"This Could Be Its Finest Hour"

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Here's an interesting article from The American Spectator.

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This Could Be Its Finest Hour

By Mark Tooley on 8.17.12 @ 6:09AM

The Church of England defends traditional marriage reverently, advisedly, soberly, and in the fear of God.

The U.S. based Episcopal Church's recognition of same sex unions last month mostly excited a big yawn. More interesting is the resistance of its mother body, the Church of England, to Prime Minister David Cameron's attempt to install same sex marriage in Britain. The latter's opposition is more significant because it remains its nation's established church and still wields political and constitutional powers.

Episcopalians have often behaved as the established church in America. It once was the church of America's elites. But now below 2 million members and spiraling, the Episcopal Church no longer excites more than knowing smiles. Its affirmation of transgender clergy last month, at its General Convention, fulfilled stereotypes about modern, liberal Episcopalians.

The Church of England similarly often has a penchant for striving to be trendier than thou. But even as it presides over an increasingly secular Britain, it cherishes its role as senior church in the global, 80 million member Anglican Communion. And its few pockets of spiritual vitality in Britain often tend to be evangelical, often immigrant. Its second senior most prelate, the Archbishop of York, is himself a Ugandan and potentially the next Archbishop of Canterbury.

It's also true than in a secularizing country, the Church of England (unlike U.S. Episcopalians, who mostly just resent more numerous evangelicals) appreciates the threat to religious liberty under a regime of imposed same sex marriage. How would the established church disallow what the civil law requires? The church may have to disestablish, especially if it desires any continued leadership over global Anglicans.

British media quoted church officials dismissing government plans as "'half-baked,' ‘very shallow,' ‘superficial' and ‘completely irrational.'" Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams and Archbishop of York John Sentamu only slightly more diplomatically lamented that government proposals "have not been thought through and are not legally sound." The church's official response rejected the government's push with vigorous, point-by-point rebuttals.

One organizer of that response was Bishop of Leicester Tim Steve, who declared on his own: "Marriage is not the property of the Church any more than it is the property of the Government. It is about a mutually faithful physical relationship between a man and a woman." He warned, despite government claims of protection for churches, "If you do what the Government say they are going to do, you can no longer define marriage in that way. It becomes hollowed out, and about a relationship between two people, to be defined on a case-by-case basis." Imposed same sex marriage would precipitate the "gradual unravelling of the Church of England which is a very high cost for the stability of society."

In its official response, the church criticized the government's idea, which would "alter the intrinsic nature of marriage as the union of a man and a woman, as enshrined in human institutions throughout history." Marriage benefits society by "promoting mutuality and fidelity, but also by acknowledging an underlying biological complementarity which, for many, includes the possibility of procreation." The church noted its past support for benefits for same-sex couples, and warned that redefining marriage for "ideological reasons" would be "divisive and deliver no obvious legal gains given the rights already conferred by civil partnerships."

Compared to Episcopalians, the Church of England sounded like Southern Baptists, declaring marriage was instituted by Christ Himself for all people as a lifelong union of man and woman. It even quoted the Book of Common Prayer of 1662, hardly an arbiter of modern fashion. And it cited ancient words so recognizable to all English speakers: "The Church of Christ understands marriage to be, in the will of God, the union of a man and a woman, for better, for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till parted by death."

"Many, within the churches and beyond, dispute the right of any government to redefine an ages-old social institution in the way proposed," the church noted, soundly more truly conservative than the Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Party. "It is important to be clear that insistence on the traditional understanding of marriage is not a case of knee-jerk resistance to change but is based on a conviction that the consequences of change will not be beneficial for society as a whole."

The church, which is legally bound to conduct marriages to all British citizens and currently conducts one quarter of all Britain's marriages, wondered how its beliefs long could survive, even with ostensible protections for religious freedom. It also asked why the government would continue to allow civil partnerships for same sex couples after legalizing same sex marriage. And it asked how the new law would define adultery and consummation.

Rowan Williams steps down at the end of this year as Archbishop of Canterbury, no doubt partly due to his frustrations over schisms and divisions among Anglicans precipitated by the Episcopal Church over sex issues. He came to office with liberal views, but his liberal critics now chide him for supposedly "hardening" the church's resistance to liberalizing on sex. The church's defense of traditional marriage may have lasting constitutional implications for Britain. It may also turn out to be its finest hour.

Mark Tooley is president of the Institute on Religion and Democracy in Washington, D.C. and author of Methodism and Politics in the Twentieth Century.

