Gay Man Takes Church to Court for Refusing to Ordain Him

This was bound to happen.

A homosexual man is taking the Anglican Bishop of Auckland to the Human Rights Tribunal after being rejected for training as a priest.

A hearing begins today following a complaint from the man, who says he feels discriminated against because of his sexuality.

It is understood the man – who is in a sexual relationship with his partner – has wanted to enter the church’s training programme for priests for years.

But after applying to enter after years of study, he was rejected by the Bishop Ross Bay, who approves entrants.

Bishop Bay told One News last night that he was simply following the church’s doctrines.

The man was rejected “by reason of the defendant not being chaste in terms of canons of the Anglican Church,” the bishop said.

That means that anyone wanting to become ordained needs to be in what the Anglican Church deems to be a chaste relationship – a marriage between a man and a woman or committed to a life of celibacy.

In a statement to the tribunal, the complainant says he “felt totally humiliated that I had spent six years of my life in study, for a process that I was not permitted to enter because I was a gay man and in a relationship”.

“My humiliation and disappointment continue to this day.”

He also claims that had he been unmarried but in a heterosexual relationship, he would have been allowed to train as a priest.

However, it is understood that is not the case and that Bishop Bay has rejected people in such relationships in the past.

A spokesman for the Anglican diocese of Auckland, Jayson Rhodes, said he could not get into details of the case.

“The best way for both sides of this to be heard is before the tribunal, rather than through the media.”

HT

Priest Collapses, Dies at Altar During Service

In Napier, New Zealand.

Hundreds of parishioners watched in shock as a Catholic priest died at the altar during mass, moments after baptising a baby.

Napier’s longest-serving priest, Monsignor Timothy Francis Hannigan, 81, collapsed at the altar during communion at St Patrick’s Catholic Church on Sunday.

A doctor and nurses in the packed church rushed to help the popular priest when he slumped to the ground about 9.30am, but he died by the altar of the church where he had served for more than 30 years.

“It’s one thing for a priest to die in a church, but it’s a whole other thing for him to die during communion,” a parishioner who did not wish to be named said yesterday.

The congregation continued to pray as his body was taken away. Some also recited a rosary.

Former St Patrick’s parish priest Father Paul Kerridge said Monsignor Hannigan had taken mass as usual, and had just finished baptising a baby and blessing the parents when he fell to the floor.

It was believed he died after a cardiac arrest.

The energetic priest had not shown any previous signs of illness, and was fine during the sermon, Father Kerridge said.

His loss would be keenly felt.

“I would say everyone in the parish would consider him their next of kin. He was like a brother.”

Parishioner Ross Allan said those who were there were shocked by what they saw unfolding.

“One moment he had baptised a child … then the next moment there was all this commotion up the front of the church. It was a very unusual situation.”

Monsignor Hannigan was a pillar of the community who did everything he could to help those in need, including the homeless who showed up on his doorstep, Allan said.

Fellow parishioner and retired Napier dentist David Marshall said church members were comforted by the fact that Monsignor Hannigan did not have to suffer a long illness.

He died doing what he did best, which was saying mass for his parish family – which I think is the greatest gift a priest could have…”

‘He died doing what he did best…’

Eternal rest, grant unto him O Lord and may perpetual light shine upon him.

 

New Zealand Ad: Pope Blesses Gay Couple

In the New Zealand Herald:

A billboard depicting Pope Benedict XVI blessing the marriage of a male couple is unlikely to cause widespread offence, the Advertising Standards Authority has ruled.

The authority dismissed complaints against the Powershop billboard by four complainants.

The four-and-a-half storey billboard was part of a campaign by Powershop, with the slogan “Same Power, Different Attitude”.

The signs were put up last month in central Auckland and Wellington.

One complainant, B Pender, said the billboard offended him as a Christian.

“It is attempting to imply that the Catholic Church and The Vatican condone same sex marriage despite no formal communication of said claim.”

Other complaints to the authority mirrored that view and said the advertisement mocked the Catholic religion.

The authority’s chairman Jenny Robson said the advertisement was referring to the issue of the same-sex marriage bill that was before Parliament and was legislation the Catholic Church opposed.

The electricity company used irony and humour, in keeping with Powershop’s same power, different attitude campaign, she said.

Ms Robson said she acknowledged the offence caused to the complainants, but the billboard did not reach the threshold to be said to cause widespread offence in light of prevailing community standards.

“Neither did it breach the due sense of responsibility to consumers and society.”

Powershop chief executive Ari Sargent welcomed today’s decision.

“It kind of reflects the feedback that we’ve got from the general public – yes, there was some vocal opposition but, by in large, people saw it for what it was and didn’t find it particularly offensive.”

Yes, inoffensive only to the godless…

 

Fly Middle Earth Air!

Prisoners Build Mini Cathedral

A group of prisoners has proved Christchurch’s damaged and demolition-threatened Anglican cathedral can be rebuilt from scratch, at least in copper.

A scale replica of the earthquake-damaged landmark was built from scrap metal by Christchurch Men’s Prison inmates taking part in a 17-week plumbing and drainage trade course…

More here.

 

Bishop Ditches Priesthood, Runs Off With Chaplain

Crazy!

The former head of the Anglican Church in Wellington surrendered his priesthood after he ran off with the wife of one of his fellow clergymen.

Sources have revealed Bishop Tom Brown, 69, voluntarily gave up his right to officiate last month after he split with his wife and then began a relationship with the chaplain of Samuel Marsden Collegiate School, the Rev Canon Kate Carey-Smith.

