fr.Scott

The following was submitted by the Rev. Mr. Scott Whitmore.

By way of introduction, I am the senior of two Deacons at the Cathedral of the Incarnation where our moderator is Senior Warden. I have been a member of Incarnation since 1992, I was ordained in 2007, and, with the good pleasure of Almighty God and of +Louis our Bishop Ordinary, within the next two months or so I will be one of its Curates. I can’t say how often I will write for this blog, but because he is my friend and because of his importunity, I will rise and give Mr. Campbell what he asks of me today: I will add my own personal perspective on the historic events of the past several weeks to what has already been said in this space by my esteemed brethren.

I was already on board with the TAC in our request to the Holy See to carry on Anglican-Roman Catholic ecumenical relations (knowing that these could not go forward with any part of the Canterbury communion that purports to ordain women to any of the Holy Orders), and to seek a way that we might come into communion with them corporately, while of course retaining our Anglican patrimony. I heard probably more than my share of rumors, but I had no firm idea of what form such reunion might at last take, or when it might come. I carried on with my ministry, with additional prayers for our House of Bishops, and for all involved both on our side and on the Roman side. After all, as my own Bishop has said many times, we are being obedient to the High Priestly Prayer of Our Lord as recorded in John 17. How could I do otherwise as a minister of the Gospel?

Meanwhile, the Holy Spirit was preparing me. I came into the Anglo-Catholic fold, as many of my brothers and sisters have, from the conservative Protestant end of the spectrum, and I have had many of the usual difficulties with Catholic teaching. Over the years, I had gradually warmed to the classical conclusions on divorce and contraception, and more recently, to the teachings about Our Lady and a fuller appreciation of the Communion of the Saints. It has also become increasingly obvious to me that — faults notwithstanding — the Roman Catholic Church is, and the Bishop of Rome is, the best teacher and defender of the truths of the Faith in the world today, lending strong circumstantial evidence to the already plausible thesis of papal primacy. I also have noted with grief that it is becoming increasingly difficult for Anglo-Catholicism to subsist separately: we are more and more ruthlessly being squeezed out of the Canterbury communion, and the Continuing Anglican movement has proved rather less successful than hoped. But at the same time, I was not (and am not) willing to sell short the treasures of our liturgy, our discipline and order, our spirituality, our music, etc.

Anglicanorum Coetibus is all that we could have hoped. It really is a brilliant piece of work, and it allows a lot. It appears that we will be able to achieve our corporate goal without too many bumps. There are the restrictions that (for the sake of the East) we cannot have married bishops, and that some of our clergy sadly have canonical irregularities that cannot be excused, but there is not much more than that. Anglican ordinariates will be answerable directly to the Holy See, not to local Diocesan authorities, which structure will be absolutely necessary to the preservation of the Anglican liturgy and ethos. The Ordinaries, who can be priests, will have considerable authority in the management of the affairs of their own people: an elegant solution to the problem of coming in with hardly any episcopate of our own. The Constitution and Norms leave more than enough room for married priests in perpetuity, for bi-vocational clergy (such as this writer, and indeed, most Continuing ministers), and for us to manage our own seminarians’ formation. The Constitution and Norms explicitly enshrine something very similar to Anglican diocesan polity. I think the fear that has been raised by some commentators that the Pope is out to steal our parish properties is really just too much to swallow, considering our respective numbers and net worth!

Meanwhile, by being included on equal terms in Catholic life, we will all benefit from each other’s unique gifts. I think we and our Roman Rite brethren will get along well, though they might find that Anglicans do not fit neatly into their political categories. If I may make a hopefully not too callow observation, the recent proclamation has shown me plainly that the Vatican, let alone the whole Church, is not a monolith. Among average people, both ours and theirs, the response to the news has been quite positive. Among traditionalist and what I might call “neoconservative” Catholics, the response has been somewhat mixed. And, naturally, those with progressive tendencies despise us, which frankly is all to the good. Clearly we are not being invited by the Holy Father into a haven of rest, but rather, into a boxing ring. Be assured that we fight on the side of the Catholic Faith in all such struggles. We are not mere refugees, but regiments of the Church Militant, at last being fully integrated into the regular army. We may even dare to hope that more will enter in upon what has been called the “Anglican bridge,” and that we will be an example and encouragement to the Orthodox Churches as well, all to the ultimate enrichment of the whole Church.

Of course there are still specific technical questions to be answered. Some of these are quite important, and they cannot be understated or sidestepped. There is also still a good deal of catechesis required, concluding in personal commitments by all who desire union. But — and here I speak especially to any Anglo-Catholic cynics — I think this boils down to a question of trust, specifically, trust that Rome will continue to deal fairly and generously with us. Yes, it is theoretically possible that Anglicanorum Coetibus is a “bait and switch,” and that our Vatican administrators or a future Pope will lord it over us with an iron fist, and either wring our Anglican patrimony out of us or drive us out once again on our own. It seems unlikely that Rome would go to all this trouble to play such a dirty trick on such a small and motley crew as us. More importantly, let us not forget that one of the purposes of our careful prayers and efforts, enjoined upon us by our own tradition, is the unity of the One Holy Catholic Apostolic Church. Those of us who keep the Daily Office from the Book of Common Prayer entreat God regularly, even daily, for an end to our unhappy divisions, and unity among all believers in the Body of Christ. Well, my fellow Anglicans, unless we are prepared to resort to calling the Pope the Antichrist and the RCC the Whore of Babylon, it seems to me those prayers are being answered before our eyes. Did we really mean it when we prayed? Are we ready to put our money where our mouth is? If we object, to what are we really objecting? Did we imagine that accomplishing God’s will in this matter would cost us nothing? Do we accept the movement of the Spirit when we see it, or do we serve only our own private and provincial interests? As for me, my life and ministry are not my own to do with as I please, and the unity of the Church — from the parish level, all the way up — is a cause for which I am willing to sacrifice.