RECTOR'S NEWS
On Tuesday October 20th
there was an amazing press conference in London. The Archishops of Canterbury
(C of E) & Westminster (RC) released a joint statement, welcoming an
announcement from the Vatican that day of a canonical structure for ex-Anglicans
to move into communion with Rome .
To put it simply, since
the ordination of women in the Episcopal Church over 30 years ago, many
Anglicans have converted to the Roman Catholic Church. This flow has increased
considerably in recent years, as our Anglican Communion has become more
divided. Conversion is always individual & involves re-confirmation, &
re-ordination in the case of clergy. A further development is that here in the
USA there are some RC parishes that consist of former Anglicans using a liturgy
borrowing from the BCP.
This new development
envisages Anglicans having their own personal ordinariate - a church
structure of ex-Anglicans, much like the military vicariates & Eastern Rite
catholics. This is a bold and generous move by Pope Benedict to reach out to
Anglo-catholics. It seems almost too good to be true! The mechanics have yet to
be enunciated fully. It is too early for me to make any definite comment - but
it could be a wonderful way for those of us who are Anglo-catholics to fulfill
our beliefs & hopes - and Christ's desire "that they all may be
one".
In due course we may well
see large groups of Anglocatholics in England and elsewhere moving with their bishops & clergy to
Rome. In the meantime our response must be, in the words of the BCP, "to
read, mark, learn and inwardly digest", and in the words of scripture, to
watch and pray!
FR TONY NOBLE