U.S. Anglican Ordinariate Plants Seeds for Anglican Rite And Renewal of Roman Rite

The mass according to the Anglican Use of the Roman Rite
THE CATHOLIC KNIGHT:  Today is the Feast of Mary, the Holy Mother of God, in the season of Christmastide.  On this first day of this first month, in the year of our Lord 2012, the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, creates the United States ordinariate for Anglicans, which has been named the 'Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter' - see official website here. Former Episcopalian Bishop, now a Catholic priest, the Reverend Dr. Jeffrey Steenson, has been nominated for the position of the new Ordinary. 

Fr. Jeffrey Steenson

Fr. Steenson is married with three grown children.  The Catholic Church has been admitting married men into the Catholic priesthood for at least some thirty years now.  Fr. Steenson was received into the Catholic Church in 2007, and ordained to the Catholic priesthood in 2009.  Pope John Paul II created the 'Pastoral Provision' in 1980, which opened the door for married Protestant clergy to enter the Catholic Church and be ordained Catholic priests.  Currently, there are over one-hundred such men serving as priests in the United States, most of them came from The Episcopal Church USA (American Anglicanism), but some came from Lutheran and other Protestant traditions.  Because the Anglican Ordinary will likely be a married priest, he cannot be consecrated as a bishop at this time.  This is a tradition going back to the earliest days of Christianity.  However, the U.S. Anglican Ordinary, if he is not a bishop, is instead granted all the powers of a mitred abbot.  He will have the full authority of a bishop, except he cannot ordain men to the priesthood himself.  Instead regular Roman bishops may do this upon his request.  He may even wear episcopal vestments during liturgical events and carry a crosier, just as if he were a bishop.  That's because these are symbols of his shepherding role in the ordinariate.   The Ordinary will be given an equal seat with the other prelates at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

This condition of a non-episcopal Ordinary is in all likelihood a temporary one.  It is designed to prepare the way for something different later on.  Originally, when traditional Anglicans first opened communications with Rome, the idea was to create a whole new rite for Anglicans entering the Catholic Church, however, this proved impossible at this time because of the condition Anglicanism currently finds itself in. In order to have a full-fledged rite, there must be celibate bishops with real apostolic succession, an undisputed patrimony, and no ambiguity on the sacrament of holy orders.  Historically, Anglicanism has not possessed these things, in any clear fashion, even though it has demonstrated an certain affinity toward English Catholic liturgy and sacramental life.

So what the pope did was create an incubator called the 'Anglican Ordinariate.'  It is similar to the military ordinariate for Roman Catholics.  The idea of the Anglican Ordinariate is to create a 'space' (if you will) within the Catholic Church, wherein traditional high-church Anglicans (i.e. Anglo Catholics) can further develop their patrimony with absolute clarity, in an environment where holy orders are no longer in question. The position of Ordinary may be occupied by a married priest for as long as these Anglo Catholics require one. However, it is envisioned in the long run that there will be some celibate men ordained into the Anglo Catholic priesthood eventually. These men will eventually become candidates for the position of Ordinary when the time is right. When that day comes, a celibate bishop will be consecrated as the next ordinary (someday in the future). Once that happens, the ordinariate becomes a 'particular church,' a full-fledged diocese (if you will), and the Anglican patrimony is well on its way to become a full-fledged rite within the Catholic Church, just as soon as all the ordinariates worldwide are similarly prepared.

As for time frame, your guess is as good as mine. Speculatively, one would think one to two generations would be ample. However, that is not a job for this pope or this generation. This pope plants the seeds of a future Anglican Rite. Another pope, someday in the future, will harvest the crop, and actually make it happen. Just as Pope John Paul II cleared the field with the Anglican Use Pastoral Provision some thirty years ago, so this pope (Benedict XVI) is laying the foundation with the Anglican ordinariates. Other popes will help build the structure as Anglo Catholics supply the living materials, and someday the Anglican Rite within the Catholic Church will be completed.  Personally, I would think at least thirty to forty years will be required before this happens, perhaps longer, but you never know.  The Lord works in mysterious ways.

As for Anglicans entering the Catholic Church, the ONLY thing they need to do is just keep the Anglican Patrimony and be good Catholics.  As for a future Anglican Rite, that is a job best left to the Holy Spirit.

