So on Sat 15th January the world stood still and held its breath as the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham was established with the ordination to the Catholic priesthood of 3 former Church of England bishops. Bishops Newton, Burnham and Broadhurst became Frs Newton, Burnham and Broadhurst.
I have friends for whom this moment is hugely significant and the fulfilling of a long-desired dream - those for whom the constant struggle to remain faithful Anglicans within a communion that sometimes appears bent on self-destruction has been draining emotionally and dis-spiriting in every sense.
For them the founding of the OOLW is a legitimate way to leave the dear old CofE with a clear conscience. The issue of women bishops, and the Church's apparent unwillingness to make any statutory provision for them in the future, has pushed them beyond the boundary and what the Ordinariate offers is a way to go on being 'church'.
But what kind of Church? What is the purpose or benefit of belonging to this semi-detached way of being Roman Catholic? There are some who insist that it allows them to preserve their present worshipping life, yet this has been a form of Catholicism vehemently derided and demeaned by the Roman Church for decades as an eccentric English imitation - Anglo-Catholics were merely playing with forms but lacking the substance of the faith. Has this all changed? Do the heirarchy in Rome now believe that what these priests and the congregations that follow them into the ordinariate are doing is truly and fully of the faith?
And what can it be in their former Anglican life that these parishes are so desperate to cling to, having pleaded for so long that their lot was to be a persecuted and rejected minority?
Surely, the greatest point of departure theologically for them from the Church of England came back in the early 1990s with the ordination of women to the priesthood - bishops were bound to follow. Or is it really the loss of their semi-detached status within the Church of England? It could look like a move from one semi to another.
Don't misunderstand, I bear them absolutely no malice and wish them well in their spiritual journey, one and all, but...........please could they explain to me why they don't simply all become Roman Catholics en masse. What does having an Ordinariate (whatever that is!) do for the kingdom of God, how does it add to the life of the universal church, apart from one more sect?
The English Catholic heirarchy have made a great effort to be welcoming, accommodating and flexible. I only hope that cradle Catholics up and down the land will feel equally generous towards their new half-brothers and sisters in the faith. If that is what they are..........
1 comment:
Like many Catholics, I am thrilled at the Holy Father's initiative. We look forward to many good Christians joining the Church with their particular brand of worship, steeped in the patrimony and Englishness of the land, which always was before penal times. The Catholics left were loyal Irish, English nobility and foreigners, all of whom have now blended into British families. Christ wanted us all as one. Being a Catholic is not 'respectable' for some and the new Angllican Catholics willl have to bear up under all the prejudice. It will not be easy for them. They are taking a leap of faith, but bringing with them the riches and beauty of the Anglican worship as well. Many of us regulary go to Evensong as well in our parish churches and being able to share more as Christ commanded is wonderful and exciting for all. The Hoy Spirit has been very active and I look forward to going to Ordinariate Mass to support the brothers and sisters.....
In truth many of us have always prayed for the unity which Christ commanded and many Anglicans-I saw another received today have been overwhelmed by their welcome. It is very sad for some people, of course, and some priests are agonising over it now. It is good you wish them well, but we live in a pagan church with many problems and challenges and we ought to be together.Let us pray that the Spirit invigorates us all to be true to gospel teaching.
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