PRESS ASSOCIATION: The Church of England has voted in favour of banning clergy and some lay staff from joining the far-right British National Party.
Members of the General Synod voted to back a motion brought by Metropolitan Police civilian worker Vasantha Gnanadoss calling on bishops to formulate a comparable policy to the Association of Chief Police Officers' ban on police membership of the BNP.
Miss Gnanadoss, who received support at the General Synod from former Met Police commissioner Sir Ian Blair, said passing the motion would make it "much more difficult" for the BNP or other similar organisations to exploit the claim that they had support within the Church of England.
She said: "If supporting organisations like the BNP is inconsistent with Christian discipleship, it seems obvious that clergy and others who speak for the Church should not be members."
Acpo policy states that that no member of the police service may be a member of an organisation whose constitution, aims, objectives or pronouncements contradict the "general duty" to promote race equality.
This specifically includes the BNP, the policy states.
The motion backed by the General Synod called for the Church of England bishops to draw up a similar policy to apply to all clergy, ordinands and employed lay persons who speak on behalf of the Church of England. Church of England Votes for BNP Clergy Ban >>> | Tuesday, February 10, 2009
THE TELEGRAH: Church of England Votes to Ban Clergy from Joining BNP
Clergy will be banned from joining the British National Party after the Archbishop of Canterbury called on the Church of England to "name names" in the fight against racism.
The governing body of the Church of England, the General Synod, voted overwhelmingly to follow the lead of the police and bar ordained priests, trainees and lay staff from becoming members of racist political parties, specifically including the BNP.
It will require discplinary rules for vicars to be rewritten, and some critics claimed the move could still breach human rights and trigger employment tribunal cases because the BNP is a legal organisation.
Others warned that far-right parties could get around the rules by changing their names, or by claiming their members are merely supporters rather than official members.
However the vote was carried by 322 votes to 13, with 20 abstentions, amid claims that the BNP is trying to promote itself as a Christian group, and fears that there are "racist undertones" in the Church that leave ethnic minorities "scandalously under-represented" among clergy.
In 2004, the Synod affirmed that voting for a racist party is "incompatible with Christian discipleship" while since 2006 candidates for positions in the priesthood have been screened for racist attitudes. >>> By Martin Beckford, Religious Affairs Correspondent | Tuesday, February 10, 2009
THE TELEGRAPH: No More Mosques, Says Senior Synod Member
A senior lay member of the Church of England's "Parliament" has called for a ban on the building of more mosques in Britain.
Alison Ruoff, a long-standing member of the General Synod, said that new mosques should not be built in this country while Islamic states continued to persecute Christians.
The former magistrate, who was one of the strongest critics of the Archbishop of Canterbury's speech on Islamic law earlier this year, added that sharia would be introduced into Britain "if we don't watch out".
Apart from being a Synod member, Mrs Ruoff, a conservative evangelical, also sits on the Bishop's Council, which advises the Bishop of London, the Rt Rev Richard Chartres.
Although her views are representative of a small minority on the Synod, and Church spokesmen moved quickly to isolate her yesterday, they may exacerbate tensions over the place of Muslims in society.
A spokesman for the Diocese of London said: "Mrs Ruoff's comments are her own and do not reflect the views of the Diocese of London, which enjoys excellent inter-faith relations across the capital."
A Church of England spokesman added: "These are her personal comments, speaking as an individual." But senior Muslims had already reacted angrily to her comments, saying they were more typical of a member of the British National Party than the Anglican Church. >>> By Jonathan Petre, Religion Correspondent | April 3, 2008
BNP: As Churches Are Turned into Mosques, the Church of England Worries about the BNP
“It is ridiculous that the Church of England is concerned with persecuting Christian BNP members while church buildings are being turned into mosques as Britain is colonised by Islam,” said BNP leader Nick Griffin in his reaction to the CoE decision to bar clergy from joining the party.
“Up and down the country, CoE churches are being turned into mosques,” he said. “Instead of concerning themselves with their empty pews, the leftist clergymen worry about a party which is dedicated to preventing the displacement of Christianity by Islam in this country.
“These political priests need to be reminded that the church and state were separated at the time of the Reformation. It is best for them to keep their noses out of politics, and rather concentrate on trying to explain why their churches are so empty.”
Mr Griffin said the church leaders - being led by the nose by clerical Marxists and Ugandan or Pakistan-born bishops - should not bother trying to interfere with the democratic rights of British people.
“If they think that an Islamic-dominated Britain will look kindly upon Christianity, they are seriously deluded and should consider the experience of Christianity in other Islamic countries before being so foolish as to rant against anti-immigration parties, as their motion does,” he said.
Mr Griffin confirmed that the BNP has been flooded with messages of support from angry CoE members following the decision today. “The church leaders are clearly out of touch with the rank and file of their flock. It is no coincidence that the BNP is this country’s fastest growing political party at the same time that the CoE’s pews are emptying.” [Source: BNP] Tuesday, February 10, 2009
TELEGRAPH BLOG: Church's BNP Ban Is Silly and Pointless
A silly and embarrassing little vote at the General Synod yesterday, banning clergy from joining the British National Party because it's a racist organisation.
Silly because the BNP is a legitimate political party and the Church of England could be challenged in law for being discriminatory itself - a rich irony. Silly because it specifically names the BNP, so a new motion will presumably have to be passed if a fresh brand of racism emerges, such as Combat 18 or a new National Front.
Silly because it suggests that clergy need to be told not to support racism. Silly because it hands the BNP the propaganda coup of looking significant and victimised. >>> George Pitcher | Wednesday, February 11, 2009
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