The Henson Journals

[110]

Friday, June 29th, 1928.

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I drafted the memorandum which is inserted on p. 111, in the course of yesterday's discussion, and passed it to the Archbishop of Canterbury. His Grace wrote in pencil on it, that he agreed with it, asking to retain the memorandum, which I returned to him. He assured me that he would include in his address to the Conference a paragraph on which the Bishops should agree, & which he would declare to be their declaration. It is apparent to me that he shrinks from any decisive course: & this is natural enough, so long as he speaks solely for himself: but he must not compromise the Church of which he cannot in the nature of things retain the direction. The Archbishop of York told me last night that he had seen so much of his address as he had prepared, & that it was excellent. Unfortunately his Grace has an inveterate habit of adding qualifications to every apparently clear declaration, until the final impression left is entirely different from that originally made. It is this habit of diplomatic opportunism which is our principal danger at this juncture, when the Church's self–respect & public credit are really at stake.

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There are 4 salient features of the Situation which the Bishops must now face:–

1. The claim to spiritual authority implicit in the unquestionably legal claim of the House of Commons.

2. The impression made on the country by the apparent overriding of every organ of corporate self–expression which the Church of England possesses – Episcopate, the Convocations, the Church Assembly, Diocesan Conferences.

3. The distress & confusion of the Anglican conscience.

4. The indefensibleness of any law–breaking by the Bishops themselves.

Therefore we need 3 things:–

α. An immediate protest or declaration of principle.

β. an interim arrangement for the Church's discipline.

γ. a final revision of the Enabling Act.

The interim arrangement may be the following viz:–

That the Bishops do not regard as disloyal to the Church of England, those clergy who limit their departures from the Prayer Book of 1662 to the provisions of the Prayer Book of 1928

(or 1917), & will exercise their legal discretion to protect from persecution the clergy who do so limit their action.

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