بريطانيا: قلق كنائسي لزيادة المسلمين على النصارى ببعض المناطق سبعة أضعاف

أثارت زيادة أعداد المسلمين ببعض مناطق "بريطانيا" سبعة أضعاف قلق أبرشية "إنجلترا" التاريخية; حيث وصلت نسبة المسلمين بمحيط إبراشية "برادفورد" 70%, في حين يشكل الإنجيليون 10%.

ولمواجهة هذه الحقيقة طالبت لجنة كنيسة "إنجلترا" بحل أبرشية "برادفورد", وتوحدها مع أبرشيات "ريبو" و"ليدز"و "ويكفيلد", لعمل منظمة كنسية واحدة.

وقد أشارت صحيفة "التليجراف" البريطانية إلى أنه إذا ما وافق مجمع كنيسة "إنجلترا" العام على تلك الخطوة فسيتم توفير كثير من أموال الكنيسة التي تُمنح كرواتب للقساوسة المتفرغين بعدما يتم خفض أعدادهم.

الخبر من مصدره الأصلي:

Church cuts bishops where Muslims outnumber Christians by seven to one

A historic Church of England diocese where Muslims now outnumber Christians in many areas is to be scrapped under plans announced yesterday.

In some parishes in the Diocese of Bradford, more than 70% of residents are Muslims, while just 10% are Anglicans.

A Church of England commission has now recommended that Bradford should be merged with the dioceses of Ripon and Leeds, and Wakefield to form one larger organisation.

If approved by the General Synod of the Church of England, the “radical and realistic” move would ultimately save the church money in salaries by cutting back on the number of full diocesan bishops in the area.

Lower-paid area bishops would be appointed for Bradford, Huddersfield, Leeds, Ripon and Wakefield under the plan.

The Church report said the move would bring bishops “closer in every sense” to their local parish priests. The new arrangements would be more “efficient” for local churchgoers and faith schools, the commission said.

The proposals came after the Church reportedly had £1 billion wiped off its assets last year.

Dr Priscilla Chadwick, who chaired the review, said the plan was “mission-led and not finance-driven” although she acknowledged that “financial considerations cannot be ignored”.

The Diocese of Bradford was founded in 1919 and it was the Bishop of Bradford, the Rt Rev Alfred Blunt, who inadvertently exposed the abdication crisis of Edward VIII in 1936.