Why does Mary Glasspool's receiving consents garner a comment from the Archbishop of Canterbury almost instantaneously (they must have had the text pre-written for either scenario) whereas when one of the 38 primates of the Anglican Communion nearly loses his life in an assassination attempt that results in his driver being gravely injured we hear nothing?
She asked that several days ago and now has gone herself to El Salvador on behalf of Fundación Cristosal, foundation for the support of the Anglican Episcopal Church of El Salvador. May Canon Lee Crawford have a safe trip and be a sign of our care and love for Archbishop Martín Barahona.It was rhetorical then, it grows increasingly embarrassing as days go by. There are only 38 Primates and one might suppose that the particular focus of unity that is the Archbishop of Canterbury would say something about the attempt on the life of one of that small band of bishops that make up the Primates Meeting, sometimes attempting to be another source of unity in the Communion.
But there it is. The Archbishop of Canterbury could do with better staffing whose purpose is to make him look good rather than writing on his behalf to make others look bad.
And yet, we find no condemnation on your blog of the massacres in Nigeria, by Muslims of Christian men, women and children?
ReplyDeleteFather Andy
Brilliantly stated. And thank you for saying it.
ReplyDeleteRESENTMENTS are terrible things...sometimes they are sooooo
ReplyDeletedistracting/incapacitating that one can´t focus on anything else (especially if one spends much time accepting trinkets from a Pope, receiving, and pandering to, dangerous schismatics while avoiding the reality that God didn´t make Baptised Anglicans to demoralize, demonize/marginalize them/us...as it turns out...hark!).
I guess Primado Martín isn't important enough, seeing as he hasn't threatened the other provinces with expulsion if they don't do things his way.
ReplyDeleteOne would think that the Primates of other provinces which are suffering the same type of violence in their societies would say something, but it appears that one would be wrong.
Well said...a disturbing trend in recent Canterbury pronouncemnets and opinions
ReplyDeleteFather Andy... quite true. Then again, I am not the Archbishop of Canterbury, expected on some level to respond publicly in prayer and concern for the concerns of the Church. I am rather thankful, as I am sure most of my readers are, that I am not the Archbishop of anything.
ReplyDeleteI would not have spoken to this particular bit of violence except for the point of the Archbishop's silence. He spoke out on the massacre, he often speaks out on matters of violence against the church. I am glad he does so. But Caminante's point remains, why not on this?
Maybe like the Church of Rome, Canterbury regards Central American primates as fair game?
ReplyDeleteAnd still no word. It's not as though it would be controversial to take note and pray for Archbishop Barahona's safety. Or would it?
ReplyDeleteWell said, Mark.
ReplyDeleteI asked a similar question about why he took minutes to criticize Mary Glasspool's election, but took months to issue a timid peep about the homophobic legislation in Uganda.
I suppose we can draw this conclusion: The Archbishop doesn't give a fig about murder of Christians. He only cares about the consecration of LGBTs.
What a pitiful legacy.
We've also heard nothing from the hierarchs over Christian massacres of Muslims in Nigeria, and the possible involvement of higher clergy (at Yelwa).
ReplyDeleteTo my mind, these mutual sectarian massacres are a great argument for secular government, and such bloody spectacles are a driving force behind the secularization of the West (whose history is full of such massacres).
Checking in very briefly from El Salvador. Please hold Bishop Martin and his driver, Francis, and the people of the IAES in your prayers. Francis is healing -- will have surgery tomorrow possibly on his elbow. The bishop is coping. He has been glad to have company (me) as he goes about his days because it is a lonely place to inhabit.
ReplyDeleteThey all cherish and need our prayers. Those are more important than anything.
Thank you, Mark, for posting this... and for moderating comments.
I have an update on my blog... albeit short.
ReplyDelete...and why is it that HUNDREDS of Nigerian Christians are targeted and murdered by Muslim militants (including vast numbers of children machetied)- actually and brutally murdered - not just threatened, and the Presiding Bishop, The Executive Council, and liberal bloggers say nothing?
ReplyDeleteNever mind. The stark silence for 2 weeks has given that answer.
Allen, kindly point us to your blog entry about the massacre, including your analysis of this terrible problem in Nigeria.
ReplyDeleteI suppose Allen's comments do merit some response. They do point out the generosity of this blog owner as they appeared.
ReplyDeleteIt is not at all clear that anyone in Uganda would welcome comments from the Presiding Bishop or other appropriate TEC voices (cf. President Anderson.) In fact, given that the Ugandan church has officially said it is not in fellowship / communion with us, there is some considerable reason to think they might not.
Certainly the murder of Christians and Moslems in Nigeria is a tragedy and should cease. But given the dismissal of the entire TEC by the current and previous primates of that sad country, are even our prayers welcome?
Let me put in another way. If the PB and President join in asking each congregation to pray for peace and freedom in Nigeria, some of those prayers will inevitably be led by lesbian and gay clergy. We are OK with that, is the Nigerian church? If I offer an Anglican Rosary for them, do they want it? I am a damned revisionist affirming catholic type after all.
