UK newspaper roundup: 17 Feb 07

The Guardian: The Rev Dr Giles Fraser is the vicar of Putney writes,

Monty Python got it spot-on: it's the People's Front of Judea versus the Judean People's Front. The only thing that can reunite the factions is something they all hate more than they hate each other. The idea of a gay bishop in faraway New Hampshire is an enormously useful tool of unity for otherwise fractious conservatives. They purchase their togetherness with the suffering of gay Christians, especially in places such as Nigeria, where the church is egging on a violent and aggressive homophobia. It's textbook scapegoating.

The Telegraph (3 items)

1. Church rift exposed as primates snub liberal

2. Dr Williams will find little comfort:

As soon as he packs his suitcase and flies home, he faces a potentially highly charged debate on homosexuality and civil partnerships when the Church of England's General Synod gathers in London later this month.Tensions in the Church of England, and within his own House of Bishops, could boil over if things go wrong out here.

3. Divided communion:

If evangelicals or rainbow-coalition liberals reject the authority of the Archbishops of Canterbury and York and place themselves under the jurisdiction of an overseas primate, they will have left the Church of England.

Perhaps no Church in history has admitted such a broad spectrum of doctrines and liturgical styles as England's Established Church. Preserving that fine balance demands not just tolerance, but also loyalty - loyalty to parishioners as well as to the archbishops.

When Anglicans visit their parish church, High or Low, they are placing themselves under the pastoral care of legally consecrated bishops appointed by the Queen, not some loopy maverick in New England or sub-Saharan Africa.

The Times

Many truths are held sincerely in opposition to each other and is it not time that we learn to live with difference?

Of all people those who espouse religion and its golden rule, “do unto others as you would have them do to you”, should understand this truth.

If the Anglican Communion’s answer to the world’s divisions is just another schism why should anyone listen to anything it has to say?

The Rev Cameron Butland, Grasmere, Cumbria

Gledhill's (Times) blog:

Publication of the Anglican Covenant, expected today, has now been delayed until Monday because of the number of changes and corrections needed. It is I am told a very substantial document, but still a draft. The chair of the Covenant Drafting Group, Drexel Gomez, West Indies Primate, will disclose more in an hour or so at a press conference in Dar es. The delay was caused also by the Archbishop of Canterbury having to leave the meeting in the middle of the Covenant discussions to meet Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete...