BENEDICT XVI: NEWS, PAPAL TEXTS, PHOTOS AND COMMENTARY

A major MSM newspaper has picked up on Anna Arco's 'scoop' in the Catholic Herald this weekend on significant movements in the Anglican Church with respect to Anglicanorum coetibus. To say it is exciting to be in at the start of an unprecedented chapter in the modern history of the Church in the West is an understatement... And all thanks to the Pope of Christian unity!:


Church of England parish
plans move to Rome
High-Anglican Folkestone congregation could be the first to defect
to Roman Catholic church in bitter row over women priests
by Stephen Bates

Sunday 17 October 2010


Left, Fr. Bould in St Peter's church in Folkestone; right, Bishop Broadhurst, who announced yesterday he was joining an Ordinariate at the end of the year.

In the church of St Peter on the East Cliff in Folkestone, Kent, this morning, the sermon was of battles. It was the Trafalgar Day service – marking the 205th anniversary of Nelson's victory this Thursday – so, with many old sailors in the congregation, Camperdown was mentioned and Lepanto, the Glorious First of June and other long-gone actions at sea.

But it was another battle, in a different sort of see, that was clearly uppermost in the mind of the priest, Father Stephen Bould: his parish may be the first to defect wholesale from the Church of England to Rome following Pope Benedict XVI's offer of a safe harbour for Anglicans disaffected by their church's decision to allow women priests to become bishops.

Bould told his ageing flock: "It is a battle we are fighting now. Let's fight it with flair, imagination and spirit."

The high-Anglican Victorian church on the cliffs above the port has become the scene of the latest twist in the Church of England's agonizingly drawn-out wrestle over women's ministry, 16 years after its first female ordinations.



In July, the church's general synod voted not to make special statutory provisions for the remaining high church conservatives who do not wish to be "tainted" by association with women's ministry and who have so far hung on without converting to Roman Catholicism, and since then the language of the opponents has become increasingly embattled and fraught.

At a conference of opponents this weekend, the Right Reverend John Broadhurst, suffragan bishop of Fulham, at last announced he will resign in the new year, denouncing the church as "fascist".

He told the Sunday Telegraph: "I don't feel I have any choice but to take up the Pope's offer. The general synod [of the Anglican Church] has become vindictive and vicious. It has been fascist in its behaviour, marginalising those who have been opposed to women's ordination. We have not been given any space." There were calls yesterday for Broadhurst to be disciplined for conduct unbecoming to the clergy.

Hard on his heels came word that St Peter's parochial church council (PCC) had decided to seek a meeting with Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, who is also their diocesan bishop, with a view to joining the ordinariate proposed by the Pope a year ago.

This would allow individual Anglicans a corralled space within Catholicism where they could continue to follow some Anglican traditions.

The parish issued a statement, saying the PCC was anxious the move should be made as easy as possible, not only for those wishing to join the ordinariate but for the diocesan family of Canterbury "whom they will regretfully be leaving behind".

Bould added a statement of his own:

"Until yesterday, St Peter's people were on a quiet and gentle journey of prayer and discernment. Today we find ourselves thrust into the spotlight. At the heart of all this is Jesus Christ and the unity and identity he gives to his people.

"If the attention of the media makes others consider how important a matter that is, then we're pleased. Personally, I am proud of the courage and faith of the lay people of this church."

But he indicated that as far as he was concerned there was nothing left for him in the Church of England.

There were about 50 in the all-white congregation this morning, no youngsters except in the choir, and more walking sticks and zimmer frames than young couples with babes in arms. There were none of those, although there is a Church of England primary school attached to the church.

The air was thick with incense and the ritual was high church. Statues of the Virgin Mary and Jesus bearing the sacred heart, stations of the cross and rosary beads, all anathema to low church evangelical Anglicans, were much in evidence.

Hail Marys were said, and prayers offered for the Rt Rev Keith Newton, Bishop of Richborough, their provincial visitor, and Pope Benedict.