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The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin

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assumption1 The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin

After His resurrection from the dead, and after He had spent forty days with His apostles taking them more deeply into the revelation of God’s Truth, our Lord Jesus Christ ascended into heaven. And He took with Him something especially precious – He took into heaven with Him what he had received from the Blessed Virgin Mary: namely, our human nature. And in doing so, He’s telling us that where he has gone, we are meant to follow.

The Blessed Mother's assumption is rather like an echo of the Lord’s ascension. A pattern is set; a truth is revealed: mankind is meant to dwell body and soul with God forever in heaven. This is God’s plan; this is His intention from the time He created us. In fact, St. Paul teaches us that our true “citizenship” is in heaven.

And notice this, as a parallel to the ascension of Our Lord — as Mary is assumed into Heaven, she also takes something with her. What she takes with her is us, her children. Now, she doesn’t take us with her in the same way that the Lord brought our human nature with Him into heaven at His ascension, nor does she take us in the same way that God will raise us up at the last day. But she does take us – she takes us with her in her Immaculate Heart. The Mother of God, who is our Mother also, knows each and every one of us, as only a Mother can – and she brings us lovingly to Her Son and asks Him to bless us.

There’s a beautiful story about Blessed Pope John XXIII, who was once recalling his earliest childhood memory. He tells of being a four-year old boy, and of how his family had gone to Mass for the Feast of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin. When they arrived, the church was overflowing with people, and being just a little boy, he wasn’t able to see the ceremonies or venerate the image of the Blessed Mother.

Seventy-seven years later when he was reminiscing, Pope John XXIII recalled it in this way: “My only chance of seeing the image of the Madonna was through one of the two windows of the main entrance, which were very high and covered with an iron grating. Then my mother raised me up in her arms and said, “Look, Angelo, look how lovely the Madonna is – I consecrate you entirely to her!”

The assumption of the Blessed Mother is something like that: Mary our Mother lifts us up. She lifts us up, and she lifts our cares and our concerns, all up to her Divine Son. She lifts us up in her Immaculate Heart so that we can catch a glimpse of the glory that will be ours in heaven.

As we celebrate Mary's assumption, let’s rededicate ourselves to God, and to the Mother He chose for Himself and for all of us, so that we may always be her faithful children.

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On 1 November 1950, His Holiness Pope Pius XII solemnly defined the dogma of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in his Apostolic Constitution Munificentissimus Deus. If you haven’t already read it, have a look at the whole document. It’s beautiful.

Here’s an excerpt:

“…after we have poured forth prayers of supplication again and again to God, and have invoked the light of the Spirit of Truth, for the glory of Almighty God who has lavished his special affection upon the Virgin Mary, for the honor of her Son, the immortal King of the Ages and the Victor over sin and death, for the increase of the glory of that same august Mother, and for the joy and exultation of the entire Church; by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, of the Blessed Apostles Peter and Paul, and by our own authority, we pronounce, declare, and define it to be a divinely revealed dogma:

that the Immaculate Mother of God, the ever Virgin Mary, having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory.

Hence if anyone, which God forbid, should dare willfully to deny or to call into doubt that which we have defined, let him know that he has fallen away completely from the divine and Catholic Faith.”

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O God, who hast taken to thyself the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of thine Incarnate Son: Grant that we, who have been redeemed by his blood, may share with her the glory of thine eternal kingdom; through the same thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

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Saint Brigid and the King's Wolf

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I have commissioned Daniel Mitsui to create a drawing based on this wonderful story from the life of St. Brigid, one of the Three Patrons of Ireland, and also my patroness.  Daniel also has a delightful blog, The Lion and the Cardinal.

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Once a rustic, seeing a wolf run about in proximity to the palace, killed it; not knowing that it was the tame creature of the king; and he brought the dead beast to the king, expecting a reward. Then the prince in anger ordered the man to be cast into prison and executed. Now when Bridget heard this, her spirit was stirred within her, and mounting her chariot, she drove to the court, to intercede for the life of the poor countryman. And on the way, there came a wolf over the bog racing towards her, and it leaped into the chariot, and allowed her to caress it.

Then, when she reached the palace, she went before the king, with the wolf at her side, and said, "Sire! I have brought thee a better wolf than that thou hast lost, spare therefore the life of the poor man who unwittingly slew thy beast." Then the king accepted her present with great joy, and ordered the prisoner to be released.

