Sic Transit Benedict (inter caetera)

We know that some readers have been troubled by the non-appearance of a letter from Plumstead, worrying that we had been silenced by Royal Charter. Do not be afraid: for us the carnival is not over (though taking in the Church of England the more vernacular form of the Feast of Fools) and we will continue to tell you what to think abut the great issues of Church and State.

Tomorrow Belongs To Me

Of course Dr Fraser is not going to be elected. Admittedly, the timing of his giving up his Church Times column is suggestive.

Always the Bridesmaid, Never the Bride of Christ

Followers of the odder doings of the Church of England have to run to keep up at the moment. Yesterday, while we were considering restructuring for mission, the House of Bishops was getting on with the core business of the Church: tinkering with her own internal workings. 

Small-Town Richard III

The Church of England, desperately out of touch as always, is spending all its energy today debating women and banking, and failing to make any comment on the real concerns of modern people, such as the reburial of kings – a subject which, to be honest, should play right to our strengths. 

Of the People

It has been said of us that, although dealing much in sacred things, we refuse to be pious about any subject. Yet, as our royal martyr might have said himself, a sovereign is no subject; and today of all days we are grave.

We are encouraged that the observance of this anniversary has not degenerated into a nostalgic dead letter, but remains still a matter of political controversy. Yet no synod has resolved that those who assent to the deed are loyal Anglicans as well as those who dissent.

Bad Bishops Drive Out Good

The news that the Bishop of Liverpool will be retiring later this year does not sadly surprise us here at Plumstead Rectory, but it does sadden surprisingly. Students of ecclesiastical politics will guess that Dr Jones is not, on paper, the bishop we would have chosen; but he has been a good shepherd of this diocese, has done no particular discredit to his office (this already puts him in the first rank of prelates) and has betrayed his fellow evangelicals just the right amount.

So-Called Anglicans to Watch in 2013

The quasi-traditional list of ten:


Firstly, in the House of Bishops:

10. The Master of Magdalene

Retired archbishops' opinions are, of course, always listened to with much more interest and attention than serving ones'. Dr Williams, we are sure, will blossom during 2013, and we look forward to his contribution to the church's task of undermining Dr Welby. We predict that when the latter is forced into retirement the Master will still be young enough for a comeback tour, and expect him to be reappointed to Canterbury, fully refreshed, in about 2020.