Not all the church's parishioners apparently feel happy with the idea of conversion, but Bould warned his flock at the end of the mass: "Please, if you are approached by people from the press or media outside, read our statement out and smile. You are not obliged to speak to them and I warn you to be on your guard."

His congregation heeded his advice, but Bould himself came out, clad in a cassock, to explain that the PCC's decision had not been put to the congregation and he did not know how many would go over to Rome. Nor did he know what would happen to the 150-year-old parish church, or the school.

"It would be wonderful if it were possible for people to continue to worship in this building," he said.

He must know, however, that the Church of England is unlikely to let either building go and that he and other married Anglican clergy who wish to be re-ordained as Catholics will face an impoverished future: Catholic stipends and pensions being much lower than Anglican ones.

The Church of England has four bishops, known as provincial episcopal visitors, who have been appointed to minister to the small number of parishes which want nothing to do with ordained women, or with the male bishops who have ordained them.

The Rt Rev John Broadhurst, suffragan bishop of Fulham, a long-standing and vociferous opponent of women priests, was born a Roman Catholic, subsequently became an Anglican and has been ordained in the Church of England for 44 years.

Rt Rev Andrew Burnham, bishop of Ebbsfleet, and Abingdon-based former music teacher, has said he wants to lead parishioners into unity with the Roman Catholic church.

Rt Rev Keith Newton, bishop of Richborough, based in Essex, has held talks at the Vatican about joining Rome.

Rt Rev Martyn Jarrett, bishop of Beverley, based in Yorkshire, seems more positive about remaining in CofE.


Here's Damian Thompson's reaction to yesterday's announcements:

Earthquake in Anglo-Catholicism:
Bishop of Fulham to convert to Rome;
says Forward in Faith
'not part of the Anglican Church'

October 15th, 2010

Bishop John Broadhurst, Bishop of Fulham in the Anglican diocese of London, is to resign his post later this year to join the Pope’s Ordinariate. The Catholic Herald’s Anna Arco broke the story, also revealing that Bishop Broadhurst will stay as chairman of Forward in Faith, which he says is “not a Church of England organisation”.

It sounds as if traditional Anglo-Catholicism is undergoing a major shift (or crisis) of allegiance, because FiF, though not representative of everyone in that constituency, was the main body for Anglo-Catholics in the Church of England opposed to women bishops and priests. Now it seems to be heading towards Roman Catholicism. [The FIF branches outside England, including the Traditional Anglican Communion, were pretty clear about this since last year!]

Bishop Broadhurst made his announcement at Forward in Faith’s national assembly in London today. I’m told that the mood was very sympathetic towards the Ordinariate scheme.

Update: Since writing this post, I’ve listened to a clear and elegant speech on the FiF website by Fr James Patrick (in secular life, His Honour Judge James Patrick) explaining that the Ordinariate is “at the heart of the Pope’s mission” and encouraging those who are committed to joining the structure to form part of the “first wave”.

Fr Patrick refers to a “Lenten journey”. Do I detect a hint that there could be mass receptions into the Catholic Church at Easter?

If the chairman of Forward in Faith, together with the flying bishops of Ebbsfleet and Richborough, are joining the Roman Ordinariate, then you can see why members who want to stay in the C of E suddenly needed a new body – the Society of St Wilfrid and St Hilda, aka “Hinge & Bracket”, founded this month by “catholic” bishops in the General Synod.

For true opponents of women priests this is a desperate last option, because H&B can’t offer any meaningful safeguards from women’s ministry. For those many Anglo-Catholics who are prepared to soften their stance, however, it’s a quiet route back into the mainstream of the established Church.

So many things are happening at once that it’s difficult to write authoritatively; the picture will be clearer in a few days. But here are some observations:

1. The Ordinariate is picking up momentum. Not only is the chairman of Forward in Faith joining, but so is the president of the Church Union, the Rt Rev Edwin Barnes, retired Bishop of Richborough. So that makes four C of E bishops we know are crossing the Tiber: +John Broadhurst, +Andrew Burnham, +Keith Newton and +Edwin Barnes, and there will be others.

