The Pensive Pilgrim

Prince William's recent assertion that he has a 'quiet' Christian faith has triggered a great deal of debate both within and outside the church.   Whilst many people (probably mainly non-churchgoers) have welcomed the heir to the throne 's refreshing openness and honesty and can relate to his position, others (mainly inside the Church) have been critical and have expressed concern about a lack of clarity and commitment in the future 'Defender of the Faith' and 'Supreme Governor of the Church of England'. The context for this debate is an interesting one. Some politicians and others are claiming that they are fearful for our Christian heritage in today's multicultural, multi-faith Britain.  Much of this 'concern' is a smoke-screen for right-wing anti-immigration views, and church leaders have rightly been critical of so called 'Marches for Jesus' which are actually not pro-Christian at-all but rather anti-Muslim. Indeed the words, acti...

 "If anyone would like communion at today's service, there's bread and wine at the back of church; please feel free to help yourselves."  My friend, a firmly Anglo-Catholic priest, was gallantly attending the main Sunday morning service in a neighbouring supposedly Anglican Evangelical-Charismatic church. He had gone with as open a mind as he could manage, but as he heard the foregoing announcement, his heart sank and he knew that he really couldn't stay. It wasn't merely the blatant disregard for Canon Law that offended him (for no public celebration of Holy Communion had taken place), it was also the total lack of reverence for Our Lord's presence in the sacrament (always presuming, of course, that the elements had been consecrated in the first place). It's tempting for those of us of a more Catholic tradition to launch into a diatribe against such practices, but for once I hesitate to do so. This admittedly uncharacteristic restraint stems from the ...