Any view given by any one person is bound to invoke the irritation of at least one other person. In our community we know that the opinion one holds is but a snapshot of how one sees a particular subject at that moment in time. Nothing precludes a change of opinion in the future. To the contrary, one is even required to change one’s point of view when new knowledge and experience comes to light. Anything less would be a revocation of responsibility. Freedom of thought and the freedom to change one’s view can never be seen as an excuse to abrogate one’s responsibility.

Knowing that we are responsible for everything we do, feel or think, several authors are still prepared to submit for publication a treatise of their thoughts, as they now stand, on a particular matter, knowing beforehand that it may offend some, even though no offence at all is intended.

Our Church exists by the grace of the Sacraments we provide. The jewel of our ceremonial work and indeed the spindle of our Liturgy lies in the Holy Eucharist. Its efficacy is of paramount importance. The Holy Eucharist has survived, intact, excepting some very minor adjustments, the period that we have been its curators. It is not surprising that the issue of whether or not women could be ordained to the priesthood has been approached with the utmost of care. We no longer have seers in our Church who are able to ascertain if that what was instituted at the inception of our Church is still valid today, nor that the Sacraments retain their validity on altering the form by which they are administered.

In this issue we present four differing points of view on the matter. All of the views are flawed and must necessarily be so, as none of the authors would pretend to be perfect nor to be infallible. They are presented as a snapshot in time representing a spectrum of thought on the subject.

The remaining articles hardly require introduction as they speak for themselves. Also these are the views held by their respective authors and for which they are entirely responsible. We trust that the articles provided will stimulate you and that you enjoy reading them.

It has also been decided to change the times at which The Liberal Catholic appears, in order to spread the issues more evenly in the year. The Advent issue will in future be replaced by a Christmas issue, the Easter and St. Michael & All Angels issues remaining as they are.

I believe a confession is also appropriate at this moment in time. In the period since I was appointed as Executive Editor, the administration has been abysmal, to the degree that we still do not have an up-to-date subscription list. I can only apologise to all who have been on the receiving end of this mess. The past year we have worked hard at getting things up and running properly again. If you have not received all your issues, please do not keep quiet about it, but drop me a line so that we can rectify the matter.