Critics of the Ordinariate may scoff at its small size – and I really do think it will be small when it launches early next year – but the fact remains that three out of the four bishops appointed by Synod to minister to traditionalists are joining this new semi-autonomous Catholic body set up by Pope Benedict XVI.

2. Bishop Andrew Burnham of Ebbsfleet and Bishop Keith Newton of Richborough are “on study leave”. I wonder if that means they’re in the process of receiving instruction now. That’s the rumour doing the rounds, but it is only a rumour.

3. I’m surprised (but pleased) that the Bishop of Fulham is taking the plunge this year, rather than waiting. I know I always refer to him disrespectfully as “wily old John Broadhurst”, but when I knew him as a Synod activist he was wily and a bit of an operator. I presume he’s sorted out the problem of having been born a Roman Catholic, which complicated things.

Being married, he couldn’t have been an RC bishop anyway. He’s good fun, as I recall, always ready with a joke (often at the expense of the more camp Anglo-Catholics). And he’s a “big beast” of Anglo-Catholicism, not a marginal figure. I suspect he may convince waverers to follow his example.

Update: Having now listened to his speech on the website, I’m glad he’s unequivocal about joining the Ordinariate, but I wish he would be less bitter about losing various battles in the C of E. In the long-term, defeat was inevitable.

4. The success of Pope Benedict’s visit to Britain has help moved things along, no doubt about it. I’m sure the Ordinariate was at the back of the Holy Father’s mind throughout his trip, and he explicitly asked the Bishops of England and Wales to support it just before he left.

Here’s a thought: one reason the Pope and Mgr Marini were so anxious that the liturgy at Westminster Cathedral should be done properly (rather than mucked around by Eccleston Square) may have been a desire to show Anglo-Catholics that the mother church of England and Wales was in full command of the Roman liturgy. These things matter to those Anglicans who go to great lengths to master the Roman Rite themselves. (As I’ve written before, I hope Anglo-Catholic parishes that reject the Pope’s offer will tone down the Roman stuff.)

5. I’ve been sceptical that any Anglo-Catholic parishes will join the Ordinariate en masse. There are so many practical difficulties – but that hasn’t stopped St Peter’s Folkestone from deciding to give it a go. Good for them.

Here’s a statement from their PCC, courtesy again of Anna Arco [reproduced in the photo above, taken from the Folkestone website]: “At its meeting on September 28th, the PCC of Folkestone St Peter unanimously requested the Churchwardens to approach The Archbishop of Canterbury, our Diocesan Bishop, in order to consult about the wish of the PCC and many of the congregation to join the English Ordinariate of the Catholic Church when it is erected. We are anxious that this should be made as easy as possible, not only for us, but for the diocesan family of Canterbury that we shall regretfully be leaving behind.”

I won’t speculate about the size and shape of the English Ordinariate (one of several around the world, including Scotland) because I don’t have enough information. I gather that members of Forward in Faith who are interested in joining are being told to contact the ex-Anglican Bishop Alan Hopes, now of Westminster.

But I think we can say that, although it will be modest in size, the Personal Ordinariate for England is a big deal:
- It is being set up by a major decree of the Pope;
- It will offer ex-Anglicans an unprecedented degree of independence from unsympathetic local RC bishops;
- It will form part of a worldwide network that will include the former leaders of the independent Traditional Anglican Communion (now entering into full communion with the Holy See); and
- It has already attracted the support of well-known English Anglo-Catholic bishops as well as enthusiastic younger clergy.

The nature of its “patrimony” will vary from place to place, but Bishop Burnham has already made it clear that its priority is evangelism.

This is a historic change to the English ecclesiastical landscape, arguably the true culmination of the Oxford Movement, and an answer to many prayers – including, perhaps, those of Blessed John Henry Newman.