Hate and Fear

The vicar of an Anglo-Catholic church has received a threatening phone call warning him of violence if his parish goes over to Rome – and his noticeboard has been defaced with the words “C of E No Pope” daubed across it in white paint.

Fr David Waller of St Saviour’s, Walthamstow, discovered the vandalism on Sunday morning as he prepared for Mass. Then he found the a message waiting for him on his answering machine threatening him with physical violence. But, when I spoke to him a few minutes ago, he didn’t sound remotely intimidated. “The message was distorted – it sounded drunken and I don’t want to make too much of it,” he said.

St Saviour’s is a Forward in Faith parish and, although no decision has been made, Fr Waller is very encouraged by the Pope’s offer of a Personal Ordinariate. “The key players in the parish, including the churchwardens, are completely disillusioned with the Church of England and see the Ordinariate as the solution. I can’t speak for all the silent folk in the pews, but a significant number of them are Eastern European Roman Catholics, so I don’t think it would be a problem for them.”

Fr Waller sounds like a terrific priest: he and his parishioners would be welcome arrivals in the Catholic Church. It really does sound as if the only big obstacle to corporate reunion is an arrangement whereby an Ordinariate community (presumably with Fr Waller still as parish priest) could carry on using the church. We shall see.

But this threatening incident has upset the parish, of course – and also other priests thinking of taking the same route. Here’s a quote from the excellent blog of Fr Ed Tomlinson, a leading Anglo-Catholic:

Pray today then for our common future amd spare a thought for Anglo-Catholics who cannot accept the ordination of women. It really does feel horrid being in the Church of England currently. Father Waller’s board expresses what many of us are starting to fear – that we are actually hated within our own family, who have no real desire to help us, but will seek to hurt us if we stay and hurt us if we go. Pray God that this fear is entirely unfounded.

(from Damian Thompson blog)