Pope Benedict Versus Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori on prophetic Voice

It seems like I am a doing a bit more Episcopal Church posts that are not positive

I love Episcopalians and not in the way that a anti Catholic says he loves Catholics. I am very concerned that the Anglican witness is about to go extinct in North American if something does not happen. The fact that a few of my Anglican friends are suffering has this on my mind.

Further the fact is that leadership of the TEC is about 180 degrees in opposition on some aspects traditional Christian witness is causing problems for us all. It has to be addressed. Especially when this happens at the National Press Club!!!!

MCJ has a pretty big post on this at IT’S THE EXPLODING HEAD SHOW!! which highlights the problem in a big way.

In part of the statements of Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori :

But when it comes to inclusion of gays and lesbians within The Episcopal Church, she said, “I have heard a prophetic voice crying.” Noting that “there are some very odd images of family values in the Bible,” she added, “do we consider some members of the body more equal than others?”

Asked how one can know when a new prophetic voice is authentic, she asked, “Is it congruent with prophetic tradition?” and “Does it continue to pique people?” as did the prophetic voices of old. She said she knows change is hard and that she actively prays for those who are against her.

I have mentioned before that Pope Benedict addressed the danger of this so called "prophetic voice" to the whole Christian Community At the Ecumenical Prayer Service at St Joseph's Parish in New York (April 18, 2008) (full text) Pope Benedict said



Too often those who are not Christians, as they observe the splintering of Christian communities, are understandably confused about the Gospel message itself. Fundamental Christian beliefs and practices are sometimes changed within communities by so-called “prophetic actions” that are based on a hermeneutic not always consonant with the datum of Scripture and Tradition. Communities consequently give up the attempt to act as a unified body, choosing instead to function according to the idea of “local options”. Somewhere in this process the need for diachronic koinonia – communion with the Church in every age – is lost, just at the time when the world is losing its bearings and needs a persuasive common witness to the saving power of the Gospel (cf. Rom 1:18-23).


Faced with these difficulties, we must first recall that the unity of the Church flows from the perfect oneness of the triune God. In John’s Gospel, we are told that Jesus prayed to his Father that his disciples might be one, “just as you are in me and I am in you” (Jn 17:21). This passage reflects the unwavering conviction of the early Christian community that its unity was both caused by, and is reflective of, the unity of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This, in turn, suggests that the internal cohesion of believers was based on the sound integrity of their doctrinal confession (cf. 1 Tim 1:3-11). Throughout the New Testament, we find that the Apostles were repeatedly called to give an account for their faith to both Gentiles (cf. Acts 17:16-34) and Jews (cf. Acts 4:5-22; 5:27-42). The core of their argument was always the historical fact of Jesus’ bodily resurrection from the tomb (Acts 2:24, 32; 3:15; 4:10; 5:30; 10:40; 13:30). The ultimate effectiveness of their preaching did not depend on “lofty words” or “human wisdom” (1 Cor 2:13), but rather on the work of the Spirit (Eph 3:5) who confirmed the authoritative witness of the Apostles (cf. 1 Cor 15:1-11). The nucleus of Paul’s preaching and that of the early Church was none other than Jesus Christ, and “him crucified” (1 Cor 2:2). But this proclamation had to be guaranteed by the purity of normative doctrine expressed in creedal formulae – symbola – which articulated the essence of the Christian faith and constituted the foundation for the unity of the baptized (cf. 1 Cor 15:3-5; Gal 1:6-9; Unitatis Redintegratio, 2).



He goes on and expounds on this.

Update-
We can see how this explodes everyday and how we see this as too poor Rick Warren and his saying a prayer at Obama's inauguration. See MCJ related post SCHADENFREUDE