Our Church will NEVER be home to Clergy who are supporters of the Far-Right

The Catholic Episcopal Church is committed to addressing modern social issues such as Racial Justice, LGBTQIA+ Inclusion, Care for Refugees who are fleeing danger of many kinds, Environmental Stewardship, and Economic Inequality, among an ever-growing list.

We advocate for policies and practices that promote Justice, Peace, and the Well-Being of ALL individuals, especially those who find themselves excluded or on the edges of society.

We strongly oppose any form of Racism, or Social Exclusion and are somewhat troubled that our religion is being used as weapon against people of other Faith Communities.

Faced with the rapid growth of a Far-Right element in many countries, (which is financed by questionable sources), we have to raise the following question.......

Should we as a body, tolerate any of our serving Bishops or Priests who display fervent support for the Far-Right? .

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is abundantly clear

"I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me......

Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me." MATT 25:35-40

It is our belief that all our fellow churches should also address the same question as a matter of urgency.

I recently raised the subject with a priest, who was recently appointed Bishop-Elect of one church, sharing a post on Social Media which displayed one of his fellow ministers as an election candidate for a Far-Right UK Political Party.

His response was quite tepid, to say the least and he actually questioned my motives saying....

"It is not reasonable to judge an entire Church on the basis of one individual’s reported or perceived political views. That approach is, in itself, questionable.

My current understanding is that he is not a priest of the XXX Church."

Over the weekend, several ministers of the church reached out to me, having viewed my post.

They confirmed that he is a priest in one of their parishes and they are, in fact, concerned that this young man is not alone, but there are numerous among their colleaugues who share his beliefs.

One individual related to having witnessed many negative interactions between priests and one particular Bishop of their church, who happens to be a fervent supporter of the leadership of one of the largest Far-Right groups in the United Kingdom.

Many of their colleauges are well aware of this whole situation, but prefer to bury their heads in the sand.

I was told that they are afraid to raise their voices, but some are now actually questioning as to why they still remain members of this body.

I referred them to the words of the Gospel above and recommended that they look to their consciences.

As a church, we are happy to break bread with people of all backgrounds but must strongly refuse to give anyone a platform that will be the cause of hatred or division in society.