The decision of the Charity Commissioners (see above) concerning the grant made by CBS to the Ordinariate has resulted in the Ordinariate repaying the £1million which was given as a grant, together with the accrued interest. The speed with which this has happened is to be commended. It is salient that a complete new board of trustees and a new Superior-General have now been appointed. To view the details click here.
It is to be hoped that this matter which has caused so much controversy can now be laid to rest.
This is excellent news. I look forward to hearing, very soon, about the new initiatives from the CBS to foster devotion to the Blessed Sacrament. Which initiatives, I anticipate, will be greatly enhanced by the return of this bequest.
ReplyDeleteWow. Just how many people are there in this organisation? And what initiatives would Mr Holdsworth like to see remembering that all of which CBS tries to foster is contrary to the Anglican Church "teaching" Just when was the last time he attended any CBS do and how many were present? Like the Catholic wing it is in its dying days.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure, Mr Anonymous, that we will find out in due course how the CBS intends to put the money to good use. I have every confidence that they are making bold, even, dare I say, innovative plans.
DeleteIt would behove us to wait and see, no?
Since you were one of the most vociferous critics of this donation, you must be very pleased. I'm surprised it hasn't put you off joining the Ordinariate since your sensibilities were so offended by this act of charity.
ReplyDeleteMy opposition was to the way the decision was taken. I seemed to me that a decision of this nature should not have been taken by Trustees who had already left the Cof E to become ordinariate priests also having a financial interest in the decision It seems this view was shared by the Charity Commissioners. As I have said many times, I have no objection to CBS making a grant to the Ordinariate and pehaps that could now happen. However I did object to 50% of the total funds being given away without any consultation of the CBS membership (My wife and I are both Life Members).
DeleteBut your intervention and others has stopped any such payment. The Commission in their ruling about ecclesiology ( and do you think they are competent to make ugh a ruling) has ruled and that i fear is down to you and the rest of those who complained. It's a bit difficult for you to back pedal now as the payment of such items has been ruled outside the CBS rules. If the Ordinariate does not have any Anglicanism about it then why did Benedict set it up and why have people around the world joined it. Seems you want both you cake and to eat it! Make up your mind
ReplyDeleteFirst, and foremost, as a life member of CBS I have a perfect right to express an opinion which I did, and, what's more, I have always said that I think a grant could be made to the Ordinariate -notice I said a grant - and not 50% of the total assets. Also, I did not complain to the Charity Commissioners, but to the then Superior-General both in writing and personally at a meeting he attended of the local CBS Chapter. If you have read my blog in the past you will see that I am not "back pedaling" but maintaining a position I have taken right from the start of this matter.
DeleteAs a lifer, can you ascertain who paid for Fr Philpott's legal representation. It would appear that it wasn't CBS. Surely you have a right to know and share with the rest of us. It might change the dynamics if we found it was the established church footing the bill. The founders and most members would be horrified if there had been interference especially remembering the history of the CBS
DeleteI have no idea neither am I aware that he had any such representation nor do I think either you, or I or anybody else have "the right to know"
DeleteI do know that he had representation, Just ask the question and then make your mind up. It will surprise you (or maybe not)
DeleteI suggest you ask him; I most certainly won't
DeleteAh, so was it the CofE HQ that paid for the legal challenge of one of the Trustees appointment after the Ordinariate grant was made? That would make sense. Liberal CofE works via an agent provocateur to get the money back. Liberal CofE pushes to get lady bishops, changes the make up of CBS (the richest of the grant awarding charities) so that it can now get its hands on the cash. And all this happens as that Trustee gets awarded an MBE from the establishment. I wonder who nominated him for the gong? Co-incidence? I think not. He’s been bowled a googly, and he’s fallen for it.
DeleteWhat a silly comment
DeleteCalm down, Anonymous. The donation to the Ordinariate was made with unseemly haste and as we now know, unlawfully. If, in time, Ordinariate groups are able to show that they have retained their Anglican identity within the Roman Catholic Church, there is no reason why grant applications should not be given serious consideration.
ReplyDeleteI guess you know that the CBS has voted to exclude Ordinariate people. Wonderful eh! Just how does Radical feel about that and how possibly a grant could be given. Comments please!