In the mean time, the Holy Father has a much broader plan for the Anglican ordinariates.  First and foremost, of course, they provide an easy point of entry for Anglicans (Episcopalians) into the Catholic Church.  They also provide a similarly easy point of entry for some Lutherans, as well as other traditional protestants.  Second, because the ordinariates will have their own traditional English liturgy, and their own rubrics in which that liturgy MUST be celebrated, they provide yet another means through which the Holy Father can further his liturgical "reform of the reform" of the Western Church.  Traditional Anglo Catholics are more than eager to help the pope in this regard, as it is primarily their love for liturgy that has driven them to the Catholic Church over the last two centuries.  Third and finally, the ordinariate structure, as provided for under the Apostolic Constitution for Anglicans, puts ordinariate members under Roman canon law, and for the time being anyway, considers the Anglican ordinariate patrimony a subdivision of the Roman Rite.  This allows clergy and laity to easily cross over between any Roman diocese and the Anglican ordinariate.  Thus, any ordinariate priest can fill in as a substitute guest priest in a diocesan parish.  The same is true vice versa.  Likewise, any Roman Catholic layman can take up membership in an Anglo Catholic parish.  The same is true vice versa.  This crossover is designed to alleviate some of the strain caused by the priest shortage, and to give traditionally-minded Roman Catholics some more liturgical options, as well as give some ordinariate Anglo Catholics easy access to diocesan life should they prefer it.  This allows for some regularisation and normalisation between the ordinariate and local dioceses as things get under way.  It also introduces Catholics from both groups to opportunities to help each other out.  With these Anglican ordinariates, the Holy Father has done nothing short of helping both Catholics and Anglicans, giving both groups more tools at their disposal to further nourish their spiritual needs during a period of dark times for Western Christianity.

Finally, I would like to offer a word of admonition to both Roman Catholics and Anglicans entering the Church through the ordinariate.

To Roman Catholics I say this.  DON'T BE STUPID.  The Holy Father has structured these ordinariates in such as way as to help struggling Roman dioceses in their time of need.  Make no mistake about it.  Dioceses that are accommodating to Anglican ordinariate parishes and groups will be blessed.  New vocations may arise from these communities, and those vocations will likely be of service to both the diocese as well as the ordinariate.  Anglo-Catholic priests are fully permitted to celebrate the Roman Rite liturgy as well as their own.  This means with your local bishop's permission, they can do a regular mass in any diocesan parish, and you can be sure they will celebrate the Roman liturgy with the highest level of respect and honour given to your traditional customs.  That can only serve to strengthen your local parish's Roman Catholic identity.  This is a win-win situation for Roman dioceses.  Don't pass the opportunity up when it arises.  Embrace the Anglican ordinariate, in the true spirit of Vatican II (a spirit of continuity not rupture), and your diocese will be blessed because of it.

To all those entering the Church through the ordinariate, most especially to Anglicans for whom these ordinariates are being created, I would like to admonish you to fully embrace the Catholic faith as well as the Anglican Patrimony.  Most especially, nurture the Anglican Patrimony, which is primarily liturgical of course, but can also include personal and family customs that are unique to Anglican history and English culture.  The Holy Father has made it ABSOLUTELY CLEAR that he EXPECTS us to build something new and unique in the universal Church.  He does not want us to be absorbed into the Roman Rite as a community.  Granted, if individuals (or families) want to be absorbed into the general Roman Rite, than that is fine, and that is their choice.  As an Anglo Catholic community however, those of us who choose to remain part of that, should endeavour to be unique and distinct, keeping with our Anglican Patrimony and forging ahead in Traditional development.  Remember, it was our most conservative Anglican traditions that brought us INTO the Catholic Church, and it is those same conservative Anglican traditions that will help us move forward WITHIN the Catholic Church. As for today however, let us celebrate and give thanks to the Lord. Today history is made. Today marks a new beginning not only for Anglicans (Episcopalians) in the United States, but also for Roman Catholics as well, as we will both mutually benefit from this ordinariate arrangement.

Pope Approves US Ordinariate for Anglicans

Cardinal Donald Wuerl addresses the U.S. Bishop's Conference
on November 15, 2011

THE CATHOLIC KNIGHT: The Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, has just approved the creation of a U.S. Ordinariate for Anglicans seeking to enter the Catholic Church. The ordinariate will be erected on January 1st, 2012. The name of the ordinariate and the ordinary will be released at that time. Cardinal Wuerl made the announcement today at the USCCB Conference, though the pope had actually made the approval on October 28, 2011 in the presence of Cardinal Levada. Cardinal Wuerl was authorised to make the announcement today at the bishops conference. The full text of Cardinal Wuerl's report can be viewed HERE. Another blogger has prepared a general Q&A for Roman Catholics here.

