There's no place like Rome

Today the Vatican has announced a new canonical structure that provides for what will be called, "Personal Ordinariates" within the Roman Catholic Church for "Traditionalist" Anglicans who wish to join the church. The best place to get coverage of all the various commentary is probably over at Thinking Anglicans. While this is a wholly new idea within Roman canon law, there are a couple of existing precedents for similar things. The Vatican itself cites military chaplaincies. That comparison is strained, but it is much more politically palatable than the two closer comparisons:

1.Eastern Catholic (Unitate) churches, which are sui iuris (autonomous) in relation to the Latin and other Eastern Catholic churches.
2. Opus Dei, which is a Personal prelature.

The reason for it's creation is not completely clear, but it likely has more to do with the ongoing request of the splinter "Traditional Anglican Communion", which has been asking for this since 1991, than current conflict within the Anglican Communion, although it will certainly have an impact upon that as well. What this does in effect is set up a "Church within a church" in the Roman Catholic hierarchy.

A group of disaffected Anglicans could petition the national conference of bishops, which could, with the approval of the Vatican, create an over-arching diocese that is answerable to the conference, but not the local bishops in the place where the congregations are located. (This is similar to the Uniate and Opus Dei examples, but in those cases, they are under the direct control of the Curia in the case of the Uniates, or the Pope in the case of Opus Dei.)

These new "Flying Dioceses" would be able to:

1. Recruit and educate their own clergy, including their own seminaries. Priests and deacons could be married, although it is unclear whether they could marry after ordination or only before as is current in Uniate churches. Bishops could not be married.

2. Use an "Anglican" liturgy. It remains to be seen whether they could use an unmodified Book of Common Prayer or whether it would need to be some form of the Book of Divine Worship in use by current Anglican Use Catholic parishes.

So what's the likely effect of this? Depends on your viewpoint. I'll speculate on some of these. If you are a(n):

Member of the Traditional Anglican Communion - Oh yeah! This is what we've been asking for over a decade.

Current Primate of the Traditional Anglican Communion - Um, this may sound a little picky, but I'm married, and therefore unable to be a bishop. Could we massage that language a little?

Traditionalist Anglo-Catholic in the Church of England - Yes! The CofE will be ordaining women bishops whether I want it or not, so finding a Eucharist on a Sunday morning "untainted" by a celebrant who was not a woman or who did not approve of the ordination of women (You know, cooties) was going to get very hard. Becoming a Uniate Anglican is going to make that a lot easier!

Archbishop of Canterbury - I'm very surprised, having been given very little notice of this development and having to come up with some sort of spin that makes it sound like the logical development of ARCIC and IARCUUM. Unfortunately, this plays into the hands of my Evangelical opponents who have been claiming this would happen all along. I can't decide whether I am happy or sad. On one hand, losing people is bad, but on the other, there are some pretty testy people who are giving me a headache daily. It might not even be bad if some of those rather edgy people in the communion from Africa or in that break-off "province" in America joined up, would it?

Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church - Well, anyone who would have taken this offer has pretty much left the church already. I wonder what Jack Iker and Bob Duncan are doing right now?

Bishop of the former Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth, now in the Anglican Church in North America, or in the Province of the Southern Cone, or whatever - Um, Bob. This is Jack. Sorry buddy, but I'm crossing the Tiber. (Edited 11/9 - I forgot to allow for the Rt. Rev. Sir's ego) I know I've been talking about "catholicity" and authority for years, but if I can't be a bishop in the new ordinariate, well... er.... hmm. And none of the parishes under my authority had better think they can go to Rome! Where would they get that idea?

Primate of the Anglican Church in North America - (Takes down his "Braveheart" claymore that hangs behind his desk and starts chopping deep gashes in his desk) I've been leading a movement for schism for several years now. Now people are wanting to break away from MY church. Who would have thought??!!

Member of the Pontifical Council for Christian Unity - Umm, don't you think it would have been nice to consult us, as this does have SOMETHING to do with our primary work?

American Roman Catholic Bishop - Oh great. More troublemakers for us. They have authority issues? Sounds like a GREAT fit. What? They'll be working within my diocese but not under my control? Like Opus Dei? And their priests will be married? Wow, That's really awesome....

American Roman Catholic Priest - What the What??!! I was told that celibacy was a difficult but necessary sacrifice in order to maintain the integrity of the priesthood. Now that church down the street is going to have a married priest and get to be Catholic? And the guy who replaces him will be married too? And he doesn't have to answer to the bishop? I feel so affirmed in my exhausting and lonely ministry! Maybe I can transfer to the Personal Ordinariate....

Average Episcopalian - Huh?

Average Roman Catholic - Huh?

David+ Edited 11/9 - and BTW, the thing about +Duncan having a Braveheart claymore in his office is not a joke.

Technorati Tags: Anglican, Christianity, Episcopal, Religion, ecclesiology, roman catholic, vatican

Comments

[Drusilla]

Actually, several Anglican Use parishes already exist within the Catholic Church. They are not a church w/i the Church but rather parishes with special pastoral provisions that allow them to use an Anglican form of the Mass which has been modified to be in conformity w/ Catholic teaching. (The one I've encountered is very similar to the curent Prayerbook version that is used by High Anglicans.) Essentially, Anglican Use parishes celebrate the Eucharist in English, real English, and with great seriousness and reverence.

As one who took a detour through the Anglican Communion and then returned to the Catholic Church five years ago, Anglican Use parishes are most welcome and have been welcoming. They've found something and are very happy about it. They gush over being able to go to confession and prepare for it carefully. Those I've encountered truly adhere to the teaching of the magisterium with great joy. They send their sons to regular Catholic seminaries and tend to home school or send their children to Catholic schools (some of the parishes already include schools). In short, they are grateful to have found a place where they can rest their hearts and souls.

From what we've been told, the new provision only streamlines the process. (Historically, it takes years for a parish to convert and I don't think an entire diocese has ever done so.)

[Sue Martzahl]

Being just an average, run of the mill Episcopalian, I see this as a political move by the Pope. The Church has taken a big hit from the various scandals and this may be a move to increase their enrollment; it may alienate some of the faithful within the Catholic Church.

Sue

[Frsimmons]

The problem, ecumenically, is that the Vatican has disavowed "Uniatism" in order to smooth relations with the Orthodox churches. The fact that this new uniatism is being put into place globally indicates how little respect the current pope has for Anglicanism, no matter what public statements claim.

David+