As if there is not enough happening this weekend re Anglican news Down Under, many Anglicans throughout NZ will have bought the Sunday Star-Times today which has a banner front page headline, "Historic super-cathedral plan." The article underneath it quotes Bishop Victoria re some discussion in Anglican circles of a joint Catholic-Anglican cathedral being built to replace the two damaged cathedrals in our city. The internet version of the article is here. Now I can confirm that a Sunday Star-Times was present when Professor Paul Murray was here in Christchurch recently. I can imagine a clergyperson has had thoughts about a joint cathedral (I have had a few myself). I can imagine that person's bishop may have raised such an idea with Bishop Victoria. I can also believe that Bishop Barry Jones for understandable reasons of Catholic polity wishes to pour cold water on such an idea. But I cannot comment on what Bishop Victoria may or may not have said; or whether there have been such discussions here (say, within the Cathedral Project Group), as I know nothing and our Synod heard nothing about such an idea. So I very much hope that we have a Diocesan press statement soon to clarify what the actual situation is from our point of view.
UPDATE: A new report on Stuff (and in our Press) denies high-level discussions have been taking place.
3 comments:
"But I cannot comment on what Bishop Victoria may or may not have said; or whether there have been such discussions here (say, within the Cathedral Project Group), as I know nothing and our Synod heard nothing about such an idea." - Peter Carrell
Quite right, Peter. It would seem that The Press has assumed the right to comment on possible hearsay rather than report the facts. I have written a letter myself to The Press, today, complaining about its editorial.
This is just the latest in a series of attacks on the local Anglican Church's polity - with regard to the re-building (or not) of our Cathedral. And now; the assumption that we Anglicans are somehow trying to reverse the Reformation by setting up an ecumenical Cathedral in Christchurch. Just one more piece of evidence, I feel, of 'The Press' bias.
Hello Peter,
I can confirm that there have been no conversations about this in the Cathedral Project Group or at any other body that I know of. Archbishop David forwarded us a letter from one of his priests saying, basically, "Wouldn't a shared use Cathedral be nice?". It was filed away with all the other suggestions, helpful, unhelpful, fantastic, achievable and just plain strange. We certainly haven't taken it any further.
I believe this is another exercise in creative writing with the all the attendant headaches for those of us at the crunchy end of things.
Regards,
Lynda Patterson, Acting Dean, ChristChurch Cathedral
Thanks, Lynda!
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