Three retired clergy from diocese to take up Pope's offer to join Catholics

THE Bishop of Lichfield has said the Pope's offer of a home to disaffected Anglicans won't harm the good relationship between the Church of England and the Roman Catholic Church.

The Right Reverend Jonathan Gledhill made the comments in a wide-ranging presidential address to a Lichfield Diocesan Synod meeting.

Addressing the issue of the Ordinariat – the section set up for former Anglicans unhappy about issues such as the ordination of women bishops – Bishop Jonathan said: "How many clergy and people have left our diocese to take up the offer of the Pope?

"Well, not enough people have left… to undermine 40 years of ecumenical work together.

"We have been growing much closer together and relationships have been much better at a local level and a national level; so it is not likely that will be fazed by this."

He told the Synod that three retired clergy and a church warden from the diocese have told him they intend to leave to join the Roman Catholic Church and he said: "We wish them well."

He urged others who were thinking of going to wait until the General Synod's final vote because "there is still everything to play for and pray for".

Bishop Jonathan said he wanted clergy or groups of laity who are seriously thinking about leaving the Church of England to join the Ordinariat to invite him, or one the diocese's area bishops or archdeacons to a meeting of the Parochial Church Council.

And he added: "Of course there is also two-way traffic between us and Rome. We regularly receive Roman Catholics into our congregations and ministry.

"Maybe we should set up our own Ordinariat for people coming in the opposite direction," he joked.

The bishop also addressed the marginalisation of Christianity, saying: "Now is not the time to weaken the place of the Christian faith, and the Church of England in particular in our nation.

"It's quite moving to realise, as I did again this week, that our Parliament does nothing without prayer.

"And I know that schools all over this city welcome our youth leaders and our church workers in to take assembly or RE lessons and good relationships are fostered."

He added: "There is quite a head of steam at the moment about Christians being persecuted.

"Certainly they are in many parts of the world and they deserve our prayers and our support and the support of our government too.

"But some of the stories about persecution in this country need to be taken with more than a pinch of salt.

"It is very important if we get up on our high horse about a topic for us to know the truth and not just rely on press reports."

Bishop Jonathan concluded by telling the Synod the diocese was aware that money it receives from the Church Commissioners as one of the poorest dioceses in the Church of England was likely to be cut in two years' time.

"We are going to… look closely at our mission resources and see which churches are more vulnerable if they lose the Church Commissioners subsidy, and in particular which ones we should continue to help as a diocese," he added.

"I am confident that though several churches are struggling we need not be pessimistic about our future."

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