New Dean says there will be no gay blessings at St Paul’s; John Sentamu attacks ‘aggressive atheism’; Concern over cathedrals funding; Jesuits on BBC throughout Holy Week
New Dean says there will be no gay blessings at St Paul’s
CEN – Dr David Ison has backed away from a pledge to conduct same-sex blessings at St Paul’s Cathedral. Speaking to The Times following the announcement of his appointment on 6 March, Dr Ison, the present Dean of Bradford Cathedral, endorsed the concept of gay marriage. “Marriage doesn’t belong to the Church,” he said.
The new dean said he was encouraged that gay people sought the church’s blessing for their partnerships. “As a Christian who is committed to marriage, I would say that for people to take on board, in their relationships, a commitment to lifelong chastity and being together is actually the best pattern for how to flourish if you’re going to be in a relationship…whether you’re gay or straight.
“I’m encouraged that a good number of gay people want to take on the virtues of marriage. For Christian gay people to model that kind of faithfulness, in a culture which, historically, has often been about promiscuity, is a very good thing to do,” he said. According to the Times, Dr Ison said he would continue to provide ceremonies to affirm and pray for homosexual couples. “The Bishops’ regulations say you can do things which are pastorally appropriate… Marriage is an institution, but the definitions of that, and how you get into it, and quite what its responsibilities are, have changed over time,” he said.
However, in an interview with the BBC’s Sunday Programme broadcast on 11 March, Dr Ison stepped back from his earlier remarks about gay blessings at St Paul’s. Asked by interviewer Edward Stourton about his views on the issues surrounding marriage, the dean said that “marriage is something which we have inherited as an institution and its meaning is defined by custom, practice, theology and law. “The government is trying to take a bit of a short cut in saying we just have marriage and open it to same-sex couples too,” he said, adding that the Church of England was looking at the question of “how we related the church’s teaching and the doctrine of marriage to the need to be able to order, to express and to affirm gay partnerships …we need to make the virtues of marriage available to gay couples,” Dr Ison said.
Asked if he would be “happy to conduct a gay marriage at St Paul’s?” the dean responded that “there isn’t such a thing as gay marriage.” “What I have done, once, is to pray for a couple who wanted to see Jesus Christ at the centre of their civil partnership. And I would be glad to do that with the bishop’s permission and within the framework of the guidance of the Church of England,” Dr Ison said.
John Sentamu attacks ‘aggressive atheism’
Christianity is under threat from a new, intolerant brand of “aggressive atheism” intent on driving religion out of public life, the Archbishop of York warned last week. Dr John Sentamu, who is seen as the front-runner to replace Dr Rowan Williams as Archbishop of Canterbury, said arguments about tolerance were being used to disguise an increasingly militant anti-Christian tendency.
Speaking during a pastoral visit to the Diocese of Newcastle, Dr Sentamu said the modern day Church needed “renewal” to get its message across in the face of challenges to its position. “What we are facing isn’t so much secularism, it is what I call ‘aggressive atheism’ disguising itself as secularism,” he said.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/9161846/John-Sentamu-attacks-aggressive-atheism.html
Concern over cathedrals funding
BBC research finds those responsible for running more than 20 of England’s cathedrals are worried about their ability to meet their running costs in two years’ time.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-17432028
Jesuits on BBC throughout Holy Week
ICN – Jesuits and their associates will be contributing to programmes on BBC Radio and Television over Holy Week. Among the highlights will be a talk on Radio 4 by a lecturer at Heythrop College, a Good Friday Liturgy led by a leading Jesuit theologian and parishioners from St Wilfrid’s Church watching the live broadcast of the Preston Passion on the city’s streets.
http://www.indcatholicnews.com/news.php?viewStory=20092