Contents
 back to Letters |
 previous story
|
next story 
|
Cardinal Kasper’s comments on Anglicanism
From Mr Christopher Haffner Sir, — It is good that Cardinal Kasper should have grasped the truth that the Anglican Church is “somewhere in between” the Roman Catholic and Orthodox tradition and 16th-century Protestantism (News, 16 May). But his call that we Anglicans must make “difficult decisions” to resolve this and move further towards unity shows a basic misunderstanding of the Anglican mentality. They are decisions that we do not wish to make, and indeed cannot make. To do so would be to void the very important contribution that Anglicanism can make to ecumenism. It is ironic that in the very thing that currently threatens to split Anglicanism into two camps, it is those who see themselves as the inheritors of 16th-century Protestantism who agree with the Roman Catholic Church. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that “Homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered. They are contrary to the natural law. They close the sexual act to the gift of life. . . . Under no circumstances can they be approved” (paragraph 2357). This is the gist of the view of Archbishop Akinola of Nigeria and others who plan to absent themselves from the forthcoming Lambeth Conference. Those Anglicans who see homosexuality as a natural expression of those whose personality finds fullest expression in relations with their own gender tend also to be inclusive in their view of the Church and seek a unity that includes a large diversity in belief and practice. However much they may — in many cases — see themselves as closer to the Roman Catholic tradition, and indeed reject the designation “Protestant”, they would not dream of seeking to divide Anglicanism on this basis. The Roman Catholic Church, despite its protestations of a desire for Christian unity, despite the ecumenical movement’s being a century old, and despite Roman Catholic acceptance of many Protestant concepts during Vatican II, has never accepted that it can learn from others. Its reactions to statements from the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission are generally on the lines that they are acceptable only to the extent that they agree precisely with existing Roman Catholic teaching. Despite my personal rejection of 16th-century Protestantism and its successor in Evangelicalism, as based on unacceptable pre-scientific concepts of biblical authority, I have no wish to separate from my fellow Anglicans who give special balance to our Communion, in order to join in a monochrome unity.CHRISTOPHER HAFFNER 104 Palace Road, East Molesey Surrey KT8 9DU |
| back to Letters |
 back to top |
previous story
|
next story
|
%231%23.gif "Wordl Vision Sponsor a child Nov to Dec campaign © site")
