"Open Episcopal" bishop's verbal tirade against Roman Catholic bishop over...Facebook!

Yeah you read it right.  It may loook and sound absurd but Archbishop of Westminster, Most Rev. Vincent Nichols, made valid arguments against the excessive use of the youth of the Internet.  Not too much parental guidance has left a lonely teenager to seek refuge behind the keyboard.

Here is the article about the absurdity of this bishop.

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In a hard hitting statement Bishop Jonathan Blake, who heads the Open Episcopal Church, [open with what?  open to tradition?  open to innovation?  openly gay?  what?] warned that there were far greater risks to relationships posed by the Roman Catholic church than there were from internet sites. [this sets the tone. watch out.]

The outspoken Rev Blake, the Bishop of Greater London, attack [he is attacking!] was in response to an interview in the Sunday Telegraph in which Archbishop Vincent Nichols said social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace encouraged teenagers to view friendship as a commodity and increased the risk of suicide. [Archbishop Nichols did not attack him.  But he retaliated!  Maybe he has some stocks with Facebook and MySpace, huh?]

Bishop Blake, who was criticised for blessing the civil wedding of the late television personality Jade Goody, said: "So the Archbishop of Westminster warns about the dangers of electronic isolation and relationships mediated through the keyboard. Of course there are dangers and wise parents and balanced adults will guard against them. [Oh really?  As if the Parental Guidance note in the TV works.  As if parents sit beside their teenage sons and daughters while they surf the net.  Oh really?]

"However, there are greater dangers to relationships perhaps in Roman Catholicism. I have counselled those heartbroken that a member of their family had been snatched from them into a closed order of Nuns, others sucked into the loneliness of the celibate priesthood, many more isolated into religious fanaticism, others damaged by the homophobia, authoritarianism and sexism enshrined in church policy." [You have been warned.  Family members snatched into a closed order of nuns!  WHAT?  The Cloistered Sisters have a Vocation Directress who SNATCH women into the cloisters!  Others sucked into loneliness of celibate priesthood?  Come on!  The doors of the monastery and presbytery are open.  No one is forcing your so-called lonely and kidnapped people to stay behind!  You said many more are isolated into religious fanaticism, others damaged by homophobia...enshrined in church policy.  Look who's talking.  Anglicanism has just redefined what the Bible and Natural Law states and you brand Catholicism "religious fanaticism"?  Yeah right.  More rubbish to expect.]

The Archbishop of Westminster had warned that relationships were already being weakened by the decline of face to face meetings and the telephone. "Facebook and MySpace might contribute towards communities but I'm wary about it," he said. "Among young people often a key factor in their committing suicide is the trauma of transient relationships." [I once worked as a call center agent.  My fellow workers sounded and looked so confident in the way they handle calls.  So I asked my fellow workers how would they react if they talk face to face, in English, to the one they are speaking to in the other end of the line.  "That is a different story," a co-employee said.  "I might get tongue-tied!"  "Why?" I asked.  "It's different when you see them in person!"  Precisely!  Face to face communication cannot be replaced by online chatting .  There are things you can do online, like online shopping and payment.  But online social activities can never replace face to face communication.]

But Bishop Blake, who left the Church of England in 1994 to become an "independent minister", [Wow!  He really is a loose cannon!  SOOO Independent.] said the church should encourage young people to join networking sites rather than try to put them off. [He did not say why it is better to join networking sites than having friends you can see, hear and touch.] He said: "Religious bigotry has fuelled the fragmentation of societies, [Being firm on what is right and what is wrong.  They call that bigotry.  Saying yes to abortion and hedonism, that is being politically correct and socially welcoming.  Yeah...right....] the increase in prejudice and reactionary thinking. Strange, because the Sacrament of the Mass is all about Holy Communication."  [And now the "independent minister" became an interim catechist.  Bah!]

"So when Facebook and other social networking sites allow people to communicate, to reconnect, to discover the thrill of friendships and to provide the resources to maintain them and explore them perhaps the church should be encouraging and supportive." ["Facebook and MySpace might contribute towards communities but I'm wary about it."  This was what Archbishop Nichols said but it should not be the first option towards having friends!  This is the whole point!]

Bishop Blake, from Gillingham, Kent, was ordained to the priesthood in 1982 and served in the Bradford and Rochester Dioceses. He specialises in baptisms and wedding blessings. [Wow!  They have those specializations? Not in Biblical Studies?  In Theology?  In Liturgy?  But in baptisms!  Maybe they have different rites of baptisms?] He joined forces [what's this?  the Super Friends?] two years ago with another bishop, Richard Palmer, to set up the Open Episcopal Church, [No wonder he is making so much noise.  He is with a splinter church trying to get media attention.  Well, he just got his sixty seconds of fame at the expense of Archbishop Nichols!] and was consecrated by him. They have since been joined by another bishop, Michael Wilson.

The church claims legitimacy and Apostolic succession through the Old Catholic Church, an organisation founded in England in 1908 that claims unbroken succession from England's pre-Reformation Church.