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©2001 The Society of
Archbishop Justus, Ltd

 
Anglicans Online offers prayers for everyone involved in the terrorist tragedies of 11 September 2001: to the victims and their families and loved ones, and to the families of those whose lives felt so desperate as to feel the need to do this.

Hallo again to all.

After a northern-hemisphere summer relatively free of substantive Anglican news, today we have one or perhaps two important stories. If you read nothing else this week, you must read about the Hurd report. If you have stamina and good eyes, you can even read the report itself. It's all in our News Centre.

The Hurd report was commissioned by the Archbishop of Canterbury as a study of the role of his office in the modern church and in modern Britain. It is not a review of the man currently holding the office, but rather a review of the office itself. The same day that the Hurd report was released, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Westminster, gave a speech to Britain's National Conference of Priests in which he said that Christianity was 'almost vanquished' in his country.

Fan at a North American hockey matchThe juxtaposition of these two stories is fascinating: one story suggests that Christianity no longer matters to Britain and the other that the Anglican leader in Britain is so busy doing his job that he needs help. But what, asks the Hurd report, is his job? Of what or whom is he the leader? Anglicans Online's own Simon Sarmiento has written a commentary on this, as have Andrew Brown and Paul Handley.

Whilst the Hurd report is positioned as if it is of international import, we note that there is virtually no reaction to it outside Britain. It's as if Britain no longer needs Christian leaders—true to Cardinal Murphy-O'Connor's word—so those leaders are rewriting their CV's to be more international. We wonder how many Anglicans outside Britain think that the Archbishop of Canterbury is a quidditch player for Slytherin.

Whether or not there is such a thing as the President of the Anglican Communion, Anglicans Online, since our beginning, has treated the world as one big Anglican place. So every week we are pleased to tell you about new or improved web sites from its various corners. In New This Week you'll find parishes in Australia, Canada, England, New Zealand, Scotland, and the USA, a new cathedral in Canada, and various other goodies from the width and breadth of the Anglican world.

See you next week.

Cynthia McFarland's signature
Brian Reid's signature
Cynthia McFarland
cmcf@anglicansonline.org
Brian Reid
reid@anglicansonline.org

Last updated: 9 September 2001
URL: http://anglicansonline.org/