CHURCH OF ENGLAND.

Press, Volume LXI, Issue 18409, 16 June 1925, Page 9

CHURCH OF ENGLAND.

BISHOP SEES CAUSE FOR GRAVE ANXIETY.

(bi cable—pbbss ASBOciATjoK-^corraios^.) (AUSTEAUAS AtfD N.JS, CABLTS ASBIftWTIQN.)

(Received June 15th; 8.43 p.m,)

LONDON, June 15.

The Bishop of Birmingham (the Rt. Bov. E, W. Barnes) D.D., X>.bc.), preaching in Westminster Abbey, in a remarkable sermon on Catholicism and Christianity, said, the present state of the Church of England was causing grave anxiety. Anglp.CathoUcg usually belittled and deridfcd the value of the Reformation dpctrines which they explicitly repudiated in articles in which they openly taught' that this new Catholicism was essentially reactionary. The decline in the number and the quality of candidates for the Ministry was a serious problem. With, the grave shortage of clergy the, parochial system was breaking down. Differences within the Church were so aoute that in large cities the Churches were becoming congregational, not parochial. As the quality of the clergy declined their outlook wa£ becoming increasingr ly narrow. The best modern theological scholarship was ignored. An official committee put forward non-controver-sial proposals for the revision of the Prayerbook, but when the proposals reached tho clergy a desire to give a Catholic turn to the Prayerbook showed itself. »

"We stand at the cross-roads. We have seen enough recently ,of the situation within tho Church to be* gravely apprehensive.