See preceding page for earlier posts today, 11/19/10. It's a big news day, including confirmation that the Holy Father will make his third visit to Germany next year.
This announcement today was anticipated, but not the specific extent to which preparations have been made for the Ordinariate nor the nearness of the benchmark dates set... What exciting and eventful days we are experiencing, in this, the sixth year of the Benedictine Pontificate! Did anyone say 'transitional'????
Bishops of England and Wales
issue statement on Ordinariate
Statement on the Implementation
of the Apostolic Constitution 'Anglicanorum Coetibus':
The Establishment of a Personal Ordinariate in England and Wales
Much has been achieved over many years as a result of the dialogue and the fruitful ecumenical relations which have developed between the Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion.
Obedient to the prayer of the Lord Jesus Christ to His Heavenly Father, the unity of the Church remains a constant desire in the vision and life of Anglicans and Catholics. The prayer for Christian Unity is the prayer for the gift of full communion with each other. We must never tire of praying and working for this goal.
During his visit to the United Kingdom in September, His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI was therefore keen to stress that the Apostolic Constitution Anglicanorum Coetibus: “…should be seen as a prophetic gesture that can contribute positively to the developing relations between Anglicans and Catholics. It helps us to set our sights on the ultimate goal of all ecumenical activity: the restoration of full ecclesial communion in the context of which the mutual exchange of gifts from our respective spiritual patrimonies serves as an enrichment to us all.”
It is now just over one year since the Apostolic Constitution was published. The Pope’s initiative provided for the establishment of personal Ordinariates as one of the ways in which members of the Anglican tradition may seek to enter into full communion with the Catholic Church.
As the Holy Father stated at that time, he was responding to petitions received “repeatedly and insistently” by him from groups of Anglicans wishing “to be received into full communion individually as well as corporately.”
Since then, it has become clear that a number of Anglican clergy and their faithful do indeed wish to bring their desire for full ecclesial communion with the Catholic Church to realisation within an Ordinariate structure.
In collaboration with the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) in Rome, the Bishops of England and Wales have been preparing for the establishment of an Ordinariate early in January 2011. Although there may be practical difficulties in the months ahead, the Bishops are working to address these at a national and local level.
Five Anglican Bishops who currently intend to enter the Ordinariate have already announced their decision to resign from pastoral ministry in the Church of England with effect from 31 December 2010. They will enter into full communion with the Catholic Church early in January 2011.
During the same month, it is expected that the Decree establishing the Ordinariate will be issued and the name of the Ordinary to be appointed announced.
Soon afterwards, those non-retired former Anglican Bishops whose petitions to be ordained are accepted by the CDF, will be ordained to the Catholic Diaconate and Priesthood for service in the Ordinariate.
It is expected that the retired former Anglican Bishops whose petitions to be ordained are accepted by the CDF, will be ordained to the Catholic Diaconate and Priesthood prior to Lent.
This will enable them, together with the Ordinary and the other former Anglican Bishops, to assist with the preparation and reception of former Anglican clergy and their faithful into full communion with the Catholic Church during Holy Week.
Before the beginning of Lent, those Anglican clergy with groups of faithful who have decided to enter the Ordinariate will then begin a period of intense formation for ordination as Catholic priests.
At the beginning of Lent, the groups of faithful together with their pastors will be enrolled as candidates for the Ordinariate. Then, at a date to be agreed between the Ordinary and the local diocesan Bishop, they will be received into the Catholic Church and confirmed.
This will probably take place either during Holy Week, at the Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday or during the Easter Vigil. The period of formation for the faithful and their pastors will continue to Pentecost.
Until then, these communities will be cared for sacramentally by local clergy as arranged by the diocesan Bishop and the Ordinary.
Around Pentecost, those former Anglican priests whose petitions for ordination have been accepted by the CDF will be ordained to the Catholic Priesthood. Ordination to the Diaconate will precede this at some point during Eastertide. Formation in Catholic theology and pastoral practice will continue for an appropriate amount of time after ordination.
In responding generously and offering a warm welcome to those seeking full ecclesial communion with the Catholic Church within the Ordinariate, the Bishops know that the clergy and faithful who are on that journey of faith will bring their own spiritual treasures which will further enrich the spiritual life of the Catholic Church in England and Wales.
The Bishops will do all they can to ensure that there is effective and close collaboration with the Ordinariate both at diocesan and parish levels.
Finally, with the blessings and encouragement they have received from Pope Benedict’s recent Visit, the Catholic Bishops of England and Wales are resolved to continue their dialogue with other Christian Churches and Ecclesial Communities on that journey towards the communion in faith and the fullness of unity for which Christ prayed.
50 Anglican priests
'to defect to Catholic church'
By Paula Fentiman, PA
Friday, 19 November 2010
Around 50 Anglican priests are expected to defect to the Roman Catholic Church next year, Catholic leaders said today.
The clergy have registered their interest in a Vatican scheme for disaffected Anglicans and will undergo training and formation for priesthood in the Catholic Church.
The details emerged after it was announced last week that three serving bishops and two retired bishops will enter the ordinariate, which allows members of the Church of England to join the Roman Catholic Church while maintaining aspects of their spiritual heritage.
It comes after the Archbishop of Canterbury warned that some parishes will be left without priests as disaffected Anglicans switch to Rome.
Dr Rowan Williams said vicars "jumping ship" through the ordinariate would pose a practical challenge.
Speaking to Vatican Radio yesterday during a visit to Rome, he said: "There will be at least some parishes which will now be without priests, so we have a practical challenge here and there to supply."