They Shall Be Called Anglo Catholics

The Mass According to the Anglican Use of the Roman Rite
THE CATHOLIC KNIGHT: Here in the United States, Anglicans entering the pope's personal ordinariate for 'Groups of Anglicans' will likely have to be called 'Anglo Catholics' or 'Anglo-Catholics,' with or without the hyphen.

The reasons for this are complex. The first reason has to do with the name 'Anglican Catholic' itself. The Catholic Knight has recently learned from a fellow blogger that some small splinter-group of traditional Anglicans, not interested in the ordinariate, are claiming a legal service mark to the term 'Anglican Catholic' and may be threatening legal action against anyone else who dares to use it. While in my opinion it is unlikely that this group can really service mark such a general term, I believe it is equally unlikely that the ordinary of the U.S. ordinariate will seek a legal challenge to it. Though I think he would likely win such a legal challenge, it's probably not worth the fight. The second reason has to do with the fact that there are more than just Anglicans entering the American ordinariate. A small contingency of Lutherans, calling themselves the 'Anglo-Lutheran Catholic Church' will also be joining the ordinariate. It would be inaccurate to describe this group as 'Anglican' per se' because they are not. They are Lutheran, and while they've obviously adopted some Anglican customs, they come from a form of Protestantism that originated in Germany under completely different pretences than the English Reformation. So to imply that they are 'Anglican' under an 'Anglican Catholic ordinariate.' Is somewhat of a misnomer.

The term 'Anglo,' coming from the Latin for the British tribes of 'Angles,' simply means 'English' and in a religious sense, it refers to the form and style of Christian worship that developed in the British isles. It is the same religious form used by high-church Anglicans, Anglo-Lutherans and the 'Anglican Use Pastoral Provision' parishes in the U.S. Catholic Church. So the term has a more broad base. While the ordinariate itself may be called anything under the sun, such as the 'Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham' as in England, and may possibly include the word 'Anglican' if that is the desire of those who control it, the term 'Anglo Catholic' might better be used as a loose, quick and informal way to refer to those Catholics who become members of the ordinariate.

The term 'Anglo-Catholic,' usually with a hyphen, has a long tradition of being used to describe high-church Anglicans anyway, and these are the type of Anglicans who are most likely to find interest in the pope's ordinariate. Removing the hyphen might be an easy way to loosely distinguish between those who are in the ordinariate and those who have yet to join. Those outside the ordinariate might be hyphenated 'Anglo-Catholic' while those inside the ordinariate might dispense of the hyphen 'Anglo Catholic.'

If the term 'Anglo Catholic' seems inappropriate, than about the only other term left is 'Anglican Use Catholic' as it is the term already used in the United States by the Anglican Use Pastoral Provision parishes.

Of course if none of these seem suitable than there is yet one last suggestion. The full Latin term for Anglican could be applied creating the term 'Anglicanus Catholic.'

US Episcopalians Now Forced To Choose

THE CATHOLIC KNIGHT: Absolute chaos is erupting in The Episcopal Church USA, as simultaneously Cardinal Donald Wuerl just announced last week that the creation of a US Ordinariate structure for Anglicans within the Catholic Chirch is imminent and should be complete before the end of the year.

The Episcopal Church USA has followed a course that has led it into a complete internal civil war. Besides ignoring historic tradition of Christian sexual morality, and twisting (or dismissing) Sacred Scripture to justify it, the national leadership of The Episcopal Church is now engaging in obvious abuse of its own laws to selectively punish bishops and priests who do not measure up to the national politically correct 'orthodoxy'. In short, The Episcopal Church leadership is now demonstrating that no orthodox Anglo-Catholic is safe anymore. National intervention into local diocesan affairs is just a matter of time, no matter how 'conservative' one thinks their bishop might be.

Anglo-Catholic Episcopalians are left with just two options to avoid certain persecution from their own national leadership....

Option #1: Leave The Episcopal Church for one of the continuing Anglican splinter groups, which may consist of several thousand members and questionable communion with Canterbury.

Option #2: Leave The Episcopal Church for the emerging Ordinariate for Anglicans within the 1.2 billion member Catholic Church, thus fulfilling the ecumenical vision of the Oxford Movement.

There it is. The choices are simple now. For staying within The Episcopal Church, closing one's eyes and hoping for the best, has proved to be a perfectly suicidal recipe.

