"Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken; neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate; but thou shalt be called Hephzibah and thy land Beulah; for the LORD delighteth in thee, and thy land shall be married." (Isaiah 62:4).
Isaiah prophesied that the Children of Israel would be restored to their place in Jerusalem. No more would they be a forsaken people, no more would they be strangers in a strange land; rather they would be God’s delight and they would once again be in the land promised to them. As the old Gospel hymn put it:
O Beulah land, sweet Beulah land!
As on thy highest mount I stand,
I look away across the sea
Where mansions are prepared for me
And view the shining glory shore
My heaven, my home forever more.
The Holy Father wasn’t describing Beulah in Anglicanorum coetibus, but he’s giving us the next best thing; namely, a place in communion with the Successor of St. Peter, where we can be prepared for our final and true home in heaven. The question is – and this is where some hard feelings have come about – how are these Ordinariates going to be formed? What about the “groups of Anglicans” referred to in the very title of the Apostolic Constitution? How do they fit into the formation of the Ordinariates? Of course, we’ll have the answers after it all happens, and anything we say before that is mere speculation.
It’s been said that the position of this blog is that these Anglican groups – and specifically TAC – should just dissolve, because the Ordinariates are going to be created ex nihilo by Roman authority. That is not the editorial position of The Anglo-Catholic.
The Moderator and contributors to this blog are simply individuals with a particular interest, but with no inside knowledge about any of this, and there’s no official position about how the practical details will be worked out. Our only “official position” is that we all want to be part of an Ordinariate. Having said that, I don’t think a single contributor has ever expressed the opinion that Anglican groups should dissolve themselves and wait for an Ordinariate to be dropped down from the sky. Groups such as TAC and Forward in Faith are providing pastoral care now, and will continue to do so until their people can be delivered safely into an Ordinariate. And perhaps it’s at this point – the point at which the members of an Anglican group are brought to the threshold of an Ordinariate – that there’s confusion over what happens next.
There are those who think that the old structures will be maintained – that somehow the various jurisdictions and dioceses will be preserved as the Ordinariate. I can say with confidence, that won’t be the case. TAC will not exist in an Ordinariate; Forward in Faith will not exist in an Ordinariate; not even the Pastoral Provision for the Anglican Use will exist in an Ordinariate. As St. Paul wrote in another context, “…the old has passed away, behold, the new has come.” There will be no need for old structures, because we’ll have a new structure designed specifically for us by Pope Benedict XVI, which will enable us to preserve, nurture, and share the patrimony which is presently lodged in the various Anglican groups. Once these groups have brought their clergy and laity ad limina Apostolorum, their important work will be done.
There might be some value in seeing how this has happened before, because it’s not impossible that what has already happened with Anglicans who have come to Rome as a group might provide a glimpse at what could happen again. In fact, I had written this account as a comment elsewhere, in response to an article that was discussing this very issue:
Perhaps if I explain what happened when Our Lady of the Atonement came into being, it would show another possibility.
Our little group was called St. Anthony’s Parish, and it was part of the Pro-diocese of St. Augustine (a grouping of several parishes seeking entrance into the Catholic Church by way of the Pastoral Provision). Our people remained as members of St. Anthony’s Parish right up until the moment when Our Lady of the Atonement Parish was canonically erected. The only property owned by St. Anthony’s Parish consisted of our vestments, chalices, etc., and a small house in which my family and I were living. The parish continued to own this until our reception into the Church. At that time (and this was the only option, because we were becoming an archdiocesan parish), the property was deeded to the archdiocese, with the provision that it was for the exclusive use of the newly-erected parish of Our Lady of the Atonement. (As an aside, I’m sure the new Ordinaries, as they are appointed, will work with the priests’ councils of the various Ordinariates, to establish suitable ways to hold property, giving protection to the local congregation, while at the same time providing a way for churches to be consecrated as Catholic places of worship).
