The Primates' Meeting is concerned about global warming so what better practical Anglican contribution to cooling the planet than to cut down on jet plane travel?
I am glad you agree with me so far. How about we write the ARCIC III report now so that the group doesn't have to meet (except in our imagination)?
I am sure you will also agree with me that, in writing the report, we can be mature people who do not need to waste words on the 'usual stuff' like 'We really enjoyed meeting with each other and we learned so much about each other's churches, and although we didn't actually share the eucharist/mass together we had an experience which was, in a truly profound sense of the word, 'communion.'
You would probably agree with me that if we were to write the 'usual stuff' it would be a nice change if we added words like, 'and for the life of us we don't really understand why we cannot share eucharist/mass together.'
But on this occasion we will be succinct and get down to the heart of the matter in an easy to read report which really communicates joint Anglican-Roman understanding of the matter at hand.
That matter, the topic of the next ARCIC is this: Church as Communion - Local and Universal.
Report on ARCIC III: Church as Communion - Local and Universal
'It's difficult.'
[End of report].
Not only jet fuel saved, but words also!
Anglican Down Under can exclusively reveal that the Anglicans really wanted to say, 'It's impossible' and the Romans wanted to say 'It's possible if you agree with us.' But 'It's difficult' seemed a reasonable compromise.
We can also reveal that two key contributions in discussion were these:
Romans: 'We do not understand why we are discussing this topic with you because you seem to have no idea how to run a communion.'
Anglicans: 'After the recent Primates Meeting which went much better when people in agreement with each other met together, we understand you Romans better: communion works best when there is a common mind.'
Incidentally the combined group got a bit peeved with one of the Anglicans who kept muttering 'the Communion is not a church, the Communion is not a church.' The Romans said he was wrong, and the other Anglicans said he was right but this was not the right time or place to state the obvious.
Finally, it has been reported that a protester disrupted the meeting shouting out 'We are a communion of independent churches. Why aren't there representatives from all 38 churches?' Obviously an Anglican with new fangled ideas. Why can't a group of nine plus a consultant represent the mind of the Communion?
Still all this perturbation underlines the truth of the report's substantial statement on communion!
Go to your local betting agency now and place a bet on the ARCIC III report amounting to no more than 'It's difficult.'
CODA: ARCIC III will also look at this question: How in communion the Local and Universal Church comes to discern right ethical teaching.
In this case ADU is not privy to the Roman contribution to discussion but can share the Anglican contribution: 'We tried and failed.'
The Catholic Herald pretty much agrees with you.
ReplyDeleteAnd now, ARCIC III: isn’t it time to bring this ecumenical farce to an end?
Of course we live in a post Christian society with the Church under satanic attack every day and lost souls wandering in the darkness all around us.
We have the Gospels and they tell us how to aspire to live our lives to the glory of God and for our salvation.
But they are so old fashioned and passe in these enlightened times and they don't actually mean what they say anyway apparently, so communiques on Global Warming are what is required to keep the Church relevant I suppose.
Pope Benedict has spoken at length about fighting back against secularism and reversing the breakdown of the family, I wonder if this is what the Catholic delegation will be bringing to the table - the necessity of the Churches to work together to fight these against these regrettable trends.
The Anglican membership is a bit heavy on the UK!
ReplyDeleteAndy: I wouldn't go so far, myself, as to use the word 'farce' ...
ReplyDeleteDavid: the Roman membership is somewhat similar in topheaviness!
"Romans: 'We do not understand why we are discussing this topic with you because you seem to have no idea how to run a communion.
ReplyDelete- Peter Carrell -
Peter. Did you pick this straight off the vitueonline site. It sound just as
hilarious?
Perhaps we should look more into electronic meetings made possible by the internet and other modern technical advances. They could probably provide every participant with laptops or desktops and the other necessary AV equipment for less than the combined travel and housing expenses of just one meeting of such a group.
ReplyDeleteAnd it would cut down on the last minute non-attendence caused by failure to receive travel documents.
Hi Ron,
ReplyDeleteNo I didn't take that from Virtue Online.
I am imagining the Roman Catholic hierarchy privately wonders what those charged with leading, governing, or managing the Anglcian Communion are up to when a conference of bishops does not secure the presence of all bishops, ditto a meeting of the primates, to say nothing of any creative measures for reaching out to disaffected Anglicans (which, by contrast, the Pope has managed to do, as well as reaching out to disaffected Catholics).
Of course a response could be for the Communion to say that we are not looking for anyone to 'run' it!
Hi David,
ReplyDeleteExcellent suggestions!
"The Primates' Meeting is concerned about global warming so what better practical Anglican contribution to cooling the planet than to cut down on jet plane travel?"
ReplyDelete- Peter Carrell -
A good suggestion of yours, Peter. But what about those other friends of yours in the 'global' South fraternity, whose travel bills must have far surpassed those of the ARCIC meetings - which have been much sparser, and at least directed toward the possibility of unifying the Churches rather than supporting institutional schism?
I guess all international Church bodies will have to look at their potenbtial to exacerbate the problems of 'global warming', Perhaps one of the new inititatives could be some-thing like a 'GlobalSouth' Cooling! Now that would benefit many of us.
Hi Ron,
ReplyDeleteI am not so familiar with the workings of Global South and other Anglican networks that I know what they spend on air travel v. what they spend on email communication.