The Anglican church\u2019s obsession with what it calls \u201csocial justice\u201d inevitably translates into making pious political pronouncements rather than actually doing anything for itself. This is largely because, having abandoned its spiritual heritage for trendy pop-culture causes, it has withered into impotence and can do little more than stand on the sidelines and whine.<\/p>\n
In keeping with its mealy-mouthed approach to everything, it can\u2019t actually bring itself to come down definitively on one side or the other of an issue, preferring instead to find an ersatz Hegelian no-man\u2019s land from which it can appear to be sympathetic to all and sundry<\/a>.<\/p>\n The result is not appeasement but universal derision. The latest example is the ACC-14\u00a0 pontification on the Middle East which has equally upset the left<\/a>:<\/p>\n Palestinian rights deserve Anglican action<\/strong><\/p>\n A obsession with even-handedness is stopping Anglicans taking a firm stand on Israel’s disregard for Palestinian rights.<\/p>\n At the 14th Anglican Consultative Council (ACC) meeting, held in Jamaica earlier this month, a resolution on the Middle East was passed, criticising the Israeli occupation. An original version of the resolution was originally submitted by the Anglican Peace and Justice Network (APJN), but as the language was felt by some to be too “strong”, a new resolution was put forward and adopted.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n And right<\/a>:<\/p>\n The Anglicans’ Ritualistic Denunciation<\/strong><\/p>\n Arab League pleas for peace were praised by the Anglicans, of course, while Israel was sternly instructed that it must \u201cend its occupation of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip,\u201d \u201cimmediately\u201d freeze all settlement activity in \u201cpreparation\u201d for a Palestinian state, remove the \u201cseparation barrier,\u201d end Palestinian home demolitions, and close all military checkpoints in the Palestinian territories.<\/p>\n And what did the Anglican elites demand that the Palestinians and their Arab patrons offer in return? Apparently nothing.<\/p>\n Compare all this Anglican fire against Israel with a nearly concurrent Anglican Consultative Committee resolution about Korea, whose regime in the North often makes the West Bank seem like Club Med. It urged Korean \u201creunification,\u201d commended Anglican relief for the \u201cstarving population in North Korea\u201d without explaining why they are starving, lamented that the \u201cpolitical situation\u201d in the Korean peninsula had \u201cworsened\u201d without explaining how, implored that \u201call countries\u201d \u201cdesist from confrontation,\u201d and urged a \u201cpermanent peace.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Is it any wonder, then, that when the Anglican Church makes one of its rare proclamations on spiritual matters, no-one listens.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Anglican church\u2019s obsession with what it calls \u201csocial justice\u201d inevitably translates into making pious political pronouncements rather than actually doing anything for itself. This is largely because, having abandoned its spiritual heritage for trendy pop-culture causes, it has withered … Continue reading \n