Our experience was that of a seamless transition. It was only for the period of a couple of weeks that I was unable to provide a sacramental ministry to my people, because I made my Profession of Faith a few weeks before they did, which enabled me to become a Deacon in the Roman Catholic Church. It was then at my priestly ordination that the rest of the congregation made their Professions of Faith, and the parish was canonically erected. During that same Mass, I was appointed to be the founding pastor of the new parish. This meant that our laity began the Mass as members of St. Anthony’s Parish of the Pro-diocese of St. Augustine, and they left the Mass as members of Our Lady of the Atonement Catholic Church.
I would envision that something similar could happen in the case of the TAC parishes. So, for instance, the members of St. Swithin’s-in-the-Swamp Traditional Anglican Parish could continue as members of TAC right up until the moment it becomes St. Swithin’s-in-the-Swamp Roman Catholic Parish. I certainly would have no thought that St. Swithin’s should disband, nor do I think the people should go off to other parishes for a while. That would be disastrous, and not in keeping with the Apostolic Constitution. Nor do I think there is any reason for the group to “dissolve” itself. Its identity will simply be transformed — transitioned, if you will — as it enters the visible communion of the Catholic Church.
I suppose it could be compared, in a sense, to marriage. One moment the couple isn’t married; the next moment they are. One moment the people are TAC; the next moment they are Catholics in an Ordinariate. They will have been prepared for it, of course — just as a man and woman are prepared for Holy Matrimony. But the transitional moment, profound as it is, could really be quite simple.
I understand that there will need to be preparations made for the reception of property, and that will vary from country to country, state to state, province to province. Whether it takes the form of local corporations, or some other legal entities, is really for the Ordinaries and their priest-counsellors to work out. We’ll never be able to settle that on a blog — national and local laws vary too much for there to be one model.
I don’t know if this clarifies for you my thoughts… I’m understanding this through the prism of our experience from nearly thirty years ago.
That may be helpful; it may not be. As I said near the beginning, it’s all speculation on our part anyway. I do know this: it’s possible to speculate without resentment, and it’s possible to disagree without hostility. At least, I’d like us to try.
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I really like your posts Fr. Phillips! I think they provide a great sense of perspective and remind me of my delight when I first heard of Anglicanorum Coetibus!
Fr Phillips,
I think your description of the process of establishing the ordinariates is quite good, except that it should also refer to dioceses as well as parishes making the transition. I think that is the point of contention. It is my understanding that in Canada the Anglican Catholic Church of Canada, as a complete diocese, has applied to transform itself into the ordinariate. Its parishes will not, and I think legally cannot, make the transformation individually. This may reflect both a legal and a cultural difference between the Commonwealth and the United States in the Anglican world, for it appears that in Commonwealth countries such as Canada, Australia (including the Torres Strait), England, and eventually, it is hoped, India, Pakistan and those in Africa, the TAC is approaching the CDF as corporate national or diocesan bodies, while it is only in the United States that the decision is being taken at the parochial level by the TAC’s ACA and the Anglican Use.
As a cradle Roman Catholic Canadian I have a somewhat disinterested perspective on the process, as I am not involved. But I think the ordinariates will be good for the Catholic Church, and half my ancestors were Anglican so I have a heritage interest. I therefore wish the ordinariates to succeed. I am convinced that a Canadian ordinariate will only succeed if the CDF transforms the Anglican Catholic Church of Canada into the Canadian ordinariate, complete with its bishop ordinary, clergy, church buildings, parishes and laity. There are no Anglican Use parishes in Canada, no significant Forward in Faith presence and few, if any, Anglican Church of Canada parishes or individuals who have come forward publicly to announce their willingness to join the ordinariate. The ordinariate therefore needs the immediate stability and presence that the ACCC will give it, to which others can subsequently attach themselves.
I agree however that once the transition is complete the TAC’s Anglican Catholic Church of Canada will no longer exist, if its application is approved, as it will then be the Anglican Catholic Ordinariate of Canada (or whatever name it is given). But I believe in Canadian civil law the transformation should have the status of a corporate merger, re-affiliation or re-naming and not a corporate dissolving. I believe that is a major difference from the United States where, as I understand it, the TAC’s Anglican Church in America will continue to exist outside the Catholic Church for those parishes that do not choose to enter the American ordinariate.
