UK: Church of England warned of legal action if it tries to 'steal' churches from Rome parishes
A leading bishop has warned the Church of England it could become embroiled in costly legal action if it tries to "steal" churches from traditionalists ready to defect over the the introduction of women bishops.
By Martin Beckford, Religious Affairs Correspondent
The Telegraph
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/religion/2484435/Church-of-England-warned-over-stealing-property.html
8/1/2008
The Rt Rev John Broadhurst, Bishop of Fulham, claims most of the church's assets once belonged to the Roman Catholic Church.
He says it would be "legalised theft" if the Church of England tried to keep buildings used by Anglo-Catholics who may defect to Rome after its governing body voted to bring in women bishops without special concessions for traditionalists.
Anglo-Catholics have already said they hope entire parishes will be accepted into the Roman Catholic Church while keeping their existing churches, a move which would be strongly resisted by the Church of England and would inevitably lead to legal disputes.
Discussions are already under way between at least one Church of England bishop and the Vatican about entire parishes converting to the Roman Catholic Church.
In America court battles are under way in at least eight states over the ownership of church property and titles, involving conservative parishes that have defected from their liberal national church but which want to keep their buildings and diocese names.
The council of Forward in Faith, the traditionalist group chaired by Bishop Broadhurst which represents more than 8,000 Anglo-Catholics within the Church of England, has also voted vowed to press ahead with finding a way to create new dioceses for those who do not want to be led by a woman bishop.
It said there was no "cast-iron guarantee" that this would mean members would stay within the Church.
Bishop Broadhurst's warning of legal action comes as a key member of the group chosen to bring about the historic step of introducing women to the episcopate resigned in protest, throwing the process into fresh turmoil.
He said: "Most of the assets of the Church of England in terms of buildings, schools and other property either come from the pre-Reformation Catholic Church or as a direct result of the Tractarian and Catholic revival.
"This property is very much our heritage and inheritance and to suggest that many wish to steal it from us in a very unpleasant form of legalised theft would not be an understatement."
The bishop believes the established status of the Church of England robs Anglo-Catholics of their "life and heritage" but says: "I do wonder if this would stand in the European Court."
Bishop Broadhurst added: "It is quite apparent that we are being subjected to what I would call institutional bullying of a kind that, if it were found in the commercial world, would be the subject of serious litigation.
"The atmosphere and the approach of some of those opposed to us reveals that not only are they not very good Christians - they are also not nice human beings."
Meanwhile Fr Jonathan Baker, the leading Anglo-Catholic on the nine-strong team responsible for drawing up the legislation to ordain women as bishops, has quit his position and warned "real problems" had been created by the divisive General Synod vote that left one bishop in tears.
He said he would be unable to take part in the creation of proposals that only include a national code of practice for parishes that do not want to be led by a woman, after plans for a new "men only" dioceses or "super bishops" to cater for traditionalists were rejected.
The departure of Fr Baker leaves the Women Bishops Legislative Drafting Group without an important voice and may further reduce the legitimacy of its proposals in the eyes of Anglo-Catholics and conservative evangelicals.
His resignation may convince even more traditionalists that there is no chance of the new legislation meeting their demands, and hence no place for them in the Church of England.
It may also reduce the likelihood of the proposals being voted through with the required two-thirds majority in each of the Synod's three houses when they are considered at a meeting in London next February.
END
| Poster | Thread |
|---|---|
| DomWalk | Posted: 2008/8/2 8:23 Updated: 2008/8/2 8:26 |
Home away from home   Joined: 2007/6/9 From: Left Coast, USA Posts: 619 |
 Re: UK: C of E warned of legal action if it tries to ...Oh, nice play Broadhurst, try to cowtow to the Roman church in your internal battles with Canterbury.
Your slip is showing. And your loyalties. Oxfordiste sans le courage + + + |
| hapax | Posted: 2008/8/2 16:50 Updated: 2008/8/2 17:09 |
Not too shy to talk   Joined: 2004/10/19 From: Oxford (for the time being) Posts: 30 |
Re: UK: C of E warned of legal action if it tries to ... While I understand the bishop is upset at the decision to allow the consecration of women to the episcopate, all self-respecting Anglicans (including Anglo-Catholics) would want to distance themselves from his comments that Church of England buildings once "belonged" to the "Roman Catholic Church". It's simply not true.
The Roman Catholic Church did not exist in England until after the Roman Catholic Relief Act of 1829. Even prior to the Act of Supremacy of 1534 there was no such thing as the "Roman Catholic Church" in England. There was just "the Church" [of England] which at that time happened to be subject to the Bishop of Rome. But despite the fact that the Church was at that time subject to the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Rome, it was NOT the "Roman Catholic Church". It was the Church of England. The Act of Supremacy did not have the effect of transferring property from the "Roman Catholic Church" to the "Church of England". Rather, it disavowed the Bishop of Rome's jurisdiction over the Church of England. Church of England buildings remained Church of England buildings. The post-Reformation Church of England is continuous with the pre-Reformation Church of England. That's a point that both Anglo-Catholics and more Protestant-minded Anglicans are agreed upon. The Bishop doesn't know what he's talking about. Then again, perhaps he does ... watch this space to see how long it is before he swims the Tiber. |
| UDOC89 | Posted: 2008/8/9 0:54 Updated: 2008/8/9 0:54 |
Just popping in   Joined: 2008/8/8 From: Posts: 1 |
Re: UK: C of E warned of legal action if it tries to ... "Even prior to the Act of Supremacy of 1534 there was no such thing as the "Roman Catholic Church" in England."
Very true. The term "Roman" Catholic originated in Protestant England as an insult--rather like calling someone a Papist. |
