Church of England 'Will Be Extinct in One Generation', Warns Ex-Archbishop

Lord Carey, the one-time Archbishop of Canterbury

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Lord Carey, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, calls for urgent change to attract youngsters to the church [sic]

The Church of England is "one generation away from extinction", the former Archbishop of Canterbury has warned.

Lord Carey, 78, said churchgoers should be "ashamed" of themselves for failing to invest more in young people and called for urgent action beforen [sic] its too late.

The outspoken Lord said that unless more was done to attract new worshipers [sic] then every one of the 43 CofE dioceses across the world could be wiped out within 25 years.

He also expressed fears that the modern church [sic] was too old[-] fashioned and "not the most exciting place to meet new people".

The retired Anglican bishop was making a keynote speech at Holy Trinity Church in Shrewsbury, as part of the Shropshire Churches Conference 2013. » | Ben Riley-Smith, and agencies | Monday, November 18, 2013

Gay Marriage: David Cameron Faces Church Backlash Over 'Cultural Vandalism'

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: David Cameron was accused of planning an “Orwellian” act of “cultural vandalism” by an alliance of bishops, Tory MPs and legal figures yesterday over his plans to allow homosexual couples to marry.

Mr Cameron, who has publicly pledged his support for gay marriage, is facing a growing backlash from within his own party over the proposal to redefine the legal definition of marriage to include same-sex couples.

He is now facing the prospect of an open breach with prominent religious figures – just a week after leading Conservatives voiced their support for Christianity following a series of court rulings which reinforced the secularisation of Britain.

Lord Carey, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, yesterday joined Lord Brennan, the barrister and peer, to launch the “Coalition For Marriage”, a new cross-party campaign [to] designed derail the plans for homosexual marriage.

A clutch of Church of England bishops and other Christian groups have already pledged their support for the alliance which is seeking hundreds of thousands of signatures on a petition to maintain the current definition of marriage.

Crucially, the leadership of the Roman Catholic Church yesterday threw its support behind the campaign, raising the prospect of support from the more than a million devout Catholics in England and Wales.

It is understood that leading bishops are considering issuing a pastoral letter to parishes across urging them to support the campaign. » | John Bingham, Social Affairs Editor | Monday, February 20, 2012

George Carey: Time to Say that Christians Have Rights Too

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: George Carey, former Archbishop of Canterbury, has warned there are 'deep forces at work in Western society' that are degrading the values of Christianity after a High Court ruling banned public prayers from council meetings.

George Carey was not regarded as an outspoken Archbishop of Canterbury by the standards of both his predecessor and his successor.

While Robert Runcie and Rowan Williams generated and still generate headlines and ruffle politicians’ feathers, George Carey was largely overshadowed during his 11 years as head of the Anglican communion by internal church battles, notably over the ordination of women. Some even came to regard him as a wee bit dull and mealy-mouthed. If so, then he has more than made up for it since he stepped down in 2002.

In the past few months alone, he has publicly criticised both the cathedral authorities at St Paul’s over the Occupy protest camp, and the Lords Spiritual for leading the opposition to the Government’s benefit cuts in the Upper Chamber of Parliament, where Lord Carey of Clifton now sits as a life peer. “I have been mildly upset to be told to shut up by my fellow Anglican bishops.” But his usually sober face spreads into a grin as he says it. “I have felt freer to speak my mind as my own man, but I am always conscious of not wanting to get in Rowan’s way”.

This new George Carey has rather abandoned the careful diplomatic language he used as an archbishop to keep different church factions in the same pews, in favour of something more earthy and apocalyptic, reflecting his own evangelical background. “There are deep forces at work in Western society, hollowing out the values of Christianity and driving them to the margins”.

Among these forces, he has the judiciary firmly in his sights following a spate of recent rulings, which, he claims, have allowed equality to “trump” the freedom of the individual in matters of belief. “Judges,” he contends, “say that the law has no obligation to the Christian faith, but I say 'rubbish’ to that. Historically there has been a great interlocking of Christianity with our laws in this country.” » | Peter Stanford | Saturday, February 11, 2012

Related »

Don’t Let Politicians Bully You, Lord Carey Warns Christians
MAIL ONLINE: Former Archbishop of Canterbury Lord Carey today accused politicians of trying to bully Christianity out of public life.