Perhaps someone in the Anglican Catholic Church of Canada, such as Deborah Gyapong could confirm or correct my understanding of the Canadian situation.
Whether diocese or parish, the principle is the same. When an Ordinariate is established, whatever the group was, will transition into the Ordinariate. A diocese will not become the Ordinariate, any more than a parish or an individual will become the Ordinariate. Dioceses, parishes and individuals will become part of a new jurisdiction canonically erected by the Holy See. If in Canada, for instance, the majority of the membership comes from the ACCC, that certainly will give a particular flavour to the Ordinariate, but it will not be some sort of "continuation" of the ACCC in the Catholic Church. If there was to be an equation between the ACCC and the Ordinariate, this would mean that other groups and individuals wishing to enter the Ordinariate at the same time would have to, in some way, become part of the ACCC first. This would be reminiscent of the problem in the early days of the Church, when the question was whether a person needed to become a Jew in order to become a Christian.
Of course, whatever I say is speculative anyway. Maybe we'll all be surprised!
Garry writes:
'There are no Anglican Use parishes in Canada, no significant Forward in Faith presence and few, if any, Anglican Church of Canada parishes or individuals . . ."
If you read some of the other threads on this blog you will see that there are indeed other groups and individuals including at least one ACC parish which are seriously pursuing the Ordinariate in Canada. A group in Toronto, the largest city and the location of the largest number of Anglicans, is in formation. The group has made application and has contact with both CDF and the CCCB liason.
As Fr. Phillips has pointed out, to make the Ordinariate out of a single group without a process of reception and the formation of a new entity is neither possible nor desirable. It is one thing for Anglican priests to be received, enter into formation be ordained deacon and later priest. It is quite another thing to have the Holy Father name an ordinary who must be a priest or bishop already in full communion with Rome.
In the initial stages an apostolic administrator who is a bishop or priest appointed by Rome may have to oversee the process until there is a ordinariate community and a council of priests to nominate, in due course, an ordinary as required by the AC constitution.
As I have said before, this process will take some time. However, the groups that are coming should not worry that their assets will not be received and used for the purpose that they are intended. These matters, as Father has demonstrated, can be worked through.
Indeed a Canadian ordinatiate will have a different look from those in other countries but it will also have many similarities. All will be new wine skins for the new wine of the Spirit and will be quite different from the current configurations.
I have read the other threads, Peregrinus; I just don’t believe them. Or, to be more charitable, I think they are wildly optimistic.
The Apostolic Constitution was announced almost a year ago. Yet you can only cite one, unnamed, Anglican parish in Canada that is considering it and one group, of unrevealed numbers, in Toronto that is still “in formation” after a year. That is not much. I live in Toronto. It may have the largest number of Anglicans, but they are mostly Protestant-minded. I have friends among the Anglo-Catholic minority. Many of them are uninterested in the Apostolic Constitution. There could be enough to eventually make up a small parish after the ordinariate is set up, but the success of the ordinariate will lie elsewhere in the country.
The Anglican Catholic Church of Canada has three bishops, over fifty priests, and more than thirty parishes and chapels across the country, several with their own buildings. That is small by Catholic standards in Canada but huge compared to the “other groups” you refer to. There may in fact be more Torontonian in the ACCC, for whom the regional parish in Oshawa is the home church, than there are in the Toronto group you mention. And the ACCC is the only group of Anglicans in Canada that has made a firm public commitment to the ordinariate. Unless it is initially built upon the structure and assets of the ACCC, and established soon, a Canadian ordinariate will simply fail.
You state that, “to make the ordinariate out of a single group … is neither possible nor desirable”. I disagree, but one of the things you will learn as a Catholic is that laymen may indicate what they consider “desirable”, and disagree; the Vatican will determine what is “possible”. The Holy Father and the CDF have given themselves full authority through the Apostolic Constitution to establish the Canadian ordinariate through one group or through many groups, and to make Anglican bishops and priests into Catholic bishops and priests through as short or as long a process as they deem proper. As Fr Phillips rightly suggested, the Holy Father may surprise some of us, or all of us, with his decisions.
