London, England, Feb 26, 2004 / 22:00 pm
Canon Edward Norman, the chancellor of York Minster Cathedral and a leading Anglican scholar, has announced that he is converting to Catholicism when he retires in May, calling it “a shaft of light before the sun sets,” reported the Daily Telegraph Feb. 24.
In his most recent book, “Anglican Difficulties: A New Syllabus of Errors”, Canon Norman offers sharp criticisms of the Church of England.
Though he argues that the book is actually not a criticism, he writes: "Every disagreement [at the General Synod]… proceeds by avoidance of principled debate. Ordinary moral cowardice is represented as wise judgment; equivocation in the construction of compromise formulae is second nature to leaders."
The ecclesiastical historian said leaving the Church of England and becoming a Catholic are independent. “There is a big hole at the centre of Anglicanism – its authority. I don't think it's a Church. It's more of a religious society,” he told the Daily Telegraph.
“Anglicanism is going to tip into the sea,” he predicted. “But it will all come out in the wash.”