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Welcoming the Vatican's welcome of disaffected Anglicans
Why does a rabbi care about whether or not the Catholic Church becomes more welcoming of disaffected Anglicans? In this case, it's because I welcome all moves which increase diversity within religious community. But whether or not this new move will accomplish that remains to be seen.
What appears to be a move toward greater inclusiveness may actually facilitate the homogenization of both churches directly affected by this process. People may opt to leave a community rather than work within it to maintain the vitality of their way of being members of a particulate church. They may, because of moves like this one by the Vatican, opt, in a version of the words of the old Pall Mall cigarette commercial, switch rather than fight.
That "fight" may be an important one to keep having, as long as it can be done with civility. It's reason I think it's very important that all kinds of Jews who choose to do so, call themselves "religious" and not cede membership in that group to any particular group or denomination. But I also realize that sometimes, people come to a parting of the ways with the church with which they were originally affiliated - when it is no longer meaningful or productive to struggle from within the institution and doing so drains the spiritual life from all involved. In that case, it's time to move on, and it's beautiful when other groups are there to welcome those who do so.
I have not the slightest concern about what some have called a move by the Vatican to "poach" disaffected Anglicans. Just as I have no real concern about Jews being poached from one Jewish denomination to another.
In each case, it should be admitted that it is only those who are unhappy who can be "poached". If they are unhappy where they are, it is either their home denomination's job to make them happier by giving the disaffected what they want, or admit that they have no intention of so doing, and wish them well as they settle into new and more spiritually satisfying homes.
The really interesting story here is whether or not the Vatican will get more than they bargained for with this new approach. By welcoming into the Church, individuals who describe themselves as wishing to be both "Anglican and Catholic", as some stories report, the Catholic Church may be opening the door to precisely the kind of mixing and matching to which many of its current leaders have so strenuously objected.
We'll have to wait and see, but it would be highly ironic if Anglicans leave their current church because it is insufficiently conservative, only to become a force for increased diversity of theological and liturgical expression within their newly adopted Catholic church. You have to love our increasingly open spiritual marketplace. I know I do.
By
Brad Hirschfield
|
October 20, 2009; 5:27 PM ET
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Posted by: Farnaz1Mansouri1 | October 26, 2009 12:43 AM
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And Whistling, the anti-Jewish Catholic racist keeps turning up like a bad penny. Not to mix metaphors, I must, however, reveal him/it for what it is: A fly in service to the lord of the flies.
Posted by: Farnaz1Mansouri1 | October 26, 2009 12:38 AM
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The rabbi says he isn't "concerned".
Oh, good.
This guy doesn't have enough class to keep his mouth shut even on this one, does he.
Posted by: whistling | October 25, 2009 11:50 PM
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A good essay by Rabbi Hirschfield. It is curious though, the tendency to see adherents to a religious system as a marketable good. The use of the term "poach" in conjunction with members is most often used when hunting game illegally. And his statement appreciating "our increasingly open spiritual marketplace" brings it back to that members are seen as resources to buy and sell. And poach.
Posted by: justillthennow | October 21, 2009 1:47 PM
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Can Some Body Plaes tell TONY BLAIR and the Vatican POPE or Bishop of Cataberry or President of Wa/D.C. et al that
OSAMA BIN LADEN IS really really DEAD" and departed US Secularists, since June 2007 by Kidney failure! So
Don't be fooled by this "Anglican Invite to Catholic Church" move, that should not distarct Distract Us from other real and genuine but unfinished more-important Business. Example: Move All Troops out of Afghanistan and Iraq etc.. and Bring them well-payed soldiers to the MEXICAN border in order to UNITE Mexico ,and eventually All the Way To PANAMA, Thus creating 100 Stars for the future "REPUBLIC" of our NEO-AMERIK. Imagine? YES WE CAN! So
SATANs, Please Step aside, and Let Us NEO-SECULARi's , the Blessed "People of ALL the Books" do the Prophetic Vantriloquising and Revelatings this time around.
Remember: Through-out History, OUR most trusted JURY that, There has been many many "Shoah's" (involving both Non Aryan/Semite Holocausts and Semite/Aryan ones too). So the POINT: is
Besides the NEED to slow-down or reverse man-made POLLUTION; We the "SECUALR Internationals PROLETARIATE UNION" [SIPU] of S.S. Earth; are fighting for;
LESS [competing] RELIGION Systems: i.e.; Need ONE-RELIGION, not many. So the Vatican is heading on the Seculars inevitable Path.
LESS NATION building: i.e., need 50 National Flags, not 198+ on S.S. Earth. Note: Many Nations will have to RE-Invent or SECULARLY Correct their own national religious-based un-CONSTITUTIONS, if any, that have Religious clauses/Prongs written thereins.
LESS ATOMIC BOMBS: i.e., Create a Int'l URANIUM Bank [IUB] and De-Nuke 'Refined Yellow Cake' and share Nuclear Plant Technology's, not Religions, between the Haves and the notHaves or Borderliners. And
LESS [competing/clumsy] CURRENCY's: i.e.; There should only be 5-five BASKETS OF CURRENCY/COMMODITY's to EXCHANGE with SECULARLY and FAITHFULLY, for the WELFARE and PUBLIC citizenary/Denizenary of S.pace S.hip Earth.
Note: The Enemy of the Imminent Future is not the Swine/Avian/Plague 'Bug" but OVER POPULATION! Note: WE "MEMEtic-Secularist's" will live an average of 300 Years Old, So More, man-made, Anti-Preagnant recourses must be encouraged, by the VATICAN et al? Else let them sell their Gold/Holdings/Assets to support ALL/EVERY/ANY of those so-called "Un-wanted-Born" (fully developed or threshold) Zygotes.
Posted by: Peace-time | October 21, 2009 11:46 AM
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I wonder if one of his fellow Catholics might explain Whistling to us. He will keep it at; he is an immmortal fly from hell.