Just run that past me again

Non Catholic pastors as Chaplains in a Catholic school?

Worth School in Sussex is run by the Benedictines and is, according to the blurb on their website, in accord with what St Benedict would expect:

Their website  states:-

St Benedict wrote in his Rule, "We mean to establish a school for the Lord's service", and his wisdom inspires our community in all that we do.

One would not expect, however, that St Benedict would approve of two Church of England vicars being on the school's chaplaincy team.

Yet that is what this 'Catholic' school offers. It is unclear as to whether they are there for the benefit of Protestant pupils or whether they are at the behest of all; I suspect the latter.

Here is how the school describes their chaplaincy offer:

"The Chaplaincy seeks to keep Christ at the centre of the School's life and this is achieved by a variety of experiences and opportunities. The School Chaplain is Father Peter and he is assisted by a team of Chaplains from the monastery. In addition,  two part-time Anglican priests - Revd Gordon Parry and Revd Anthony Ball - are part of the team and their presence and work strengthens Worth's ecumenical outlook. A Housemaster and a member of the Religious Studies Department are also members of the team".

It may just be worth reminding those responsible for running this school that there are some major,   fundamental differences of belief between the Church of St Peter and the Church of Henry VIII.

The C of E does not, broadly speaking, accept any of the following:

1. The Sacraments
2. Transubstantiation
3. The sanctity of Holy Matrimony
4. Purgatory
5. Opposition to abortion
6. The Virgin birth
7. The role of Our Lady
8. Sin
9. Priestly celibacy
10. Papal infallibility

It is a religion where its followers may or may not, believe what they like to believe.
And that is entirely up to them.

But, C of E vicars should not be in a position where they can advise and counsel young Catholic minds, that way lies madness and the spread of heresy.

I suppose that we should be grateful for the fact that, as yet, the school does not have an Imam on the staff.

Watch this space!

If the Bishop's were Executives, they'd have been fired long ago

Mulier Fortis and Countercultural Father report on Bishop Kieran Conry's latest outpourings that are, frankly, mystifying.

+ Conry casts aside recorded history to give his distorted take on things.

Elsewhere we have Bishops shutting churches in a style more akin to Chairman Mao than to a Prince of the Church.

For years they (their lordships) have trundled out tired and weary nuances that have weakened the faith of many and led them down the path of relativism.

Yet we, the poor old sheep in the pen, put up with it all ad infinitum.

If George Orwell was alive and writing Animal Farm today he would not be focusing on Communism but on the Catholic Church.

Just think, for one minute, of the track record of  the Bishops over the past forty or fifty years.

Catholic Schools are a disgrace, abortion on demand goes unheeded,  marriages and baptisms have nose dived, adoption by homosexuals accepted, foreign priests drafted to prop up parishes in a lazy attempt to maintain the status quo and the seminaries sniff out any candidates that might have a touch of sanctity about them.
In fact, the old Noel Coward joke could be adapted along the lines of:

 Bishop interviewing prospective seminarian: "Tell me, are you a homosexual?"

Prospective seminarian: "I'm sorry My Lord, I didn't realise it was an entry requirement"

In a business world, the Bishops would have received an appraisal interview 12 months into the job.
The object would be to identify weaknesses or flaws in performance and give firm guidance and objectives with the aim of helping the Bishop to become more proficient.

This is not be a spiritual exercise, it concerns management and administration matters.

How to plan effectively, how to overcome issues such as the lack of vocations, how to motivate your priests and how to inspire your flock by your words and deeds.

And then, at the end of year two and on the occasion of the second appraisal interview, if objectives had not been achieved, the Bishop should be told to go, and quickly.

That goes part of the way to ensuring a vibrant and strong Church.

The other part is, of course, the spiritual element.

NB - an apology. After experimenting with Disqus I have reverted (hopefully) to the original comments format. In the process it appears as if I've lost a great number of comments and responses, sorry.