Monday, July 21, 2008

Did an Anglican bishop say these words?

"My dear friends, God's creation is one and it is good. The concerns for non-violence, sustainable development, justice and peace, and care for our environment are of vital importance for humanity. They cannot, however, be understood apart from a profound reflection upon the innate dignity of every human life from conception to natural death: a dignity conferred by God himself and thus inviolable. Our world has grown weary of greed, exploitation and division, of the tedium of false idols and piecemeal responses, and the pain of false promises. Our hearts and minds are yearning for a vision of life where love endures, where gifts are shared, where unity is built, where freedom finds meaning in truth, and where identity is found in respectful communion. This is the work of the Holy Spirit! This is the hope held out by the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is to bear witness to this reality that you were created anew at Baptism and strengthened through the gifts of the Spirit at Confirmation. Let this be the message that you bring from Sydney to the world!"

The clue that it was not an Anglican bishop but the Bishop of Rome lies in the word 'Sydney'!

Benedict XVI does not miss a beat. And he does not use ambiguous phrasing, unlike some Anglican prelates.

You can read his whole speech here.

Oh, and given the failure of the Roman church in the 16th century and the success of the Protestant church ever since, we all recognise that 500 000 pilgrims to the World Youth Day would be easily beaten if we organised a similar festival ... er, which Protestant leader would we be uniting behind to get the festival off the ground?

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Peter, given the widespread acceptance, even advocacy of abortion and assisted suicide by 'western' Anglican bishops (especially in the US and Canada), no, it would not seem likely that one of them would speak of 'the innate dignity of every human life from conception to natural death'.
But yes, this could pretty much have been said by the Archbishop of Sydney.

Peter Carrell said...

I agree that the Archbishop of Sydney, Peter Jensen, along with other bishops of the Anglican Communion could have said what the Pope said in both substance and style.