ANGLICAN BISHOPS

Hokitika Guardian, 9 October 1928, Page 4

ANGLICAN BISHOPS

ACCUSED BY DR. BARNES. • (United Press Association—By Electric Telegraph—Copyright'. LONDON, Oct. 8. “Bishops must net be law-break-ers,” declared Bishop Barnes (Bishop of Birmingham), when interviewed on the question of the Prayer Book. “I would prefer not to criticise, hut the situation now created is So grave that the end is likely to be disastrous. There still is a hope that the private remonstrances of men of weight will prevail. The Bishops are appointed by the Crown, to maintain sound doc trines and lawful order in the national church. The Bishops must not be law Ibreakers. The Revised Prayer Book was rejected by the House of Commons with general approval in the country. This, firstly, was‘ because the revised ibook permits the continuous reservation of the Sacrament, and secondly, because it sanctions an alternative service at Holy Communion. If the Bishops permit these they will the breaking the law and flouting the authority of Parliament. Moral authority to vestrain further lawlessness in church will then end. It would be the same as . the Judge of the High Court permitting theft up to ten poundf? and severely eonsurng theft of larger sums.

Bishop Barnes also declared that the Synod of the Church could no more empower the Bishops to set aside" the old Prayer Book than it could a right. to repudiate the Commandments. ' ; '■ Bishop Barnes says he Will moot strongly, urge that;' in the course .of private discussions, his Lambeth colleagues should drop the two contentious proposals, and re-submit the remainder to Parliament. The reply of the nation, he said, to any other course would be the disestablishment of the church. People did not wish to subsidise Catholic innovations, hut it would be preferable to the coursesuggested, which was an indefensible one. .. y The majority of his colleagues, added Bishop Bamies, had made a serious mistake in under-estimating the Protestant feeling of the country. It would be a worse mistake to challenge the regard for law and order which was one of the soundest instincts of the British race.