He complained of a 'strident and bullying campaign' to marginalise Christianity in the name of political correctness.

Lord Carey said: 'We have reached the point where politicians are mocked for merely expressing their faith.

'I cannot imagine any politician expressing concern that Britain should remain a Christian country. That reticence is a scandal and a disgrace to our history.'

The powerful intervention from the retired Archbishop, who stepped down from Lambeth Palace in 2002, comes in the wake of strongly-expressed criticism of state attempts to sideline Christianity from other senior prelates.

Last month Archbishop of York Dr John Sentamu said that Christianity was being pushed out of public life in a 'ferocious and insidious' manner.

Lord Carey has spoken out strongly on a number of controversial matters since his retirement in a way he avoided while serving as the Anglican primate. In particular, he has backed limits to immigration, criticised Islamic theology, and attacked the 'anything goes' philosophy that has led judges to constrain public debate about the bad behaviour of celebrities for the sake of their privacy.

He told a meeting in the House of Lords: 'Christianity, which has given so much to our country, is now being sidelined as never before as though it is a stranger to our nation.'

Lord Carey told Christians to stand up for their faith and to be more assertive when their heritage is attacked.

'If we behave like doormats, don't be surprised if we are treated as though we are,' he said. 'It is time to return to the public square.' >>> Steve Doughty | Tuesday, March 02, 2010

It Isn’t Racist to Want a Cap on Immigration
TIMES ONLINE: Our balanced migration policy is not ‘chuck 'em out'. It is essential for British society

The Church's response to immigration in recent years has drawn heavily upon the call to welcome and treat the stranger as if you have Christ in your midst. This is absolutely right, yet we also have to question whether the unprecedented levels of immigration that we are now seeing can truly contribute to the “common good” - another theme the churches have emphasised in their teaching on social justice.

The facts are simple. Immigration has tripled in the past ten years. The Government predicts that, over the next 25 years, immigration will add seven million to the population of England - seven times the present population of Birmingham.

For years it has been impossible to question the wisdom of large-scale immigration without being branded a “racist”. This lack of respect for others' views has suffocated healthy debate while providing grist for extremists. Many people ask: “Who is listening to our concerns?”

And it is easy to see why they are concerned. The British people are not racist. They know the benefits that migration has brought to our country down the centuries. But they see society changing before their eyes, like a film that has been speeded up. For example, 25 per cent of UK births are to women born abroad. There are at present 1,338 schools where at least 51 per cent of pupils do not have English as their first language. At a third of schools in Leicester and Blackburn, the majority of pupils do not have English as their first language.

Behind these facts is an unprecedented turnover of population. Last year alone about 600,000 people arrived in the UK while 400,000 left. With a turnover of a million people in one year, no wonder many people sense that the glue that binds our society together is weakening. It takes time for people of different cultures to get accustomed to each others' ways and, regrettably, not all newcomers are committed to integration. Some are not even sure about the democratic values that are the very foundation of our society. It Isn’t Racist to Want a Cap on Immigration >>> By Lord Carey of Clifton | September 10, 2008

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback – USA)
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Hardcover – USA)

Archbishop Under Pressure to Quit
BBC: The Archbishop of Canterbury continues to face calls for his resignation despite attempts to defuse the row over his Islamic Sharia law comments.

Dr Rowan Williams has been condemned from inside and outside his church for saying the adoption of parts of the law was "unavoidable" in Britain.

At least two General Synod members have called for him to quit and he has been heckled as he left a church service.

But supporters say his comments have been misinterpreted.

The archbishop is said to be shocked and hurt by the hostility his comments have provoked, and on his website he said he "certainly did not call for its introduction as some kind of parallel jurisdiction to the civil law".

However the criticism mounted as his predecessor Lord George Carey accused Dr Williams of overstating the case for accommodating Islamic legal codes. ’Brilliant scholar’ >>>

WATCH BBC VIDEO:
Archbishop Faces Calls to Quit

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