The document appears to clear up some questions and leave a few loose ends to be answered. For my commentary on who, where and why this was issued, see my post here. Let's look at some of the questions and how they appear to be answered. A caveat - I'm no expert on Roman canon law, so there could be some nuances I am not catching.
1. Whose authority will these churches be under?
This is a little more Vatican-centered than I had initially understood. It appears that while the national conferences of bishops is consulted, that the authority to establish them lies with the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. The ordinary (bishop) is chosen by the Pope and answers directly to him. Therefore, the national conferences appear to have very little to do with the regular governance of the ordinariate. Therefore, this looks a little more like Opus Dei than military chaplaincies. I can't imagine this will be very popular with sitting diocesan bishops.
2. Can their priests be married?
The ordinary is to ordain only celibate men to the priesthood.
Upon reading the Complimentary Norms for the Apostolic Constitution, it appears that married Anglican bishops are to be re-ordained as priests. They can then be appointed as the ordinary, although not ordained as a bishop. The quasi-bishop then has jurisdictional authority and is seated as a retired bishop in the college of bishops, but does not have the sacramental authority of a bishop (i.e. to ordain).
3. Will Anglican Priests have to be re-ordained?
Yes. This has absolutely no effect on Apostolicae Curae.
4. Can churches in the Ordinariate use the Book of Common Prayer?
Still unclear. The constitution says that
"the Ordinariate has the faculty to celebrate the Holy Eucharist and the other Sacraments, the Liturgy of the Hours and other liturgical celebrations according to the liturgical books proper to the Anglican tradition, which have been approved by the Holy See, so as to maintain the liturgical, spiritual and pastoral traditions of the Anglican Communion within the Catholic Church, as a precious gift nourishing the faith of the members of the Ordinariate and as a treasure to be shared.""Which have been approved by the Holy See" is the operative phrase here. In the history of Anglican-Use parishes in America, this has meant the Book of Divine Worship, which has elements of the 1928 and 1979 BCP with altered eucharistic language to reflect RC Dogma. Whether the pope will authorize a BCP wholesale without revision has yet to be seen, but seems unlikely.
5. Will members of the Ordinariate have to accept the doctrines of Papal Infallibility and the Immaculate Conception?
Yes. "The Catechism of the Catholic Church is the authoritative expression of the Catholic faith professed by members of the Ordinariate."
From what I can tell, the only difference between this and the Anglican-Use provisions that have been in effect in America since 1980 is at the level of the diocese and bishop. Otherwise, they are just expanding this provision world-wide.
So those who go to Rome will have to be re-ordained, submit to absolute papal authority, accept all Roman Dogma (even the novel ones of the last 200 years), cannot raise up married men to the priesthood, and will most likely have to use a modified version of the Book of Common Prayer. One has to ask the question, What are the "Treasures of the Anglican Tradition" that the Pope seeks to retain within these ordinariates? Evensong? Is that it?
David+
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