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Using What We Have Already…

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Canon Missae Using What We Have Already...

Shawn Tribe over on The New Liturgical Movement voices what many of us have advocated for some time; namely, looking no further than one of the missals already in existence to be used as the Ordinariate rite of the Mass. Some Anglo-Catholics used the English Missal, others of us used the Anglican Missal or the American Missal (my personal preference is for there to be as much incorporation of the BCP material as possible), but the general idea is the same. The heavy lifting has been done, and there would need to be only minimal adjustments.

Of course, there are those who will protest, "But these were never approved!" Frankly, who cares? It is simply the case that most Anglo-Catholics used one of the versions of the missal. That is a fact of history in Anglicanism, and it should be recognized that it was that very brand of Anglicanism which has led us home to the Catholic Church. Many of us who have used The Book of Divine Worship for a generation have done our best to interpret the rubrics in such a way as to conform it as closely as possible to what we knew in the missals. Why go through all that? Why not just have the real thing?

I think the train may have left the station on this, but I do wish it would be given serious consideration before the final word is spoken.

Have a look at Shawn's article:

Some recent events put my mind once again to the matter of the English Missal.

The English Missal, as many of you know, is essentially a hieratic English translation of the pre-conciliar Missale Romanum. It was a missal which had been used by various Anglican Catholics, or Anglo-Catholics, in the 20th century.

Fr. John Hunwicke, who himself described the English Missal as "the finest vernacular liturgical book ever produced," summarizes its contents and its use accordingly:

For most of the 20th Century, Anglican Catholic worship meant a volume called "The English Missal". It contained the whole Missale Romanum translated into English; into an English based on the style of Thomas Cranmer's liturgical dialect in the Book of Common Prayer. The "EM" took everything biblical from the translation known as the King James Bible or Authorised Version.

I have often commented on my own hope — one which I know is shared by many others — that we would see the English Missal (or something closely akin to it) form one of the liturgical options made available within the context of the Ordinariate. Now it will no doubt be quickly pointed out that the use of the English Missal was by no means universal even amongst Anglo-Catholics and would be generally unfamiliar to many other Anglicans; from what I have gathered from others far more familiar with the situation within Anglicanism, this is certainly true. In light of that, it perhaps would not be the right choice to make it the sole liturgical book of the Ordinariate (which should presumably include a liturgical book which is much closer to something like the Book of Common Prayer) but it surely could be made available as an additional option, a kind of "Extraordinary Form" if you will — the analogy here is imperfect but I think it gets the basic idea across.

Read the whole article here.

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Sarum Rite

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This evening the Bishop of Clifton ordained a former Anglican Priest, David Boundy, to serve in the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham.  The Pastor of that Group is Fr Keith Robinson (sometime Vicar of St Martin's in Salisbury).  For a while in retirement, Fr David had been an honorary assistant, so you might say it is the old firm back in business.  The Group they lead is at the Church of the Holy Redeemer, on the Northeast fringes of Salisbury (aka Sarum) — though in Catholic terms it is not part of Sarum Diocese, but of Clifton (Bristol).  It was especially good to have David's wife, Catherine, reading the first lesson, and one of his grandsons serving at the altar.  Indeed his grandson almost upstaged the Bishop — the church was very hot, and the poor lad passed out, collapsed in a heap — fortunately he was none the worse and seemed very cheerful at the reception after Mass.

There were old friends from various stages of David's long career — from Devon and Cornwall in the Westcountry, from Taunton and London and many other corners of the ecclesiastical globe.

It was especially good on arrival at the Church to find a prominent notice on the door announcing that this was the home of an Ordinariate Group, as well as of a Catholic Parish; not every Ordinariate Group is given the ability to publicise itself in this way — but Fr David tells me the Parish Priest has been immmensely supportive of him and the rest of the Group.  Certainly there was a very good turnout for this Ordination Mass on a Tuesday in mid-holiday season, with Servers from all the churches in the group.

Mgr Andrew Burnham preached most encouragingly on the priesthood.  After Mass we enjoyed catching up with old friends — Anglican monks who have recently relocated to Salisbury, Fr Christopher Colven from Spanish Place, members of the congregation who had formerly worshipped at St Martin's Salisbury.  What is more, the sun came out and made the whole event even more glorious.  I hope there may soon be some pictures on my Ancient Richborough blog, still being unable to download them here.