I hope that very soon the name of this beautiful site will change from "The Anglo Catholic" in "Catholics in an Ordinariate"…
This seems to have worked out neatly and happily in your case. I suspect that in England, the TAC parishes will follow this pattern.
However, in England, most of the enthusiasm seems to come from the clergy in Forward in Faith parishes. These clergy may or may not have the support of their parishioners. In most cases, the parish will be split over the issue. I can imagine the typical scenario being this: a clergyman decides to take up the Pope's offer and brings with him, say, 25% of his congregation. To this is added other converts from neighbouring parishes, making up a congregation of perhaps 100.
Such a congregation would probably be insufficient to support a priest, especially if he is a married man, so he would, either have to look for paid employment, or seek to enlarge his congregation, possibly by merging with another AC parish at some distance. Added to these difficulties is the lack of a church building. Unless a major benefactor is at hand, use of an existing Catholic Church is the most likely solution, although this would almost certainly mean very inconvenient or unpopular service times.
I do not want to pour cold water on ordinariate proposal, and I hope it succeeds, but there will be many difficulties.
The imaginary scenario you put forward would provide a far stronger start than many of us experienced in the Anglican Use.
It's important to remember, too, that Anglicanorum coetibus urges cooperation between the Ordinariates and the local Latin Rite dioceses. Therefore, if a priest has a congregation which is unable to give him all the necessary financial support, he would certainly be able to minister also in the local diocese, and I don't know of a single Latin Rite diocese that can't use more priests — whether as hospital chaplains, helping out in local parishes, etc. There are many ways to put together an adequate living. When I was first ordained as a priest in the Archdiocese of San Antonio, I had our small Anglican Use group, plus I served as chaplain to a convent of Carmelite Sisters, and also as an auxiliary chaplain at one of the local Air Force hospitals. I also helped out in local congregations by hearing confessions and celebrating Masses when my schedule allowed. The combination of these things provided a perfectly adequate living for my family. I was able to have a very full priestly ministry, and all that time I was able to build up our little parish. Eventually the parish reached a size which allowed me to devote all my time there. I think this is the sort of thing that will happen all over in the Ordinariates.
There's no doubt that it was inconvenient at times — we had no church building of our own, so we began by paying a Catholic parish to allow us to meet in their facilities, and we worked around one another's schedules. After a few years we moved to the chapel of a convent, and we continued to grow until we were able to purchase our own piece of land and we built our own church. Difficult? Yes. Inconvenient? Definitely. Worth it all? Absolutely!
Thank you again Father for your inspirational example and unfailing encouragement. You always stimulate us to rely upon the Holy Spirit and move forward hopefully into the unity to which we are all called.
Not just the clergy … but just the clergy in the South. I'm told that the whole thing is not taken at all seriously in the North. How fascinating!
It is sad to see naysayers regarding the Ordinariate. Christ did not promise following Him would be easy. It seems today that there is little trust in leaving all for Christ. He will provide for those who truely trust in Him.
I can imagine that organizing the first Ordinariates by the CDF and Rome is a daunting task and that the authorities over the incoming Anglicans want to make sure that everything is done in order. They have groups from several countries coming in, who all seem to have different ideas of what they want the Ordinariate to be. We are the sheep and they are the Shepherds, let us wait on the Lord instead of our emotions controlling our thoughts.
The Evil One enjoys our doubts and feeds on them, he loves to divide and that is something we surely don't want.
If the Ordinariates are small in the beginning and even if they stay small we shall all be together in the Church Christ built on Peter.
The answer is prayer, faith and patience. We need to be uplifted, not torn down by our human nature of relying on ourselves. Whether we all agree on everything or not we are in this together and hopefully will support one another who are having doubts that this is a reality and of the Holy Spirit.
Fr. Phillips has been through the same journey and God has greatly blessed him and his parish, let us listen to his wise counsel as he has been on both sides of the Tiber and should understand better than others.