Church Risks Break Up! Former Archbishop warns Anglicans should stop 'dancing to the world's agenda' - Carey

A former Archbishop of Canterbury yesterday warned the Church of England to stop ‘dancing to the world’s agenda’.

Lord Carey said Anglicans needed to ‘get their house in order’- warning they risk break-up under the burden of trying to keep up with political fashions.

The Archbishop spoke out as the CofE prepares for a fresh round of internal conflict over gay rights.

He said in a sermon at Chester Cathedral that the Church is being ‘shaken by seismic shifts and changes as a result of disagreements on ministry, marriage and human sexuality’.

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Lord Carey said: ‘We must not allow ourselves to fracture under the colossal weight of dancing to the world’s agenda.’

Church of England leaders are vulnerable to the charge that they are willing to be flexible in the face of political pressure since the ignominious collapse of their efforts to appoint women bishops last year.

After David Cameron warned that the Church needed a ‘sharp prod’, the CofE soft-pedalled its opposition to the Government’s plans for same-sex marriage. At the end of last year it published proposals to end the official ban that prevents clergy from conducting blessing services for same-sex couples.

Lord Carey, an opponent of the gay rights lobby in the Church, said non-churchgoers recoil from the Church of England when they see infighting and division.
He said that Church leaders should be concentrating on achieving unity rather than meeting the expectations of politics.

He told the Daily Mail following his sermon: ‘What I’m talking about with the world’s agenda is what this Government has now set up,’ he said.

‘This puts pressure on the Church to offer rites of marriage to those who are in same-sex relationships,’ he said. ‘Obviously, I would disapprove of that - but the pressure is on so many churches to do that.

‘I am actually saying let’s keep our gaze on true unity, let’s share what we have in common, let’s not be so tempted to dance to the world’s tune that we forget that unity and mission are indissoluble, one affects the other.’

He added: ‘I think outsiders would say “you talk about reconciliation but it is an empty word if you are not reconciled yourselves so put your own house in order”.’ The former Archbishop added that the apathy shown by the Government to Christianity was sometimes ‘far worse than persecution’.

We live in very difficult times for the Church,’ he said. There may be very good will for our churches and our service is deeply appreciated but the message is ignored. You know it and I know it too.

‘Rarely has it been harder for the message to get a welcoming home. But this is not the time for self-pity or regret.’

Lord Carey made his comments in a sermon in Chester Cathedral in a service dedicated to unity between different Christian denominations.

They follow his warning last autumn that the CofE’s failure to attract young followers means it is just ‘one generation away from extinction.’

-DM

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