Sir, —
Thank you for another wonderful article by Dr Scott Golden in the September edition of the Gazette. What wisdom! What grace! What an inspiring vision of Church! Very different to the vision of Church espoused by the Society of St Pius X described on page 16 of the same edition. The SSPX wants an exclusive, dogmatic church admitting only those who espouse their vision of what the Roman Catholic Church was — or what they think it was — before Vatican II and the teaching of recent Popes.
Dr Golden’s reference to The Reverend Canon Ginnie Kennerley reminded me that I was once against the ordination of women — that is, until I came to Northern Ireland and met women who had been ordained, notably The Reverend Kathleen Young (now Brown) and The Reverend Irene Templeton, the first two women to be ordained priest in the Church of Ireland, as well as ordained women in the Methodist and Presbyterian Churches. That completely changed my thinking about the ordination of women, because I saw before my very eyes the work of the Holy Spirit.
Dr Golden quoted the harsh, judgemental utterances of the Bishop of Down and Dromore regarding the Pride Service in Christ Church Cathedral last year.
It makes me wonder what effect it may have had on The Right Reverend David McClay if he had actually attended the Service instead of condemning it from a distance and from his own prejudices. Would he have recognised the Holy Spirit? would he have allowed himself to recognise the Holy Spirit? One hopes he would have.
May the Holy Spirit lead us all into the vision of Church so eloquently described by Dr Scott Golden.
Yours, etc.,
The Reverend Paul Symonds (Belfast)
