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Tuesday March 20, 2007
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UK Christians to Anglican Bishops – Show up and Vote Against SOR’s or Forget About Relevance
By Hilary White
London, March 20, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) – An open letter signed by lay members of the Church of England, has been addressed to their bishops to say that a vote for the Sexual Orientation Regulations this week in the House of Lords would be to undercut the relevance of the presence of the Anglican bishops in the Upper House.
The letter bluntly tells the Anglican bishops to show up for the vote and vote against the Regulations. “Given the great significance of this vote, many people would understand that the responsibility that bishops undertake as members of the House of Lords requires them on such occasions to vary their crowded timetable in order to attend the debate.”
“Many Christians will be praying outside Parliament at the same time, giving up other activities that could rightly claim their attention.”
The Church of England, since the legal abolition of Catholicism in the 16th century and the despoiling of the Church’s property by the crown, has been the official or established religion in the UK with the Queen as its head. As a part of the structure of government, therefore, the Bishops of the Anglican Church hold seats in the House of Lords.
Since the end of the second world war, however, with Britain becoming an increasingly radically secularized society both in law and public practice, questions have arisen regarding the relevance of the Church of England and the presence of bishops as a body of government.
Given its rapidly vanishing congregations and massive internal confusion over doctrine, especially over sexual issues, most observers agree that the Church of England is at a crisis point.
The letter called the vote “an outstanding moment for them to make a clear statement about their role in the House of Lords in the context of the proposals for reform, which looks increasingly likely to lead to a diminishing of their ability to be the conscience of the nation in our democratic process.”
Anthony Archer, author of the letter and a member of the Crown Nominations Committee said, “This is a rare opportunity for all bishops to unite around this subject.”
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