Church closes ranks over Charles and Camilla
-14/02/05
The Church of England’s general Synod has appeared to close its ranks, rejecting calls to debate the issues raised by the engagement of the Prince of Wales and Camilla Parker Bowles.
Some members of the General Synod urged that the marriage be discussed during the four-day February Sessions which began today.
But Reverend Dr Richard Turnbull, chairman of the business committee, said a debate would be “quite wrong”.
At the weekend, the Christian thinktank Ekklesia became the first body publicly to call for moves towards the formal disestablishment of the Church of England in the wake of the royal engagement.
The debate over whether the church could allow it’s future Supreme Governor to get re-married highlighted the absurdity of current church-state links, it said.
But in opening the General Synod, the Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams prayed for those “in the glare of publicity” and asked that Prince Charles and Camilla received “God’s guidance and help”.
After the issue of the marriage debate was rejected by the Synod, the Reverend Prebendary David Houlding, from the London Diocese, urged all members present to pledge their support for the royal couple.
He said it was important that the church expressed its “total and loyal” support to them.
The delegates then broke out into a round of applause in support of his words.
Ekklesia partner Theo Hobson, writing in tomorrow’s Times newspaper about the relationship between church and state will say that the Church of England lacks confidence in its moral authority.
It almost appears that “the love life of royalty has the power to influence Church teaching” he will say.
“The Church cannot play to its ageing royalist audience for very much longer.”
A BBC Panorama investigation had questioned the legality of the couple’s civil wedding to take place in April.
Church closes ranks over Charles and Camilla
-14/02/05
The Church of England’s general Synod has appeared to close its ranks, rejecting calls to debate the issues raised by the engagement of the Prince of Wales and Camilla Parker Bowles.
Some members of the General Synod urged that the marriage be discussed during the four-day February Sessions which began today.
But Reverend Dr Richard Turnbull, chairman of the business committee, said a debate would be “quite wrong”.
At the weekend, the Christian thinktank Ekklesia became the first body publicly to call for moves towards the formal disestablishment of the Church of England in the wake of the royal engagement.
The debate over whether the church could allow it’s future Supreme Governor to get re-married highlighted the absurdity of current church-state links, it said.
But in opening the General Synod, the Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams prayed for those “in the glare of publicity” and asked that Prince Charles and Camilla received “God’s guidance and help”.
After the issue of the marriage debate was rejected by the Synod, the Reverend Prebendary David Houlding, from the London Diocese, urged all members present to pledge their support for the royal couple.
He said it was important that the church expressed its “total and loyal” support to them.
The delegates then broke out into a round of applause in support of his words.
Ekklesia partner Theo Hobson, writing in tomorrow’s Times newspaper about the relationship between church and state will say that the Church of England lacks confidence in its moral authority.
It almost appears that “the love life of royalty has the power to influence Church teaching” he will say.
“The Church cannot play to its ageing royalist audience for very much longer.”
A BBC Panorama investigation had questioned the legality of the couple’s civil wedding to take place in April.