26th July 2005, 10:44 AM
Quote:quote:Originally posted by drpeterwardleThe ethical dilemma, as I see it, is whether we should be respecting the beliefs and religion of the buried people, or whether, as in Alfie's example, modern beliefs are forced on the dead. In the example, the burials, which would have been buried under a Catholic ritual, are treated as though they are part of the Church of England, something which would surely horrify these people were they aware of it. After all, from their perspective the CoE is an apostate body at best and might even be considered to be heretics because they do not recognise the authority of the Pope.
[quote]Originally posted by Alfie
I would ask everybody here not to make assumptions and assertions about an organisation that has and is doing much to protect historic buildings and archaeology.
As far as Alfie post goes I see no real ethical issue raised - assumming the procedures were followed.
Peter
Regarding your former statement, I would be grateful if you could provide examples of this. My own experience has been massively varied, ranging from the extremely helpful and enthusiastic cooperation of the church through to the outright obstructive and hostile. Does the CoE have a national policy of supporting archaeology and preserving historic buildings or is it all left at diocesan level? Does the national church provide the funding for all this good work or is it left to the individual parishes to find their own funding, hence all the church roof appeals? And is all this work just a result of the church's massive land-holdings resulting in them having to plough large amounts of money into archaeology and historic buildings or do they actively seek to fund the work over and above what is necessary?
Yours enquiringly,
Eggbasket
Eggy by name, eggy by nature