Archbishop Vincent Nichols, head of the Catholic Church in England and Wales, told a press conference following a plenary meeting of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England that he did not feel guilty about the defection of Anglican clergy.
He referred to the Archbishop of Canterbury's comment that he did not view the scheme as an "aggressive act" and said the Catholic Church was responding to requests.
"This is a response to requests," he said. "It's very interesting that yesterday, speaking in Rome, Archbishop Rowan said he did not view this as an aggressive act, so I don't feel guilty.
"I think you have to be very sensitive to the point at which people arrive in their lives when they have a profound conviction about where and how they must live their Christian discipleship.
"It's out of respect for that imperative of conscience that all of this takes place.
"This is not a process of rivalry or competition between our two churches and, indeed, we believe that mutual strength is very important because we have a shared mission, because we have a shared task. We are not in competition over the task of trying to bring the gospel to this society."
The Archbishop said he hoped members of Anglican parishes losing priests and possibly part of the congregation to the Catholic Church would "understand" and "respect" their decision "as sensitively and profoundly as their Archbishop, the Archbishop of Canterbury, does".
The bishops who have confirmed they definitely intend to enter the ordinariate are the Rt Rev Andrew Burnham, Bishop of Ebbsfleet, the Rt Rev Keith Newton, Bishop of Richborough and the Bishop of Fulham, the Rt Rev John Broadhurst, the Roman Catholic Church said.
They will be joined by the Rt Rev Edwin Barnes, former bishop of Richborough, and the Rt Rev David Silk, former Bishop of Ballarat, Australia.
Bishop Alan Hopes, who is overseeing the implementation of the ordinariate, said
around 30 groups are expected to feature in the initial establishment, although exact numbers are not yet known.
Setting out the timetable for the process, he told reporters the three serving bishops will join the Catholic Church "in full communion" in January and "soon afterwards" they will be ordained as Catholic priests.
The retired bishops will be ordained before Lent while other Anglican clergy and lay people who decide to defect will be received into the Catholic Church and confirmed during Holy Week, he said.
Former Anglican priests who are accepted will then be ordained following "rigorous formation" and training in Catholic clergy during a 12-week course and will be expected to continue their studies following ordination.
He said priests and their "faithful" who had expressed interest had already begun preparing.
It is not yet known how many more priests will decide to move across as the scheme is established, but the Catholic Church is seeking to put together a fund to finance it in its early days, with
the Archbishop of Westminster saying his diocese had pledged £250,000 to the ordinariate.
Decisions and issues such as housing and locations would be made on a local basis and Archbishop Nichols denied the Catholic Church was "seeking to acquire property" in the form of buildings belonging to the Church of England.
A statement issued by the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales said: "In responding generously and offering a warm welcome to those seeking full ecclesial communion with the Catholic Church within the ordinariate, the bishops know that the clergy and faithful who are on that journey of faith will bring their own spiritual treasures which will further enrich the spiritual life of the Catholic Church in England and Wales."
What a difference a year makes:
The mood about the Ordinariate has changed
by ANNA ARCO
Nov. 19, 2010
When
Anglicanorum coetibus was announced at a press conference in London a year ago, tense-faced bishops faced aggressive questions from journalists. The Archbishop of Canterbury, looked grave and uncomfortable. It was clear that the papal document had shaken people.
The headlines that followed had the Holy Father parking his tanks on the Archbishop of Canterbury’s lawn; there was talk of poaching and the barque of Peter casting its nets in other waters.
Then there was talk of small groups: for a while it even seemed that an Ordinariate might never be established. Then there was silence. Then, little by little, the rumours started trickling out: 10 groups of Anglicans, no, 30. Twenty members of the clergy, no, 50. One bishop, no, suddenly there were five.
This morning Archbishop Vincent Nichols and Bishop Alan Hopes laid out the timetable which has been discussed behind the doors of the bishops’ conference’s plenary meeting, in quiet gatherings with the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and the shepherds of the Anglo-Catholic flock. There was a distinct shift of mood.
Perhaps Dr Rowan Williams’s comments yesterday prepared the ground. He told Vatican Radio: “I think if the Ordinariate helps people evaluate Anglican legacy or patrimony, well and good, I’m happy to praise God for it. I don’t see it as an aggressive act, meant to destabilise the relations of the Churches, and it remains to be seen just how large a movement we’re talking about.”
When Archbishop Nichols faced an aggressive question from a journalist, today, he alluded to Dr Williams’s remarks.
“It’s very interesting that yesterday, speaking in Rome, Archbishop Rowan said he did not view this as an aggressive act, so I don’t feel guilty,” he said.
“I think you have to be very sensitive to the point at which people arrive in their lives when they have a profound conviction about where and how they must live their Christian discipleship. It’s out of respect for that imperative of conscience that all of this takes place.
“This is not a process of rivalry or competition between our two churches and, indeed, we believe that mutual strength is very important because we have a shared mission, because we have a shared task. We are not in competition over the task of trying to bring the gospel to this society.”
His comments seem to illustrate another quiet shift. Perhaps Catholics are beginning be more sympathetic to the difficult process Anglo-Catholics often go through before they decide to take up Anglicanorum coetibus.
Come January, the Ordinariate will be announced by decree, the Holy Father will choose an Ordinary (who this will be remains unclear) and the three active bishops will be ordained into the Ordinariate in order to serve the lay people and clergy who will follow them.
Come Holy Week — possibly even in the Easter vigil — the groups of lay people and former Anglican clergy will be received. This is likely to be an poignant moment, both for them and for the Catholic Church in this country.
[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 19/11/2010 19:48]