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Church of the Incarnation to Be Received into the Ordinariate in September

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It is my great honour and privilege to be able to announce, on behalf of the parish, that the Church of the Incarnation (formerly Cathedral of the Diocese of the Eastern United States, ACA/TAC; located in Orlando, FL) is to be received into the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter on 16 September 2012.

This announcement is especially poignant for me as I served as Rector's Warden of the parish at the time of the publication of the Apostolic Constitution and I led the process by which the Chapter and full membership of the Cathedral parish accepted the Holy Father's most generous offer of full communion by means of Anglicanorum coetibus.

Since my confirmation into the Anglican Use of the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church, I have necessarily been out of full communion with my parish family.  I am overjoyed that this separation is soon to come to an end.

I also thank God for the visionary leadership of Bishop Campese and Fr. William "Doc" Holiday (also a Contributor here on The Anglo-Catholic).  Without their devotion and sacrificial ministries to the parish, this great goal could not have been achieved.

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31 July 2012
Commemoration of St. Ignatius of Loyola

My Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Laudetur Iesus Christus!

As I have always told you, when I had some information concerning our reception into the Catholic Church, I would share it with you all straightaway. Finally, after nearly three years of prayer and preparation in the parish – with the seemingly interminable waiting, sometimes with anxiety and even anguish – I have some very important news to share with you all. Please indulge me as I make several observations as a preface to the joyous news to follow.

Firstly, I would like to thank each and every one of you from the bottom of my heart. Through these months turned to years, you have been faithful in your prayer and your commitment to the vision of a fully Catholic Church of the Incarnation. No doubt, at times, many of you have felt as the Israelites wandering the desert wilderness.

Many of us also recognize that our journeying caravan has been continuously harried and harassed by the Devil and his unrelenting hosts. Navigating our way out of the shambles of the Continuing Church and gathering up the crumbs with the Pro-Diocese of the Holy Family, we have paid a heavy price. The Evil One has pitted brother against brother, demoralized both clergy and laity alike, and caused many to fall away from our mission – that same mission given to us by Our Lord Jesus Christ himself and recounted in the Seventeenth Chapter of the Gospel of St. John.

Now for the news! The congregation of the Church of the Incarnation is to be received into the full communion of the Catholic Church on the Sixteenth Day of September, a Sunday. There will be only one Mass at Ten Fifteen o’ clock that morning. As this reception entails both corporate and individual aspects, it is imperative that you keep this date. The Mass will be the setting for your entrance into communion with the Holy See and your enrollment into the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter. We must have you there on this occasion of what will surely be profound joy!

As we are still working out the specifics, I have few details to share as this time, but I can say that Monsignor Jeffrey Steenson, Ordinary, will preside over the Celebration. His Excellency John Noonan, Bishop of Orlando, and a tremendous and invaluable resource and advocate for our cause, will also be in attendance. I have also invited the membership of some of our smaller missions to join us as well.

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Now an update on the circumstances of our individual clerics:

Bishop Campese:

As you all know, my goal from the very beginning has been to lead the people under my care to a safe harbor in the Catholic Church. Above all, this is what matters to me. I am still discussing future options with my counterparts in the Catholic Church. At the moment, neither the Personal Ordinariate nor I have made any decision with respect to my personal future. Anyway, this is not about me. As many of you are aware, I recently turned 78 years of age. So far, the Good Lord has provided me with good health, but I have a number of considerations about which to think. Regardless of what clerical role I may play in the future of the Church of the Incarnation, I will remain here until I die. This is my parish, and I will serve it and Holy Church in whatever way God calls me to do, just as I have striven to do from the very beginning of my ministry in His Church.

Fr. William “Doc” Holiday:

Fr. Doc has received a nulla osta from Rome. This letter means that there is no canonical bar to his ordination in the Catholic Church. We do not yet know when he will be ordained deacon and priest; we are working out the details presently.

Fr. Scott Whitmore:

Fr. Scott has attached a personal letter with regard to his life decisions at this time. But do not worry, Fr. Scott is not going anywhere; he will remain in our parish family.

Fr. Jason McCrimmon:

We have been greatly blessed to have Father McCrimmon and his beautiful family as a vital part of our parish life for many years now. Father Jason is pursuing his ministry as a Military Chaplain and it has been an arduous journey for him, especially hard as he has also given sacrificially, ministering to our church family.

