Mgr. John Broadhurst – Forward in Faith?

Mgr. Broadhurst has kindly allowed us to publish this article:

When I resigned as founding Chairman of Forward in Faith it was an organisation which had recently resolved to support both the Society (in full, “The Society under the patronage of Saint Wilfrid and Saint Hilda”) and the Ordinariate. This was with near unanimity at a National Assembly. I was happy to remain a member. Though I had concern and support for those I had led for twenty years and remained in the Church of England, I resolved I would never comment on any internal discussion in the Church of England or the organisation. The January Edition of New Directions challenged my intentions. I drafted a response and then decided to leave it unsaid. This month’s issue forces me to comment. Within a day of its publication I received many complaints from members of FiF who were also in the Ordinariate.

Forward in Faith’s motto was ‘A vision of Unity and Truth’. The January article called ‘A Vision Glorious’ written by the new director seeks to rewrite history at the expense of both as it promotes the Society.

What had challenged me was the statement “Many of the other catholic Bishops stood back from Forward in Faith, which was seen to some extent as the domain of the then Bishop of Fulham and the PEV’s, perhaps because it seemed too extreme.” This is to completely misunderstand our history

The problem for the ‘catholic’ bishops has always been that they are bishops from the catholic movement, and not bishops of the catholic movement. They have been loved and valued by Anglo-Catholics but over the years I have often heard their assertion that people need to understand that they are bishops of the whole Church of England. A consequence is that they inevitably stand back from all catholic organisations. This was not just Forward in Faith, but the Church Union and may other societies. Much more serious for the whole movement was their absence from the Catholic Group in Synod. In my 24 years in Synod the only bishop to regularly attend the group was Noel Jones. Interestingly he was also the only one to go round the country as we set up FiF. The only Bishops for the catholic movement were the PEV’s. The Catholic Movement was from the beginning led by priests and laity. Nothing has changed and when I was appointed Bishop of Fulham I offered my resignation because of the tension between episcopal office and a radical organisation. This was declined.

That said, the decision to service and support the Society at great expense was taken in my time as Chairman, and all of the catholic bishops have been on the platform at national assemblies over the years. The Society has, however, got some problems. Firstly it is not really a society but a programme – its members have no say in its ordinance. Furthermore most of those who founded it only very recently are already all out of active ministry. Going back 30 years our consistent position had been our inability to accept women priests and bishops for theological and ecclesial reasons. Our stance was always that a Code of Practice would not do. ‘Please don’t make us work with them’ seems misogyny rather than theology!

This month’s article by the Director is a critique of the Ordinariate. It contains several questionable comments. He starts with the Ordinariate Chrism Mass. Whatever he might think, this is the Ordinary’s Chrism Mass. He is not a bishop because Rome decided it could not at this time ordain married bishops. However Keith Newton has something he did not have as a PEV – jurisdiction. The ordinary would normally be a bishop and no doubt his successor will be. Mgr. Newton could have asked any bishop to celebrate for him. The Nuncio was asked because he has been a real friend and not because he was the Pope’s personal representative. It is worth pointing out that only one Society bishop has jurisdiction. ‘Ecclesiological problems’ work both ways.

The second issue is our September 6th outreach day ‘Called to be One’. He suggests an implicit proselytism. I was party to the planning of this event and can assure him the truth is the reverse. We do get enquiries and questions from many laypeople. This event can be generally advertised and not specifically targeted. We wanted an event that would not cause us or others any problems. He ends his comments by asking to be told if any Forward in Faith member feels targeted. Perhaps he would also like a list of those actively discouraged from joining the Ordinariate by some still in the CofE? When the Ordinariate began we were told that there would be dialogue between us and those remaining. In spite of queries from our side this has not happened.

I notice that recently the Cover of New Directions has the sub title ‘supporting the Society….’. Have the Officers unilaterally changed the democratically agreed stance of Forward in Faith? I deeply regret that this debate is in public but I did not publish the issue .

I left a large and enthusiastic organisation with a large and varied team of activists. It is worth reminding ourselves that FiF raised and spent over £6 million and even now survives with bequests from its ‘extreme’ days. I remain proud of our organisation and all it achieved and wish it well.

Mgr John Broadhurst
http://www.ordinariate.org.uk