Personal Ordinariates For Anglicans Entering The Catholic Church

[Resurrexi]

[quote name='OraProMe' date='21 October 2009 - 06:03 PM' timestamp='1256166194' post='1989253']
I don't want to seem harsh but if these are real concerns for these people then do they really believe that the Catholic Church is the sole Church of Christ? If not well...that needs to be changed before they're accepted into the Church.
[/quote]

I completely agree.

[cappie]

The Anglican Archbishop of Melbourne Philip Freier says it would be regrettable if some of the church's clergy joined the Catholic Church, while Traditional Anglican Communion leader Archbishop John Hepworth, says he expects many Australian Anglo-Catholics to leave.
ABC reports Archbishop Freier saying he estimates up to 30 Melbourne clergy consider themselves to be Anglo-Catholics, and "if people have a decision on conscience, I'd want to respect that because I think that we're fortunate to live in a society where our religious beliefs are a matter of principle and conscience."

Archbishop Hepworth said disagreement over female priesthood is one reason Anglicans are split.

"We simply say that priesthood is reserved for males and we say that in conjunction with the world's Catholic Church and the Churches of the East," he said.

The Australian Catholic Bishops Conference Chair of the Bishops Commission for Ecumenism and Interreligious Relations, Bishop Michael Putney, said in a separate statement on Wednesday that the Vatican announcement followed petitions received over a four or five year period from different Anglican groups.

"There has always been a practice of receiving into full communion individual Anglicans through the centuries, but this new provision will make it possible for groups or communities to enter full communion and remain together," said Bishop Putney.

The Age newspaper cited Anglo-Catholic bishops of the mainstream Anglican Church, Ross Davies of the Murray and Michael Hough of Ballarat, saying that many Australian Anglicans would find the Pope's offer attractive.

Bishop Davies reportedly called it the most significant decision about the two churches since the 16th century Reformation.

"It's really radical," he said. "I'm shocked and pleased. It will allow Anglo-Catholics a way to leave with dignity, and the Anglican Church can get on with its real fight between evangelicals and liberals."

He, however, doesn't expect "a great stampede". The report said that Bishop Hough, who was a Catholic priest before becoming Anglican, would remain Anglican.

Other Melbourne Anglo-Catholic priests said they would have to see the details before deciding what they would do.

Kooyong priest Christopher Seton said he and many others would be strongly tempted.

"Evangelical and liberal Anglicans treat us as a dotty old aunt, locked up in the attic and forgotten while they wait for us to die," he said in The Age.

"This is a moment of grace, a chance to put things right for holy Christians who have had their faith broken and lives wrecked by the betrayal of the faith in this country."

[url="http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/10/22/2720990.htm?site=melbourne"]http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/10/22/2720990.htm?site=melbourne[/url]

[url="http://www.theage.com.au/national/anglocatholics-rejoice-as-pope-offers-return-to-fold-20091021-h90t.html?autostart=1"]http://www.theage.com.au/national/anglocatholics-rejoice-as-pope-offers-return-to-fold-20091021-h90t.html?autostart=1[/url]

[cappie]

Australian Bishops Conference


Media Release

October 21, 2009

Anglicans to be welcomed into the Catholic Church:
Response by Bishop Michael Putney

Anglican groups which have been petitioning Rome to enter into full communion with the Catholic Church will be able to do so, following an announcement by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

Bishop Michael Putney, Chair of the Bishops Commission for Ecumenism and Interreligious Relations of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference said the announcement made by the CDF on October 20 will allow for the establishment of Personal Ordinariates for Anglicans wishing to enter the Catholic Church.

“These Anglican groups will be able to come into full communion with the Catholic Church, while still retaining much of their Anglican ethos, liturgy and spirituality, and their pastoral practice,” he said.

Bishop Putney said that this was not an initiative which had been taken by the Catholic Church, but was rather responding to petitions which had been received over a four or five year period from different Anglican groups.

“There has always been a practice of receiving into full communion individual Anglicans through the centuries, but this new provision will make it possible for groups or communities to enter full communion and remain together,” said Bishop Putney.

“At the same time, this in no way changes the ecumenical commitment of the Catholic Church which will continue its dialogue and collaboration with the larger Anglican Communion with unabated enthusiasm.”

Whether there are sufficient Anglicans in Australia who would seek to be members of a “Personal Ordinariate” remains to be seen, he said. Any decision about what will happen in Australia belongs entirely to the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, which would act in agreement with decisions of the Holy See.


For media enquiries, please contact Beth Doherty on 0407 081 256 or the office of Most Rev. Bishop Michael Putney on (07) 4726 3202.