I am sorry to have to report that Father Jason will be leaving us soon, to continue the ministry to which he believes he has been called. He will preach his last sermon on the Fifth Day of August, and I hope that you will be in attendance to support him. The United States Navy will be getting an excellent chaplain.

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Finally, I wish to entrust this last leg of our race toward Catholic Unity in a most special way to the Great Mother of God, Mary most Holy. I know that she has guided our way closer to Her Divine Son thus far; she will not abandon us now. May all the Angels and Saints of heaven watch over us these next several weeks.

In Dno,

Bishop Campese

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Monsignor Steenson Continues to Express Enmity Toward the Extraordinary Form

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UPDATE (10:15 AM EDT): Rorate Cæli, the highly esteemed web site for Traditional Catholics, are also covering these developments in the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter, and I have been conferring with their top moderators making sure that we get the most accurate information possible to the faithful.

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In an recent statement from Monsignor Jeffrey Steenson (my emphasis):

"We have therefore asked that the congregations of the Ordinariate follow this direction. Some of our clergy want to learn also how to celebrate according to the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite. They are certainly encouraged to do so, under the provisions of Summorum Pontificum and under the supervision of the local bishop, to assist in those stable communities that use the Extraordinary Form. But as the Extrordinary Form is not integral to the Anglican patrimony, it is not properly used in our communities. The Ordinariate will remain focused on bringing Christians in the Anglican tradition into full communion with the Catholic Church. We also are pleased that the Church has provided for the continuing use of the Extraordinary Form, particularly as a pastoral response to traditional Catholics, and regard all of this as a well-ordered symphony of praise to the Blessed Trinity."

I have it on unimpeachable authority that there is on ongoing crackdown on those AU/Ordinariate priests who would dare to learn or celebrate the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite on the part of Steenson, Hurd, and Chalmers. The affected priests are naturally frightened, and unwilling to go on record, but make no mistake, the leadership of the U.S. Ordinariate at present has set itself against both Summorum Pontificum and Anglicanorum coetibus. I also have it on good authority that this intimidation, an abuse of power, is being reported directly to the Roman Authorities. And the contention that the traditional Latin Mass has no bearing on the Anglican Patrimony — this simply has me flabbergasted. Is there just a shortsightedness on the part of the Ordinary, or is he ignorant of the history of English Catholicism?

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Very Good U.S. Ordinariate News Pending…

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Even though I've been accused of being a bit negative lately by the "shoot the messenger" crowd, I did want to share the fact that tomorrow or Tuesday at the latest, The Anglo-Catholic will be able to report on joyous news concerning the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter and one of the most faithful of Anglican Catholic communities.

I'd also like to take a moment, as Moderator, to moderate.  Our readers need to understand that not every post is a matter of life and death, nor is every criticism un-Cathollc, disloyal, or simply a carrying over of Anglican fractiousness into the Catholic Church.  Everyone take a deep breath and slowly exhale.  Sometimes we have good news; sometimes we have bad or concerning news.  The Ordinariates and the Catholic Church, just like life itself, have their ups and downs.  What you can count on here at The Anglo-Catholic is honest reporting in our posts, and in the combox, at the very least, informed speculation from our distinguished Contributors.  Not everything is going to make you happy, but neither are we here to make you feel bad.  This blog has hung in there for nearly three years now and has always had the best of intentions toward the Ordinariates (before they even existed) and the Anglican communities which have chosen to avail themselves of the Holy Father's most generous invitation to Catholic Unity.  If you can not appreciate this, you are in the wrong place.

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More Ordinariate Disappointment

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This statement has been approved by the Personal Ordinariate and posted on the St. Thomas More Parish web site.

It's a pity — a solid, private boys' school with spirituality rooted in the Traditional Latin Mass, but with an appreciation of the Anglican Patrimony.  This seems like it would have been a marriage made in heaven.

When I met him in Orlando some months ago, Monsignor Steenson held nothing back in the expression of his enmity towards Catholic Traditionalism and the so-called Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite.  He said the Ordinariate should have nothing to do with those people (a paraphrase, but an accurate assessment of his attitude which was made quite clear).  He even suggested that, simply because I had an affinity for the TLM that I should consider myself "out of communion" with the local Ordinary, Bishop Noonan of Orlando.  Quite taken aback, I assured the Anglican Ordinary that I was quite Catholic, despite my intense dislike (and often horror) of the institutionalized liturgical abuses found in Latin Rite parishes almost everywhere (and unfortunately in my home diocese) and my attachment to Catholic Tradition.

