Daily Mail: Task Force for Huge Anglican Exodus

According to the Daily Mail, the Catholic bishops of England and Wales have set up a task force to deal with the prospect of a huge influx of Anglicans availing themselves of Pope Benedict XVI's offer in Anglicanorum Coetibus.

The article notes that Bishop John Broadhurst, leader of Forward in Faith, says that mass conversion was a real prospect and FiF UK has proposed a figure of perhaps 200 Anglican congregations that would be seeking to enter the Catholic Church.  'The main issue for many Anglican priests is now the ownership of parish churches.'

Read the whole article here.

UPDATE 3:00 PM EST:

An article from The Sunday Times is here.

A key problem is property. Many of the congregations wanting to defect to Rome are attached to beautiful church buildings.

There is no question of the Catholic church buying such places of worship from the Church of England — and the Church of England commissioners are not willing to sell them.

The committee of Catholic bishops will scrutinise the possibility of church sharing, the use of temporary buildings for convert vicars and their congregations.

The panel will also look at the possibility of taking out long-term leases of Anglican churches, giving the Catholics responsibility for repairs and maintenance for up to 100 years.