[cappie]

Media Coverage of Anglo-Catholic Move Gets Ugly
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Posted by Tim Drake

Thursday, October 22, 2009 10:00 AM

Well, the media mantra about the Vatican’s welcome to Anglicans has begun, and the anti-Catholicism is about as ugly as it gets.

Venues such as National Public Radio, the London Times, and the Kansas City Star describe the Church as “poaching.” USA Today says the Church is “rustling.” Other media outlets used the term “luring.” Some question whether the move was a “hostile takeover.” And London Times’ Columnist Libby Purves says that “converts may choke on the raw meat of Catholicism.”

Mainstream newspapers such as the New York Times and Washington Post have used the word “bid.” The Boston Globe uses both the words “lure” and “bid.”

No matter how you look at it, they’re all unsavory terms used by the secular media to describe the Church’s actions.

Even some Catholic commentators have taken to calling the move “sheep-stealing,” saying that there’s an unwritten rule that the Church doesn’t proselytize other Christians.

Since when did the Catholic Church cease to be an evangelizing Church, bringing the Gospel to all peoples?

At first, we might be puzzled by such reactions. Yet, it’s not so surprising when you think of the repercussions of the Church’s actions - potentially hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of Anglicans pouring into the Church from the U.S., Africa, and elsewhere. In the eyes of many, the Catholic Church is seen as the “enemy,” - the great authoritarian, patriarchal, fraternal “beast.”

While the media would like to see the Church as predator and the Anglicans as prey, there’s nothing of the sort here. In fact, the move, which has taken years to happen, occurred only because such a large number of Anglicans petitioned the Vatican to find a way to make it happen.

“This is a response to overtures that had already been made – it’s not as if the Catholic Church had gone ‘poaching’ or ‘fishing’ as some media may have claimed,” said Father Robert Imbelli, associate professor of theology at Boston College. “The Apostolic Constitution has not yet been issued and that will be the key document. It will set the parameters for the reception. It sounds as if it represents an accommodation to the Anglican tradition, which reflects the appreciation of the richness of that tradition. It has been the ecumenical discussions that have led to this new appreciation.”

The Anglican Church, by comparison, has gone the way of the world. In many ways, they’ve ceased to be counter-cultural or a “sign of contradiction.” In that sense, they have a good friend in the media. They’ve jumped into the same water and are floating downstream together.

One of the few things standing against that cultural current is the Catholic Church.

“A dead thing can go with the stream, but only a living thing can go against it,” the great British journalist and convert G.K. Chesterton used to say.

Contrary to the media reports, the Catholic Church isn’t poaching, luring, bidding, stealing, or rustling. The Catholic Church is preaching the Gospel Truth, much as it has done for the past 2,000 years.

The Truth, you see, isn’t a steel trap, with unrelenting teeth. No, the Truth is a freedom the likes of which the world has never known. And the Truth always attracts.

Christ didn’t poach or lure his followers. He didn’t force them to follow. He respected their freedom. Jesus Christ spoke the Truth clearly and without apology, and his disciples were attracted by that. That’s a Truth that many Anglicans have found attractive as well.

Permalink [url="http://www.ncregister.com/daily/media_coverage_of_anglo-catholic_move_gets_ugly/#When:14:00:26Z"]http://www.ncregister.com/daily/media_coverage_of_anglo-catholic_move_gets_ugly/#When:14:00:26Z[/url]

[N/A Gone]

I have a very dear friend who is an incredibly over-educated Anglo-Catholic with liberal political leanings. He linked me to a couple articles.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/oct/20/roman-catholic-church-receives-anglicans

http://www.jaredcramer.com/?p=1111

http://www.affirmingcatholicism.org.uk/pages/default.asp?sId=0

The problem is liberal Anglo-Catholics would need to see some provision made for Women priests/bishops, and full acceptance of LGBT people. Rowan Williams is a moderate to liberal Anglo-catholic. I have discussed these issues exhaustively with him and I fear they are not going to be resolved.

[four_waters]

Wonderful news!

[jkaands]

[quote name='Veridicus' date='20 October 2009 - 04:49 PM' timestamp='1256075399' post='1988592']
Not to be a buzzkill, and I won't pretend to be at all versed on this...but isn't the Archbishop of Canterbury rather liberal? Despite great promise, it seems there could be danger in opening the doors to people/clergy of less than orthodox perspectives. Fill me in.
[/quote]

Rowan isn't liberal. He is very uncomfortable with the gay bishop Robinson and has gone so far as to talk about a 'second tier' membership in the Anglican Communion for the Episcopal Church of the US--trying to avoid the word 'schism'. The pope's move caught him and other Anglican prelates flat-footed, and Rowan could only be civil in his replies.