The Ordinary should at least be reminded that, according to Anglicanorum coetibus and Summorum Pontificum, his priests have the unrestricted right to celebrate the Sacraments according to the liturgical books in force in 1962.  And it is my fervent belief that both the Anglican Catholic and Catholic Traditionalist communities would both greatly benefit by their collaboration — if only we had a visionary leadership.

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Archbishop Falk Will Not Be Joining Ordinariate

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From Fr. Chori Seraiah's blog (h/t Fr. Smuts):

I have been fairly silent lately. Yes, I have been busy, but there is more to it than that. It has been difficult for me to hold my tongue, but it was necessary. New events have occurred and I am able to answer the questions that many have been asking. My former parish St. Aidan's here in Des Moines has made its final decision and chosen not to join the Ordinariate after all. They will remain Anglican and Bp. Louis Falk is remaining with them (any questions about the parish itself should be directed to them and not to me). It has been a very difficult time for them, as they had come to realize that the Ordinariate was not what they wanted (at the same time that I was in the process for ordination–not an easy task for any parish). I am happy to say that there is no strife between the parish and I (or my family either). Each of us realized that we were not on the same path, and yet there is peace between us. I ask everyone to pray for them at this time.

I, on the other hand, am happily serving as a substitute hospital chaplain (a very rewarding ministry!) for the next few months, and in the meantime I am seeking to begin an Ordinariate community here in Des Moines. Anyone interested in being a part of this, please let me know by contacting me at my email address listed to the left side of this page. I am especially seeking any Anglicans/Episcopalians who are interested in what the Ordinariate has to offer; Lutherans may also find something of interest in this venture.

It is sad news to see Archbishop Louis Falk is not joining the Ordinariate and that St. Aidan's has decided not to join either.  I have never met him, but I know he was a staunch advocate of Christian unity when he was Primate of the Traditional Anglican Communion (TAC).  He was one of the three Anglican Church in America (ACA) bishops who welcomed Anglicanorum coetibus.

Fr. Anthony Chadwick, my former blogging partner at the now defunct The English Catholic,  posted some rather trenchant observations about the price the Traditional Anglican Communion paid for its bid for unity.

He writes:

We in the TAC got well and truly burned. The captain at the helm looked at only one thing – his compass bearing, and to hell with the rocks, fog and other ships. The ship was wrecked. Rome said to us “Yes, but as dismantled spare parts“. They would filter, screen and sift us, have every single priest send in his application and have his vocation re-evaluated from zero all over again. The rest – all that doesn’t matter just as long as they don’t tell anyone that they are institutionally dead. And by the way, forget it if you’ve already read the book, seen the film and been there! Some shipwrecked sailors are now picking through the bits of broken mast, pieces of companionways, barrels of preserved food and shreds of torn sails – looking at what they can salvage, and then rebuild. Those courageous men and women have my esteem and prayers, and they do not have to listen to the voices of those who have become Roman Catholics “Come in, the water’s warm“. “Just be patient and wait. Rome thinks in centuries“. Forget it. Either go over or stay and rebuild, or go somewhere else.

It’s in the nature of things: the small entity approaches the big entity because it is unable to compete. Big entity considers only one thing – what is useful to it and how it can get bigger and richer. There is no idea of helping the small entity in some way.

The whole exercise has left behind such pain and bitterness.  The TAC did ask for some form of corporate reunion but the only corporate reunion that ended up on offer was parish by parish, reconstituted after individuals had converted.  I do not blame Archbishop Hepworth for his overly expansive interpretation of Anglicanorum coetibus.  As fine a mind as Fr. Aidan Nichols' told me he didn't see why the document could not cover the corporate reunion of a diocese or even a province.

For many the unfolding of the Ordinariates' character might seem too much like absorption, too much like a loss of identity for those hoping for corporate reunion of some kind.

Thankfully for us we have not experienced our coming into the Catholic Church as a loss of identity at all.  Our celebrations of the Eucharist on Sundays and everything else we do is not much different from what we did before we became Catholic.  We have guest priests now, but they love our patrimony and are doing their best to help us maintain it as we wait for our own clergy to be ordained as Catholic priests.

But this was not an easy journey.  For some it has proved impossible, at least for now.

Let's keep our comments respectful and measured, seeing as I trust most of us do hope for the Ordinariates to be successful and that eventually those who are unsure now might find them truly places where Anglican identity and patrimony are flourishing within the Catholic Church.

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