New Statistics Show US Episcopal Church Is Crumbling

THE CATHOLIC KNIGHT: The numbers don't lie. The Episcopal Church in the United States is crumbling. As many as a third of all U.S. Episcopal parishes will be closed within 5 years....

(Virtue Online) - A month long investigation by Virtueonline into the numerical state of The Episcopal Church reveals that more than one third of all 6825 Episcopal parishes in the U.S. have an average Sunday attendance (ASA) of 40 or less.

VOL believes that the figure of 2.3 million Episcopalians, regularly stated by TEC leaders and officials, does not reveal the true state of church attendance. More than two-thirds of this figure have either died, left the church, or attend twice a year, along with tens of thousands still on church rolls who have never been (and should be) removed. The only true standard to gauge the Episcopal Church’s health is Average Sunday Attendance (ASA).

The study undertaken by VOL staff reveals a church in sharp decline with 2219 churches having congregations of aging parishioners in their mid 60s with little or no chance of turnaround in the foreseeable future. There are virtually no young people coming forward to fill the gap. Those being trained in TEC’s liberal seminaries will have no message that is discernibly different from the prevailing culture.

What this foreshadows is that within the next 3 to 5 years more than 2,000 churches across the country will be forced to close, merge or be sold regardless of cash reserves or endowment because there will simply not be enough people in them to keep the doors open. Hundreds of clergy will be forced into early retirement; many will have to take secondary employment in an attempt to keep the doors open to a handful of aging congregants....

read full story here

There are lessons to be learned from this.  The U.S. Episcopal Church is a socially liberal organization, and probably the most liberal of all the Anglican bodies worldwide.  It's message is virtually indistinguishable from popular liberalism espoused at universities and by mainstream media elites.  In other words...

1. Liberalism and Christianity don't mix.


2. Liberalism guts Christianity and leaves it empty.


3. Those parishes that embrace Liberalism will consign themselves to empty pews and eventual parish closure.

The debate has long since been over.  The statistics speak for themselves.  U.S. Catholics would be wise to take heed.  For if Catholic parishes, priests and bishops adopt the same social Liberal stand as the Episcopal Church, than our fate will be the same.

Please pass this article on to all Catholics, especially those with a "liberal" point of view.

England Is The Key To Save Europe (and the West)

THE CATHOLIC KNIGHT: We are all familiar with the Fatima prophecies concerning the conversion of Russia, and the necessity of this in the restoration of the world after the godless hell of Marxist atheism and Secular humanism. However, Our Lady of Fatima specifically stated that the conversion of Russia is contingent upon the actions of the pope. Russia must be consecrated to Mary's Immaculate Heart, in union with all the bishops of the world, and then Russia will be converted. By "converted" it is generally assumed to mean the Russian Orthodox Church (and the state as well) will be reconciled to Rome. We do not know when, or exactly how, this will happen, but it is an action reserved almost exclusively for the pope. As for the rest of us, all we can do is pray, considering Our Lady's message to live holy and chaste lives. To show our love and obedience, we may practice the devotion of "the First Saturday" as well as pray the Fatima prayers of the Holy Rosary frequently. This however is all we can do for Russia at this time.

Our Lady of Walsingham

However, many Catholic mystics across the generations have pointed to another crusade much closer to home, and one in which we can do a whole lot more. The Nation of England, Great Britain, otherwise known as the United Kingdom (U.K.) is pointed out by the Catholic seers and mystics across multiple generations as the "key" or the "linchpin" to the reconversion of Europe (and the West) after the great Western apostasy of the 20th century. Once considered "Mary's Dowry" this great Catholic nation fell into the Protestant Reformation, quite unwillingly and brutally, due to the apostasy of a king who could no longer see beyond his own political assumptions. Because of this, England fell into a 500 year spiritual death spiral. Today it is barely recognizable as a Christian nation, ruled by godless secularism and moral relativism, while Islam threatens to become the dominant religion on the island. England is spiritually dead now. It has reached the end of it's long death spiral. Now it faces a striking and painful choice. Shall it rebuild it's Catholic heritage? Or give up! allowing the Muslims to rebuild England for them into an Islamic state? Yes, it really has come to that, and yes, now is the time for decision.

I will leave you with the following video in two parts. They are stirring to say the least. If you want to help, you can! If you speak English as your native tongue, than you are connected to the restoration of Catholic England by virtue of your heritage. I will leave links for you to explore just below the video...




