correspondents
ordain women as priests or bishops and
holds to a biblical orthodoxy. Although
its sacrament theology is far from FiF it
has never failed to be warmly supportive
of us in FiFA.
The upset caused by members of the
Australia
excited criticism from Mr Mills. It should former NSW branch has led us to believe
be noted that in some Australian dio- that it is a group of folk in Sydney who
Keeping faith ceses there are priests who are also fully want to use the banner of FiF, but are not
licensed in the Uniting Church of Aus- prepared to pay the price of witness and
By the Right Revd Ross Davies,
tralia or in ‘alternating’ pastoral and sac- struggle which the FiF Communion State-
Bishop of The Murray
ramental relationships. These have been ment requires. Following the Statement of
initiated at diocesan level. For this reason the FiFUK National Council supporting
Ross Davies was consecrated and I can see nothing unusual in me licens- FiFA National Council I hope that the
enthroned as Bishop of The Murray in ing three bishops as priests in my dio- group in Sydney will do the right thing
the Province of South Australia in March cese who can also claim to be members and find another name for their organi-
2002. He is well known in the UK having of the TAC. Membership of the Anglican zation. They will then be able to have dif-
served on both the Diocesan Committees Church of Australia can only be claimed ferent standards from those required of
of FiF in Norwich and Bath and Wells. at the level of the diocese according to its the Communion Statement and be free
He has taken a clear stand on the need to own constitution and canons. to ‘paddle their own canoe’. I wish them
provide for our constituency in Australia, Yes, this is untidy; however it is a every blessing as they seek their own
which he believes has been ignored and response to the difficult realities of those future! These are difficult times and not
marginalized. Bishop Ross is a member who hold to Catholic faith and order in every person claiming to be catholic in
of the National Council of FiFA and seeks Australia. I am not a great fan of Libera- the Anglican Church needs be a member
to keep traditional Catholic faith and tion Theology but one of its worthy tenets of FiF and follow its principles.
order in his diocese. is that it important to do your theology in
F
orward in Faith International has the gutter if you want to understand the Ecclesial fellowship
three arms, FiFUK, FiF North Amer- perspective of the oppressed. FiFA may The sad reality in Australia now is
ica and FiF Australia. We are all born of not be in the gutter but we have been in that there are a diminishing number of
the desire to find an ecclesial future so the trenches of a long war to get some churches in which we can be guaranteed
that we may continue in the Catholic recognition and provision for our plight. sacramental certainty. In many dioceses
Faith and Order received by the Church In Australia there are no synodical pro- there is not one single Catholic parish
of England and the wider Anglican Com- visions for our constituency, no flying of our integrity. No off-shore Primate
munion. However the local structures bishops, and often no willingness even has felt able to cross the boundaries and
and realities of the Anglican Commun- to acknowledge we have a genuine need. offer our constituency here any protec-
ion differ greatly from place to place and Even those supposedly on our side have tion. All we have is the FiF Concordat
so the responses to the unfolding drama not been prepared to help us in seeking with the TAC.
of the Anglican Communion have varied an ecclesial solution. As I reminded members of FiFUK at
on the three continents. Yet FiF Aus- the National Assembly last October in
tralia through its National Council and The Communion Statement London, we in Australia have tried to
National Conference, has sought to be The essential and critical difference be faithful to what has been established
true to the founding principles of FiF and between us in FiFA and the new splin- by FiF internationally. This includes the
the Communion Statement. Our attempt ter group, which is wrongly calling itself Concordat with the TAC, which states
at fidelity to the Communion Statement FiF International, has to do with the FiF that FiF is in communion with the TAC as
and other policies of FiF have led us to Communion Statement. FiFA, through far as law permits. This concordat is like a
the decisions and actions we have taken. its National Council, is fully committed ‘fellowship of the Ring’ making common
The letter from James Mills in last to the Communion Statement and the cause and to create a community of those
month’s edition of New Directions consequences of it. The splinter group who are trying to find an ecclesial future
purports to be a critique of the previous represented by James Mills seeks to find for our constituency.
column of Fr Phillip Murphy. In essence a solution within the Anglican Church of Bishops David Chislett, David Robarts
it is an attack on the National Council Australia, but this will mean something and Harry Entwistle have been conse-
of FiFA Inc and the direction we have far less than the equivalent of the Resolu- crated in order to minister to faithful
taken in recent times. It needs to be tions A, B, C arrangements in the Eng- Anglicans wherever they may be in this
challenged! land. FiFA believes that the equivalent vast country. As far as many Anglicans in
of the ABC arrangements for Australia Australia are concerned this is the only
All Anglicans would be the minimum requirement for way they can find sacramental certainty
Contrary to the impression given by those who seek Catholic order and sacra- in liberal dioceses. The General Synod
Mr Mills, all who belong to the National mental certainty. and the Bishops of the Anglican Church
Council of FiFA Inc are members of the Also most of the members of our of Australia have steadfastly refused
Anglican Church of Australia. A minor- former New South Wales (NSW) branch any kind of provision for us, let alone
ity (i.e. three bishops) are also mem- are members of the Sydney diocese. This one that resembles the provisions of the
bers of the TAC; but they are licensed was never envisaged by our National Church of England.
as priests in the Diocese of The Murray, Council who set up the NSW branch to Please pray for FiFAustralia as we try
and their consecrators included Angli- support beleaguered orthodox Anglicans to keep faith with FiF and in a hostile
can Communion bishops. Perhaps it is in the liberal dioceses of NSW. Sydney environment.
the notion of ‘dual citizenship’ which has Diocese has indicated that it will never XRoss The Murray
20
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newdirections
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April 2007
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