UPDATE: Pro-abortion female Anglican ‘priest’ agrees to cancel talk at Catholic faith formation
This article was updated with new information on March 22.
(LifeSiteNews) — A female Anglican vicar who is a strong supporter of abortion is no longer scheduled to speak at a Catholic faith formation event after backlash.
Anglican “priest” Lizzi Green had been invited by Father Mark Skelton, the head of ongoing formation of clergy in the Catholic Diocese of Plymouth in the UK, to speak at a virtual Lenten faith formation event for laity on March 27. Aside from being an Anglican cleric, Green also holds a pro-abortion stance that is at odds with Catholic teaching.
The Catholic Church teaches that abortion is always gravely evil and a “most serious and dangerous crime” and that the right to life is “the first of the fundamental rights” and the “source of all other rights.”
The Church also teaches that it is impossible for women to validly receive the sacrament of holy orders, and that Anglicans and other “ecclesial communities derived from the Reformation” do not have valid holy orders because of broken apostolic succession, and therefore they do not confect a valid Eucharist either.
LifeSiteNews reached out to Fr. Skelton asking why he would invite an Anglican vicar who notably breaks from Catholic teaching to speak at a faith formation event.
In a Saturday email, Skelton stated that “in my conversation with Lizzi we decided it would be better to withdraw her presentation as it would end up becoming the story when in fact we were attempting to help in the reflection of the Pope’s challenge and encouragement for Jubilee and it had not been anything to do with Pro Life issues.”
Skelton had announced that Green would be speaking on “recognizing hope” over Zoom as part of a series of faith formation talks “reflecting on some of the Holy Father’s signs of hope in this time of jubilee,” according to Voice of the Family.
Green, having had two abortions herself, is a staunch supporter of abortion “rights.” She became militant in her support for abortion in 2022 in the wake of the overturning of Roe v. Wade being leaked to the media.
In a since-deleted tweet, Green claimed that God allowed her to kill her two unborn children.
“As a Christian, I think if we claim to follow a god of love it would be nice if we did love people and let them know they are safe and welcome to talk about issues that are so often hidden,” Green said.
In his email to LifeSiteNews, Skelton claimed he did not know about Green’s stance on abortion because “it is not a subject which I have ever questioned someone about, why would I? And also she was not speaking on anything concerning life issues or the protection of the unborn child so the question or discussion would never have arisen.”
The priest also said he is “opposed to abortion” but that Green’s “own horrendous experience of rape at a very young age and then a medical emergency at 20 weeks pregnancy had given her a perhaps more nuanced view than many in regard to the campaign in the US to abolish the right to abortion even in those circumstances which she had experienced.”
“… I still feel it should be possible to be respectful, fair and honest in our dealings with those with whom we may disagree. I respect Rev Lizzi Green as a woman of faith and of integrity and value her ministry and friendship,” he added.
In a 2022 BBC article, Green expressed horror at the prospect of her daughter not being allowed to abort her children.
“It is terrifying to me that my five-year-old daughter could have that choice taken away from her when she is older. I also want my 10-year-old son to understand about the implications.” Green said.
In the same article, Green suggested that pro-life Christians are “hate filled.”
“We need to work out how we talk about abortion, because we’re not going to win people over to the living, loving God by being so hate filled,” she said.
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