ReplyDeleteFollowing the Charities Commissioners’ ruling it is difficult to see how the CBS Trustees can ever make another grant to any other body because as Anglo-Catholics making grants to Anglo-Catholic causes/institutions they will also have ‘a personal interest in the decision.’ If the Ordinariate grant had to be returned then what about all those grants to the Shrine at Walsingham and the Caister Conferences? They were made by the Trustees to organisations and activities which were of benefit to many people including the Trustees. Those former Trustees went to Walsingham and used the garden altar and tabernacle funded by CBS and also went to the Caister conference likewise funded by CBS, so they have directly benefitted from grants they have personally made. All those monies must now be returned by Walsingham and Caister to CBS.
ReplyDeleteFurthermore, once the General Synod has allowed the ordination of women bishops, a measure which will have to pass through Parliament because the CofE is the established church, human rights and equality law comes into play and so CBS will not be able restrict its clerical membership to only male priests. Lady priests and bishops will be able to join and all that cash amassed for Anglo-Catholic causes will be open to plundering by the Affirming ‘Catholics’. Farewell CBS – you’ve had your chance, and you’ve blown it.
Spot on, Peter. The CBS have opened Pandora's Box and God help them from now on.
DeleteI find it amusing that a society that claims to be Anglo-Catholic should turn on it's own and resort to that tenet of belief the TEC in American favours - the courts of law. Who needs God when you've got the legal profession.
Peter: The former trustees personal (financial) interest in the £1million donation to the Ordinariate was quite different: they stood potentially to benefit personally in respect of assistance with stipends and accommodation costs for example.
ReplyDeleteIf it is true that Roman Catholics are now banned from CBS membership,Ordinariate groups cannot benefit from CBS grants.
I hope the new trustees will put the £2million to good use with some serious grant-making - it's an awful lot of money to sit on and I don't suppose the CBS' overheads amount to much - unless they continue to instruct expensive lawyers, that is.
Didn't the Act of Supremacy 1534 and the Ecclesiastical Licences Act (the 'Peter's Pence Act') 1535 put an end to this sort of nonsense ?
ReplyDeleteAnonymous. For those of us who are not lawyers what exactly do you mean?
ReplyDeleteThe more I learn about the way CBS has been run the more I feel that the whole organisation has lost its way and should be closed down. For decades the promotion of Roman Catholic liturgy has been de rigueur, even to the extent of praying for ‘Benedict our Pope’ when celebrating Mass as Anglicans. The talk was always of the hope and vision of unity with the Holy See, which became even more pertinent as the move towards lady bishops became inevitable. Then ‘out of the blue’ Pope Benedict takes the initiative and sets up the Ordinariate. Surely CBS, SSC and Forward in Faith would lead the charge and support the Ordinariate? But all this was too much of a reality check for many folk. Gone were the days of ‘talking the talk’ they now had the opportunity of ‘doing the walk’. When it came to actually fulfilling all those so-called Catholic intentions there came a straight choice: the comfort and security of remaining an Anglican playing at the externals of being a Catholic (i.e. Catholic ritual but taking a CofE salary and enjoying a liberal private life – live in boy-friend, married to a divorcee, etc.) or taking a massive risk and leap of faith and joining the Ordinariate.
ReplyDeleteEven if they wish to give the appearance of being mainstream Anglo-Catholics the lifestyle choices of some of the Officers-General now leading CBS essentially defines them to be Affirming Catholics.
I fear Peter you have got this right. It's playing at being a Catholic. Why mimic when you have been given the means of doing it properly. The lines in the sand are being constantly shifted and a code of practice has effectively been accepted. So much for the new trustees who trumpeted that a code of practice will not do. Its a shame and disgrace
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ReplyDeleteI and many others prefer the Anglican form of Catholicism. There is nothing you grumpy people can do about it so for goodness sake, shut up! We will never join the Ordinariate nor become Roman Catholics by any other route. We love the Church of England so please stop agonizing over us. Why are you so concerned about Anglo-Catholics, anyway? Why do we matter so much to you? Is it because you are members of the Ordinariate and are regreting your decision, or what?
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