So yesterday Forward in Faith concluded that the new Apostolic Constitution of Benedict XVI allowing Anglicans to return to the fold while retaining aspects of their distinctive liturgical practices.
Would someone please tell me what has really changed from one week ago? Seven days ago those of a strong Catholic spirituality (i.e. members of Forward in Faith) were free to surrender to Rome's obedience without let from their Anglican overlords.
A week ago whole congregations were free to submit to the Pope's authority if they so wished without hordes of Protestants forcing them to stay in the Anglican Communion.
To believe that their particular liturgical practices (almost uniformly pre-Vatican 2) will be allowed to survive beyond the first generation is to misunderstand Rome's compulsion to exert control over the faithful and have them fall into line with its authorised expressions of being Christian.
And we should not overlook the likely hostile reaction from within the ranks of the current Catholic clergy to all these married priests arriving in some parallel universe, where they can be ordained to exactly the same priestly orders their celibate brethren and yet continue to enjoy all the conjugal rights denied to others.
Lastly, all this is to duck what James Bradley called today the elephant in the belfry - sexuality. Many of these more traditional, single clergy are by nature homosexual. Will the Catholic church suddenly change its position on ordaining avowedly gay men? Unlikely, surely. Besides, there are already thousands ministrering in churches all over the world. There is an inconsistency at the heart of the church's declared position and its current practice.
This move by Rome may look like an attempt to give expression to unity without uniformity but I fear those going may not find the Ordinariate quite the heavenly home they think it is, and cradle Catholics (who have not in the past been especially generous in their judgment of converts) will have to swallow quite hard to accept the new influx on beneficial terms not available to all.
3 comments:
"Many of these more traditional, single clergy are by nature homosexual."
What do you mean 'by nature'? I read this that you think that it is not possible for them to have decided to be a priest if they are hetrosexual.
'their particular liturgical practices (almost uniformly pre-Vatican 2)'
Oh Crispin, would that were true! I fear it most certainly is not. We have witnessed an orgy of re-ordered sanctuaries, concelebration, polyester cassock-albs, tricel chasubles and the Roman Missal, ( Ordinary Form )
Long gone are the days of High Mass, SSPP or Sarum.
The real elephant in the ENGLISH Anglo catholic sanctuary as opposed to those of the Americas and elsewhere is that there is no regard for or love of anything Anglican to be found among most of these (good) folk beyond their Orders, their Stipends and their freedoms.
Perhaps I am wrong in this but I believe I am not.
"Rome's compulsion to exert control over the faithful"
(creasin' masel' laughing)
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