Roman Catholic Church Welcomes Anglicans, Oct 09
Pope Benedict XVI Offers Ordinariate to Church of England Priests
Oct 21, 2009
The announcement by Pope Benedict XVI, on October 20, 2009, of an offer to welcome Anglicans to the Roman Catholic Church is likely to cause disarray to some Church of England communities worldwide.
Proposal to Offer Anglicans Full Communion with the Catholic Church
Simultaneous press conferences in Rome and London publicized the offer, which has already led to some Anglicans calling for the resignation of Dr. Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury.
The surprise Vatican announcement was made at the London press conference which was led by Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, and the Archbishop of Westminster, the Most Rev. Vincent Nichols.
Dr. Williams was, apparently, not advised of the offer until the last minute and in a letter to bishops and clergy wrote: "I am sorry that there has been no opportunity to alert you earlier to this. I was informed of the planned announcement at a very late stage." (The Times, 21 Oct, 2009).
Pope Benedict XVI Announcement
The Pope is due to visit Britain in 2010 and has already indicated that he plans to dedicate his papacy to promoting Christian unity. Under the terms of the announcement, members of the Anglican ministry will be able to train as priests for a new "personal ordinariate" which will be under the jurisdiction of Rome.
Reasons for Traditional Anglicans to Move to the Practice of the Roman Catholic Faith
There has been a long dispute within the Anglican Church between the traditionalist and modernist viewpoints. Indeed, Anglican clergy opposed to the ordination of women priests have been accepted by Rome since 1994. Some of the major reasons for dispute between the viewpoints have been:
- Proposals to consecrate women Bishops
- Ordination of Homosexual Clergymen
- Liberal Anglican announcements denying some of the central tenets of the Christian faith
Within the wider community of practicing Anglicans, there is such a variety of choice regarding worship and so many conflicting voices, that a return to the traditional, in many ways simpler, yet structured form of worship practiced by the Roman Catholics will, for many, be a welcome relief.
Possible Benefits for the Roman Catholic Faith in Britain
- With 25 million baptized Anglicans in the UK, but only four million baptized Catholics, the practising Catholic community as a whole should increase in the UK
- Of the baptized Anglicans, statistics released in the 1980s showed only around 4 million were regular worshippers in Church, whilst the figures for the practising Catholic community were declared as 4 million
- The possibility that the movement of whole congregations to alignment with Rome will return some of the beautiful and ancient English churches to the Roman faith for which they were originally built.
This surprise announcement by the Vatican is the subject of ongoing debate within the Anglican community and has caused a great deal of consternation. It is anticipated that at least 1,000 Anglican priests in the UK will train for the new ordinariate and anticipated that many more in America and Australia will also convert. Apparently, there will be no bar to married Anglican priests training for the ordinariate but no possibility that Catholic priest will have the opportunity to marry as it would be against the vows they took on joining the Priesthood.
Some Speculation Regarding the Papal Offer
- Some newspapers have raised speculation regarding a possible development within the Catholic priesthood allowing the marriage of practicing priests or the ordination of married priests.
- Whether there will be a wholesale return to Rome of the ancient churches, built in honour of the Roman Catholic faith. Certainly the conversion of consecrated British churches in the UK into apartments, flats and houses has been one unfortunate symbol of the decline of the Church of England in the UK
- Whether this announcement will signify some further move by the Queen, as titular head of the worldwide Anglican faith with regard to worship in the UK. Indeed, whether the move of traditionalists within the Anglican Church will pave the way for creation of a different designation for the English Monarch as Defender of All Faiths. This would certainly seem a more appropriate title for a monarch such as Prince Charles and more reflective of the multicultural society of Britain today.
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