There has been lots of discussion (both pro and con) about the recent Vatican announcement that an Apostolic Constitution has been created to assist traditional Anglicans in being received into full communion with the Catholic Church.
What are your thoughts about any potential problems that have to be resolved or that will be created in the future because of this outreach to the Anglican Christians?
Will this potential influx of Anglicans have any effect on the Anglican-use parishes who are under a local Catholic bishop in the areas these parishes are located?
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8 comments:
Strange that no reporter for the "Catholic Virginian" has gone to Holy Apostles to ask about their reception of the Holy Father's generous offer. I wonder if the Episcopalian half of this dual Episcopalian/Catholic parish will now join the one true Church under Peter?
I think the Anglican Catholics celebrate Mass ad orientem which would automatically disqualify them from being part of the Body of Christ. We are a community-embracing people; as such, we cannot allow our faith-family to be further divided by Anglican Catholic liturgical deviance. We are Church! Anglican Catholics remind me of those nostalgic Catholics who cling to traditions harkening back to the pre-conciliar days of old when Catholics were under the false impression that Christ would somehow turn into a piece of bread rather than the more accurate teaching that the Community is Christ's presence. I hope our diocesan officials snub the "high church" Anglicans so they don't come into our parishes and try to push their traditional liturgical practices on the rest of us who hate tradition.
I think this is a truly ecumenical move by our Pope, and is also very considerate of Anglicans' attachment to their history, and their ethnically defined style of worship.
The issues that made some of them consider this move are female ordinations, and ordinations of, shall we say, non-celibate men to the office of Bishop. Thus, the Anglicans that are most likely to join our Church will probably tend to gravitate toward the Conservatives and the Traditionalists on the majority of issues.
As far as the effect on the already existing Anglican-use parishes that are under a local Catholic bishop, I think this is a more technical, or a logistical, issue. The Vatican, the local Bishop, and the former Anglicans will have to work it our among themselves.
I wonder what the long-term effect will be on the celibate priesthood with so many married Anglican priests coming into the Church.
Wonder what will happen if those Catholic priests who left the Church to marry and then switched to the Anglican priesthood coming back into the Church as priests... a complicated situation...
From ANGLICANORUM COETIBUS,,,
§ 2. The Ordinary, in full observance of the discipline of celibate clergy in the Latin Church, as a rule (pro regula) will admit only celibate men to the order of presbyter. He may also petition the Roman Pontiff, as a derogation from can. 277, §1, for the admission of married men to the order of presbyter on a case by case basis, according to objective criteria approved by the Holy See.
and from the complementary norms
Article 6, §2.
"Those who have been previously ordained in the Catholic Church and subsequently have become Anglicans, may not exercise sacred ministry in the Ordinariate. Anglican clergy who are in irregular marriage situations may not be accepted for Holy Orders in the Ordinariate."
Standing Maryanna:
Some Progressives will no doubt try to make one more case for a non-celibate priesthood, but the Vatican will not discontinue this discipline, as Stu quoted. Allowing some married ex-Anglican clergy to be priests, is an act of charity in view of their very specific circumstances.
Also, let's keep in mind that the next to negotiate its return to the Church is the SSPX, which likewise is a Conservative and an ultra Traditional group.
The post Vatican Two era in our Church seems to be drawing to a close, and with it issues such as married priesthood.
Do you really believe this diocese is capable of welcoming Anglicans into the fold when it seems to have problems welcoming and communicating with its own?
Maybe they're afraid to put anything in writing because they know our diocese is not following the current liturgical "trend" of the reform of the reform. I hope it's not because they're willing to contradict liturgical directives or instructions in action, but not in writing because that would seem like a form of deception.
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