I think that this move, while gaining some disaffected Anglicans, is going to backfire, as it now opens a very accessible way to become a married Roman Catholic priest.

[Vincent Vega]

[quote name='Revprodeji' date='23 October 2009 - 02:59 AM' timestamp='1256281148' post='1990157']
I have a very dear friend who is an incredibly over-educated Anglo-Catholic with liberal political leanings. He linked me to a couple articles.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/oct/20/roman-catholic-church-receives-anglicans

http://www.jaredcramer.com/?p=1111

http://www.affirmingcatholicism.org.uk/pages/default.asp?sId=0

The problem is liberal Anglo-Catholics would need to see some provision made for Women priests/bishops, and full acceptance of LGBT people. Rowan Williams is a moderate to liberal Anglo-catholic. I have discussed these issues exhaustively with him and I fear they are not going to be resolved.
[/quote]
Are you sure that he's not just a regular anglican? That's what Williams is. The Anglo-Catholic communion is quite conservative - pro-life, pro-family, anti-women ordinands, etc. That's why the Anglo-Catholics split from the Anglican Communion.

[Nihil Obstat]

[quote name='jkaands' date='23 October 2009 - 10:59 AM' timestamp='1256313565' post='1990262']
Rowan isn't liberal. He is very uncomfortable with the gay bishop Robinson and has gone so far as to talk about a 'second tier' membership in the Anglican Communion for the Episcopal Church of the US--trying to avoid the word 'schism'. The pope's move caught him and other Anglican prelates flat-footed, and Rowan could only be civil in his replies.

I think that this move, while gaining some disaffected Anglicans, is going to backfire, as it now opens a very accessible way to become a married Roman Catholic priest.
[/quote]
I don't know... that's one thing that might happen. I get the impression though, that this is as much of a one time thing as the Vatican can manage. i.e. married priests will only be allowed if they're traditionalist Anglicans coming back into communion. Seems like a particular solution to an uncommon situation, no?

[jkaands]

This from the NCR, not an op-ed piece, but which includes reports from Anglican breakaway leaders including Duncan, who took his diocese with him from ECUSA, and is now head of the Anglican Church of NA, and Ikers, Anglican bishop of Fort Worth who took [i]his[/i] diocese away, also a report from a Canadian bishop...

in a nutshell, no stampede.

http://ncronline.org/news/vatican/vatican-welcomes-anglicans-react-story-no-2

[jeffpugh]

[quote name='USAirwaysIHS' date='21 October 2009 - 07:42 PM' timestamp='1256168537' post='1989277']
Sent an email to the rector of that church last night. Here is our conversation.


His response:



It echoes Fr. Cappie's post quite interestingly.
[/quote]
You. Are. My. Hero.



On the other hand...
Rowan Williams an Anglo Catholic...?
You sure you got that right, Revprodeji?

[Vincent Vega]

[quote name='Sacred Music Man' date='23 October 2009 - 06:31 PM' timestamp='1256337070' post='1990390']
You. Are. My. Hero.
[/quote]

I'd get my money back if I were you!

His blog post is interesting, though - check it out. It gives even more insight into their position.

Edited October 24, 2009 by USAirwaysIHS

[cappie]

[quote name='Sacred Music Man' date='24 October 2009 - 08:31 AM' timestamp='1256337070' post='1990390']



On the other hand...
Rowan Williams an Anglo Catholic...?
You sure you got that right, Revprodeji?
[/quote]

The 27th of February 2003 AD, Rowan Williams becomes 104th Archbishop of Canterbury

Rowan Williams, previously Bishop of Monmouth and Archbishop of Wales, was announced as George Carey’s successor as Archbishop of Canterbury and thus spiritual head of the Church of England, on December 2 2002, and enthroned on February 27 2003. In so doing he became the 104th holder of that office, and the first Welshman (he was born in Swansea, his first language Welsh).
Although his appointment followed the usual arcane process of the established church Dr Williams had been a very strongly tipped candidate for the post, though as his background was primarily academic rather than pastoral it was not without criticism. And although an Anglo-Catholic Dr Williams had shown himself relatively liberal as regards the question of homosexuality and the church, though contrastingly of the pro-life tendency.

[N/A Gone]

So I did get that right?

[cappie]

[cmotherofpirl]

Here is a good blog to keep your eye on: http://themcj.com/

[Nihil Obstat]

[quote] It feels something like coming home to find that the burglar has left a note on the coffee table complimenting us on our decor.[/quote]

I love that!