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Could Forward in Faith International Split?
By David W. Virtue
www.virtueonline.org
November 2, 2010
Forward in Faith-UK could find itself splitting off from Forward in Faith International if Fulham Bishop John Broadhurst has his way.
In a recent statement in which he announced he is converting to Rome, Broadhurst said he intends to resign by the end of the year and join the Ordinariate. He also said he is remaining chairman of Forward in Faith, the largest umbrella group for Anglo-Catholics in the Church of England.
He says he intends to keep control of FIF and take it with him into the Ordinariate.
He says that Forward in Faith is "not part of the Church of England".
When VOL made inquiries from a source in London as to whether he could do that, we got a reply saying that FiF-UK rewrote their Constitution (lodged with the Charity Commission) in 2007 so Broadhurst may have grounds for thinking he can take FiF and its funds and organization to Rome.
However, it is by no means certain that he can do that. Dr. Michael Howell, Executive Director of FiF North America told VOL, "Be assured that FiF is still an ANGLO-Catholic organization. The ordinariate was a prime topic of discussion at the recent FiF UK Assembly but the fact remains that many in the FiF(UK) membership have no intention of going to Rome and made that expressly clear during the sessions.
"The FiF-UK Council will meet at some point with Bishop Broadhurst to discuss his role as Chairman. Whatever happens, FiF-UK will continue to be an Anglican organization, even when or if some of its members or officers decide to go to Rome," said Howell.
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