Carey-Smith resigned from her position at the school for “personal reasons” on August 3, Samuel Marsden Collegiate School principal Jenny Williams confirmed last week.

“We were very sad to see her go,” Williams said. She declined to comment further.

Carey-Smith was married to the Rev Chris Carey-Smith, the chaplain at St Mark’s Church School.

Members of the Anglican church are said to be divided in their opinion of Brown’s new relationship according to a religious figure in Wellington.

“Half of the church feels betrayed and cheated,” the man said.

The other half of the church was focused on the new era under Bishop Justin Duckworth, he said.

A close friend of the Brown family said: “Unequivocally, the relationship began only after he [Brown] left his wife.”

It was revealed revealed last month that Brown made the rare move to surrender his licence on August 7. The decision came only six months after he retired as Bishop of Wellington – a position he held since he was elected in 1998.

It means he can no longer function as a priest.

His replacement, Duckworth, was ordained in June.

Last month Brown told the Dominion Post he voluntarily gave up his right to officiate “to be loyal to the church and maintain the church’s integrity”.

“I think that under the circumstances it was appropriate that I stand down and have a period of sabbatical or time out, and the present bishop accepted that,” he said. “I love the church . . . and I have no intention of turning around and walking away from the church.

“I say my morning prayers . . . [and] I get great consolation out of reading the psalms and, yes, I believe in the goodness of God.”

Brown and his new partner declined to comment.

 

Anglican-Catholic Super-Cathedral Planned in Christchurch, New Zealand

Anglicans in Christchurch are talking about sharing a cathedral with the Catholics, a move that would have worldwide ramifications.

The Press:

Rebuilding Christchurch’s two wounded cathedrals into one ‘unprecedented’ Anglican-Catholic super-cathedral is under discussion at top levels in the Anglican Church.

The Sunday Star-Times understands the possibility of an ecumenical, or joint, cathedral to unify the two churches has been discussed behind closed doors for months.

If given the green light, it would bring the Catholics and Anglicans together under the same cathedral roof for the first time in the world since the churches split in the 16th century.

Christchurch’s Bishop Victoria Matthews was reluctant to speak publicly about the controversial idea for fear it would ‘kill the possibility’. But she confirmed she had informally discussed it with local Anglicans.

‘There are conversations about this going on, but those conversations are with ourselves,’ she said.

The idea had not been raised officially within Christchurch’s Anglican Diocese, was yet to be broached with the city’s Catholic leaders and was currently only an Anglican ‘hope’.

‘It’s fair to say there are many individuals in the diocese who would welcome the idea,” Matthews said, adding that while the Christ Church Cathedral demolition was before the High Court, the ‘delicate conversation’ had been put on hold.

‘It’s something that I would love to be able to discuss, but at this point we can’t. We have to wait for this thing to get out of the courts before it even becomes a good conversation.’

Matthews said the Anglican Church would patiently wait for the ‘right moment’, rather than ‘raising the question at the wrong moment and it’s dead in the water’. If the super-cathedral was accepted it had the ‘potential of being huge’ for Christianity worldwide, not just Christchurch.

The earthquakes have already ignited a spirit of co-operation between Anglican and Catholics in Christchurch, Matthews added. Three churches, two Anglican and one Catholic, have already allowed the other denomination to worship on their site although the services are held separately, she said…

More here.

 

This Auckland Anglican Church is Sick

St Matthew-in-the-City.

The Auckland Anglican church is a progressive church and, as such, supports same-sex marriage.

St. Matthew’s has a reputation for erecting strange billboards, so it is no surprise that it is at it again with this declaration of support for same-sex marriage plastered on billboards-in-the-city – what the church should really call itself.

As St. Matthew’s says: Welcome to a church like no other: a church of vertical inclusiveness:

 

Anglican Priest Joins Atheists Calling for End to Bible Study in School

In New Zealand:

Rev. Clay Nelson wants to put a stop to Bible study in schools because it violates the students’ human right to “freedom of religion”.

From here:

An Anglican leader is urging state schools to ditch the Bible in Schools programme as he believes it is trying to create a loophole around the New Zealand Bill of Rights.

St Matthew in the City Reverend Clay Nelson has joined the atheist run-Secular Education Network in a bid to get the religious education programme out of the country’s primary and secondary schools.

Nelson said the programme is an imposition on the human rights of children as it restricts the freedom of other religions which is protected under the Bill of Rights.

“The biggest reason is the issue of human rights,” Nelson told TV ONE’s Breakfast.

“We believe in freedom of religion and to have Bibles in public schools is in an imposition on the religious freedom of others. To have religious freedom you have to have freedom from the religion of others.”

In the video below Clay declares that he is a “non-theist”, doesn’t believe in the divinity of Jesus and doesn’t believe any of the historic creeds; his faith, he says, thrives on “uncertainty”.

Oddly enough, he still insists on calling himself a Christian; nevertheless, as Kierkegaard pointed out, it doesn’t matter how many times you call a cow a horse – it remains a cow.

See, it’s next to impossible to remain, in good conscience, an Anglican. Pretty soon, it’ll be like saying you’re a non-Christian: One and the same thing.

 

Wellington’s New Anglican Bishop Consecrated: Barefoot

Dreadlocked and barefooted:

I’ve mentioned him before on the blog here.

PS – And another strange thing, half a dozen years ago, he wasn’t even an Anglican, let alone ordained.