switch, however, if it meant agreeing to Catholic tenets of the infallibility of the pope, the role of the Virgin Mary and transubstantiation, or the Catholic belief that the bread and wine of communion become the body and blood of Jesus.

Joyce Lee of Vancouver said she hopes that all orthodox Christian churches will one day join together, and that the Pope’s invitation is a first step toward that.

“It’s a sign and encouragement that there’s a home for you if you need one,” she said.

Jessica Stilwell, 18, who hopes to study English and religion at McGill University next year, said that after years of division in the Anglican church, it is heartening to be invited to join another church – even if the invitation is not taken up.

Harvey did not agree.

“It would be nice to be invited to the party, but on equal terms.”

Just in case anyone is wondering, no, I did not say “homosexual rights”.