You see Allen, when as Nigeria has, a church goes out of its way to tell others to shut up, we are a bit foreclosed. When they lie about us as they have and claim we are apostate, homosexual (I am straight and there are a few others) and demonic (yes Akinola has) then we cannot but worry -- would public prayer for them help or harm?
I do not carry a brief for the PB. She has harsh critics on the left too (moi) who find forgiving the 'crucified place' a tough go. But I can understand why she might fear doing more harm than healing. Not that I expect you to understand, based on your history here, but none-the-less it can be understood.
FWIW
jimB
Lynn,
ReplyDeleteI do not want to appear snarky but this information is news, mainly from secular sources as well as religious news venues. It's out there, but not here or on ENS. There is no blog entry. Hundreds of people were massacred and our Presiding Bishop, Executive Council, and most liberal bloggers have ignored it. The news just is the news. That it wasn't newsWORTHY to the dominant culture in TEC is revealing. It has been over two weeks and...nothing.
I have found much more energizing happening over a loathesome threat to a bishop and perceived injustices and little to nothing over the dozens of bloodied dead machetied children in Nigeria. Their parents and other villagers make the number mount to staggering proportions. One can suspect that the main reason that it has been ignored is due to that Province's criticism of this Province. Perhaps it is also that Islam doesn't look so peaceful in this story after all. Put this on the heels of the Anglican cathedral in Nigeria being burned with worshipers inside a couple of Christmas eves ago and one can clearly see a pattern. On the surface it appears as though the dead are not so worthy unless they fit the cause of TEC in these regretable days.
Executive Council cannot, as currently configured, fire off statements to everything that happens in the world, as valid as the events might be.
ReplyDeleteAnd to me the threat to one bishop who is a valiant voice for justice and who has chosen a preferential option for the poor is worth the energy that has been spent in recent blog postings.
To be clear, those voices in Latin America in the larger Anglican Communion have not garnered much attention. It is hard enough getting translations of things into Spanish. So don't think that this one bishop is being favoured.
Claro no puedo tener un punto de aviso indiferente.
Well, Allen, there are two differences:
ReplyDeleteFirst, Rowan Williams claims to speak for all Anglicans globally; TEC does not.
Second:
The dead are dead, those threatened are still alive. We may grieve for the dead, but we can still help the living.
You may point to the ongoing problems between Christians and Muslims in Nigeria as a point of condemnation, but, let's be honest, the greatest problem is their unwillingness to stop trying to gain power over one another. To actually do anything, you'd have to remove both religions' top spokesmen, and then, they'd still kill each other over tribal differences.
It's the way of things, just like conservative Christians torturing and killing gays. I'm not sanguine about their chances until basic problems of standard of living can be raised.
I applaud JimB for his kind response to "Allen." I would take a different tack: Allen has attacked us for our failure to mount a major offensive about the Nigerian slaughter. I would ask this: Allen, please point mem to the posts at T19 or SFiF where they mounted an major discussion about this attack. I don't think it's only TEC; I think it's all Americans who are failing to pay attention to that Nigerian atrocity. Can you give me evidence to the contrary, Allen?
ReplyDeletePerhaps you should go check ENS again Allen. You missed the fact that ENS carried the response of the +AB Kwashi to the Nigerian Massacre;
ReplyDeleteNIGERIA: Archbishop urges prayers, action after attacks leave hundreds dead
So it cannot be completely as you envision, or ENS would have ignored the +AB. Perhaps it is more along the lines of what Lynn said.
However, David, ENS chose to NOT tell the origins of the attackers, namely that they are Muslim militants who have been terrorizing Christians for God only knows how long. Won't do to tell the whole story when Nat Cat was even then the venue for a big Let's Just Get Along Conference between Christians and Muslims.
ReplyDeleteSo, an ENS story that leaves the whole story out is no story. Little wonder that the print version of ENS died for a lack of takers. Hard to read any serious journalism into that when you can predict what won't be told and who will get the majority of space.
And to this day the Presiding Bishop has nothing to say. Executive Council has certainly become animated over much less, so one wonders what has their tongues this time.
No matter how you justify it, Christians from infants to old were deliberately and systematically attacked and butchered by Muslims.
Where are the condemnations?
Didn't happen.
With that, friends, I'm done. Keep on justifying.
Clever ploy, Allen-who-has-left-the-conversation.
ReplyDeleteShow me any other religion news group that has done better than ENS. Then -- perhaps -- we will have a rational conversation.
Or maybe not, since you only seem to care about the propaganda coming out of Nigeria.
Perhaps you should go over and help bring peace, Allen.
ReplyDeleteUnless your compassion is no less self-serving than you accuse us of being!
Never mind. I know the answer.
'Buh-bye.
First he claims that ENS did not write anything about the topic he brought up.
ReplyDeleteThen when he is pointed to the fact that he was indeed mistaken on that, and that ENS did print an article about the topic, with information from the pertinent Anglican Nigerian Archbishop in the area of the massacre, then the article was not written in the manner he approves and did not cover what he thinks that it should have covered.
Get him some medical assistance fast, the man has a serious cranial/rectal inversion!