humility and compassion. I am taking it for granted here that we should prepare carefully for such occasions, if we are to do justice to the faith we seek to witness to and if we are to display respect, both for our debating part- ner and for any audience that may be listening. Secondly, winning or losing the argument is irrelevant, although the manner in which we do so itself can communicate much. We must not judge our effectiveness in this


duty of mission by our degree of popularity in the media marketplace. I was saddened to read the final sentence which indicated that the speaker did not stay long enough to hear the results of the vote. Although the result itself is of little importance, being seen to wait upon the audience’s judgement is part of being prop- erly attentive to them. (Professor) John Sullivan Liverpool Hope University


Anglican identity in the ordinariate I write as a member of a Continuing Anglican church who would like to join the ordinari- ate established by the Holy Father. As I understand it, the ordinariate was formulated as a means whereby traditional Anglican Catholics, whether within the Anglican Communion itself or part of a Continuing Anglican group, could be reconciled to the Holy See. The decision of some prominent mem- bers of the Church of England to join the ordinariate is to be welcomed. However, members of Forward in Faith, almost to a man, are, or were, Anglicans who already function as if they were Roman Catholic clergy: they use the Roman Missal in their liturgy, the Roman breviary for their offices and also the Roman ordo. The extent to which they can bring any features of Anglican patrimony to the Roman Church is minimal. Many openly dismiss the very idea of an Anglican patrimony. They maintain virtually no traditional Anglican customs and practices – so obsessed are they with mimicking the Roman ways. Moreover, many of these Forward in Faith members are openly hostile and dismissive of Catholic-minded Anglicans who continue to use the traditional Anglican norms. Incorporation of those members of Forward in Faith who already practise Roman ways into the ordinariate will surely frustrate the noble intentions of Anglicanorum Coetibus. Should Forward in Faith members be appointed to senior positions within the ordinariate, many traditional Anglican Catholics, fearful for the continuance of their Anglican patrimony and traditions, would be unable to respond to the Holy Father’s gen- erous invitation. Surely the most obvious, honest and honourable arrangement would be for those Anglicans already using the Roman rite, for those who are even now acting as if they were Roman Catholic priests, to apply to their local Catholic diocese to be received


For more of your correspondence, go to the new Letters Extra section of The Tablet’s expanded website: www.thetablet.co.uk


18 | THE TABLET | 11 December 2010


as converts, while leaving the ordinariate to those for whom it was apparently established. (The Revd) Justin Inskeep Staplehurst, Kent


Tourism to Israel Frank Campbell and Drs Gilmurray (Letters, 27 November), who argue against The Tablet’s accepting an advertisement from the Israel Government Tourist Office, are mistaken on a number of points. First, there is no coloni- sation of the West Bank taking place or planned: no land has been taken for settle- ments since the Oslo agreements, and Israel has indicated that a peace agreement would include compensation, e.g. in other land, for the 6 per cent or so of the West Bank which it would be hard to bring under Palestinian rule. Secondly, the security barrier (which does not surround Bethlehem) and the checkpoints are there solely to prevent suicide bombers and other murderers. Thirdly, the occupation, which allows appreciable self-government in much of the West Bank, could be ended at any time if the Palestinian leadership were will- ing to negotiate peace terms. Fourthly, any visit by pilgrims to areas such as Bethlehem, under the Palestinian Authority, will involve giving some help to the (rapidly improving) West Bank economy, for example, money spent on food, souvenirs, hiring of guides, perhaps hotels. Even if the pilgrims only visit the West Bank sites by day and use a hotel in Israel, the coach and the hotel may well be owned or staffed by Israeli Arabs. Harry Lesser Bowdon, Cheshire


Malaise accompanied by renewal While Robert Mickens’ letters from Rome make fascinating reading, I was surprised, when I recently spent a year’s sabbatical in Rome, that I had a much more positive experi - ence than his reports had led me to expect. My connections were not as wide and highly placed as his, but I met many lay students, Religious and priests in formation or doing further studies. I came away with a sense of a Church in renewal. Most were from Asia, Africa and South America and they gave the real impression that our Middle Eastern faith, so long shaped by its close links with Europe, will look quite different in the future. It is an exciting prospect. These students would probably be described as “conservative” – they wore the habit and were attached to traditional forms of devotional life – but I found them spiritually and psychology mature. I wonder if the Roman malaise which


Mickens’ letters chronicle in fact represents the decline of a certain Western democratic and liberal world view which he, like me, values highly. Yet I am sure that Mickens does not believe that this world view represents a pin- nacle: the final word on faith and society. One of the blessings of belonging to a genuine Catholic Church is having the opportunity, and sometimes being forced, to balance our own cherished perspectives with that of believers from entirely different backgrounds. Steven Miller Sydney, Australia


The living Spirit


Advent is a hidden gem that we easily pass by, perhaps because we are too dis- tracted, or because we have tamed it out of any real significance, and become just too familiar with its narrow confines. Advent would, one suspects, be better served by the slogan “Make Poverty History” than the relentless pressure from advertisers and retailers to spend and spend … .


Advent both expresses and summarises the whole gospel, the good news of a Coming One, preparing us for a Kingdom that will always be about unfulfilment – on this earth. That, at the end of the day, is what the Gospels keep telling us. Advent’s genius is to help us on this path, and to look for another King, another Kingdom.


Kenneth Stevenson


Watching and Waiting (Canterbury Press, 2007)


Although we do not worship Baal or Mars or Jupiter, we have our own, more subtle idols. Prestige, power, health, success and wealth can all become idols if we let them. So many of our normal human desires can lead to corruption if pursued to excess. Led on by the advertising magnates, we become discontented and want bigger houses, bigger cars and even bigger bos- oms … . There is nothing in the Bible that says you can’t have a swimming pool or pri- vate aeroplane, providing you look after the widow, the orphan, the handicapped and the insane. Ours is a global village and we are called to be our brother’s keeper. Sheila Cassidy


Words for Advent Ed. Nicola Slee (IBRA, 2010)


In darkness shines the Advent flame, in light Christ comes, in light he came, Christ will appear in light the same …


Christian hearts yearn to tell Of Christ who conquered death and hell,


the Risen Lord, Emmanuel.


Between the rise and set of sun The Advent message is but one: O come, Lord Jesus, come.


Rhidian Jones Seasons in the Son (Y Lolfa Cyf., 2005)


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36