English Church Problems.

Waiapu Church Gazette, Volume X, Issue 4, 1 October 1919, Page 222

English Church Problems.

Churchmen m England are wajchirig with great anxiety two movements m the Church of' a reydlutionary char-, acter, J;he former for the admission ,of Nonconformists to, preach, m church/ and the latter for permitting, women to conduct and address;religious^gatherings, m. church. The opposition to both movements is very strong and, if they are successful m spite of. it, the harmonious relations at present existing among Cshurchmen will be very, seriously disturbed.' All : sections'^ in the church are jdeeply ; anxious to': re-

concile dissenters,, but the shor|; cut method is bound to lead' to confusion and 1 ultimately to further division. A.^-qbijisi^erabie'nimberl.of clergy and laymen declarfe that, if the principle of ■' Ap^tolicvsu^ces^ipn..,; itt the ministry is compromised .' the' Church will :•'.' be torn by ; dissension, and reunion will be . : i^de'Bmtely postponed. People 1 forget that/ the Church, of England' is an integral , part- of the .Catholic Church with its common heritage of the Catholic creeds and sacraments and -the' Apostolic ministry, ' and any action, which would hinder the reunion of the. g-reat branches themselves, would m no. wise be compensated by a loose federation with the comparatively small bodies ol Christians who have abandoned considerable" parts of that heritage. The admission of women to preach m church provokes violent opposition because men who ask fdr 'it openly talk of the ultimate possibility of a woman priesthood. In fact, at the " present time, men are inclined to all kinds of fantastic schemes-; it is felt that some reform m the Church's methods is absolutely necessary, and fanatics of various kinds are being given a hearing that would riot be accorded to them' m normal times. Men are m such a hurry for reform that sufficient opportunity is not given for calm reflection. Then . there is the question of Benediction. The Rev. Sandys Wason, of Cury, has been deprived by the Bishop of Truro for • persisting, against the Bishop's advice and instructions, m holding the service known as " Benediction." " Benediction " is a Roman rite m which the priest holds aloft m a "monstrance the reserved Saeramenib and blesses the people with it. It is purely Roman and seems to go beyond the legitimate, use of the Blessed Sacrament, it is quite new even m the Roman Church, and cannot be performed even there without the Bishop's permission. A great outcry has beefi raised riot only by people who desire this service, but also. by others who object to the manner m which the Bishop 's judgment .was given and the severity of it.

The Bishop was himself accuser, jury • and -judge -and/exacted the . supreme penalty. The priests who support Mr Wa's'on say that, so long as, the 1 Bishops tolerate- so many- liturgical abuses by men of another type, a,nd opndone the teaching by others of doctrines distinctly heretical, they do not command the confidence of > the clergy and people. The practice of " Benediction" certainly stimulates devotion, ■is not necessarily inconsistent: with "Catholic doctrine and appieals very strongly to the hearts of men. ; On the other hand the majority o£' the" Catholic *♦■ party m the Church

cannot approve of deliberate defiance of a Bishop who is acting clearly, ■within the limits -of canonical auth'V ority, and m accordance with the principles of the Universal phurch. Themain point: m dispute, the constitution ' of the Bishop's court, is one that cannot be settled until, -under the pro- _ visions of the National ' Assembly' (shortly ' to be constituted), proper , ecclesiastical courts are- establisne^d| this cannot bfe- done until the '"En- ' abling Bill" has been passed by Parliament. .'::.. - • -