Laywoman To Anglican Leaders: ‘Find Your Spines’By Rod Dreher
March 27, 2022
Writing in the UK Christian magazine Premier Christianity, “Mary Wren” (a pseudonym chosen by the wife of an Anglican vicar-in-training) laments that the Church of England won’t teach on pressing moral issues of the day. Excerpts:
I am the wife of an Anglican vicar in training and, sometimes, I bitterly miss the Catholic Church. But it’s not for the reasons you might think; it’s got nothing to do with theology or cathedrals. It’s got everything to do with moral courage and spiritual leadership.
When I was asked where I stood on an issue (for example, abortion) I could explain that, as a Catholic, I followed the teachings of the Catholic Church. It did not excuse me from doing my own thinking, but it did mean that my views were not taken as personal. To an abortion advocate, their disagreement was not with me as an individual but with the teachings of the Catholic Church, a global institution with over 1.3 billion members. I was protected.
When I moved to the Church of England, my experience changed completely. I found that when these questions came up, the tone of the conversation was much more vicious and personal. It took me a while to figure out why, but I understand now. Where the Catholic Church teaches clearly on what it believes, the Church of England stays silent.
I bet the faithful Catholics left in Cardinal Marx’s diocese would like to have a word with Mary Wren:
More:
Well, the issue is no longer that I am a Catholic. Now the issue is me. I must be against abortion because I have internalised misogyny or some other personal bigotry that I’m using my religion to justify. The Church stays silent, protecting itself from attack, and I am expected to absorb the blows of culture. That is a heavy burden to place on one soul. I’m writing under a pseudonym precisely because I know this could compromise my husband’s career.
I want the Church to shield me, but instead it uses me as a human shield.
* * *
* * *
Source:
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/dreher/frustrated-laywoman-to-anglican-leaders-find-your-spines/