THE WALSINGHAM PROJECT (website)
THE WALSINGHAM PROJECT (pdf download)
PRAYERS FOR ENGLAND OUTSIDE THE UK (pdf download)
PRAYERS FOR ENGLAND INSIDE THE UK (pdf download)
HENRY VIII's BOOK "Defense of the Sacraments" (website)
JOIN THE WALSINGHAM PRAYER CRUSADE (website)
.

Anglicanism Implodes While Anglican Catholicism Rises

Anglican Archbishop Rowan Williams
No, I don't know what he's doing. 

(Telegraph) - Here’s the reality. The Anglican Communion has disintegrated on Rowan Williams’s watch, partly thanks to his habit of saying one thing to fundamentalist Africans and quite another to liberal Americans. His own bench of bishops is hopelessly divided on key moral issues, and Rowan’s hand-wringing isn’t uniting them.

Out of four bishops commissioned to look after traditionalist congregations, three have left the C of E to become Catholic monsignors. Over fifty Anglican ministers are being ordained RC priests this month.
You may or may not sympathise with their decision. But one thing’s for sure. When Pope Benedict is confronted by a major crisis in his Church, he doesn’t take time off to guest edit a secular magazine in the hope of impressing his mates...

read full story first

THE CATHOLIC KNIGHT: Yes, Anglicanism is imploding around the world, not just in England, but the Anglican Communion is in good company. Lutheranism is on it's last leg too, as well as Methodism, Presbyterianism, etc. In fact, the only two Christian denominations that are growing right now are the Catholic Church and Evangelical/Pentecostal communities. Everything else is in decline. So Anglicans shouldn't feel too bad about that. It's nothing specific to their brand of Christianity. That being said however, Anglicanism does present an interesting microcosm of what is happening in the entire Protestant world.

Before I go on, let me say what this is NOT about. This is not about English Christianity or English Christians in general. It certainly has nothing to do with English heritage. So this is not an attack on Anglicanism in particular. What this is about is Protestantism in general, and specifically, it is about the very premise of what Protestantism is built on. It's taken about five-hundred years, but in that time we have witness the complete and total erosion of the Christian faith.

The problem goes right back to the Protestant Reformation itself (AD 1517 - 1648). It really begins with Martin Luther actually, and believe it or not, his Ninety-Five Thesis has little to do with it. It actually begins in 1520 with a declaration made by Martin Luther of Sola Scriptura or "Scripture Alone" which teaches that the Bible is the ONLY inspired word of God, that it is the ONLY source of Christian doctrine, and that the Bible requires no interpretation outside of itself, meaning that anyone may interpret it authoritatively. This is in direct contradiction to the historic teaching of Christianity that the Bible can only be authentically interpreted in the context of Apostolic Tradition and by the successors of the Apostles themselves. This idea of Sola Scriptura was later adopted by the Church of England in the Westminster Confession of Faith in 1646...

VII. All things in Scripture are not alike plain in themselves, nor alike clear unto all; yet those things which are necessary to be known, believed, and observed, for salvation, are so clearly propounded and opened in some place of Scripture or other, that not only the learned, but the unlearned, in a due use of the ordinary means, may attain unto a sufficient understanding of them.

So began a "hermeneutic of rupture" with historic Christianity in the Protestant world that began with Martin Luther, spread across all of Europe, and found it's way into the Church of England. Now the Church of England, and the broader Anglican Communion, has undergone many transformations over the centuries, and I don't propose to suggest the Westminster Confession captures the heart and soul of Anglicanism today. I simply mean to say this was one of the seeds that started it all.  By adopting Sola Scriptura, the Anglicans set themselves up for a train wreck in slow motion that would take hundreds of years to see it's final devastation.   If scripture, tradition and reason are all anyone needs, than by one man's reason, Scripture can be reinterpreted anyway one wants based on the tradition one chooses.  So began the formula of Anglicanism's demise.  In the Oxford Movement the Anglicans saw a brief reprieve of hope, in which for a moment, it looked as if things might turn around, but this hope was soon lost in the twentieth century with the Anglican adoption of artificial contraception, followed by liberal attitudes toward abortion, feminism and homosexuality.  The only thing the Oxford Movement provided was a way out for those Anglicans who wanted it -- a way to step off the train wreck before the final crunch -- a way that is seeing it's completion in Pope Benedict's personal ordinariate for Anglicans.

With the rise of the Anglican ordinariate in the UK, English Christians are now faced with a crystal clear choice.  Pope Benedict has effectively adopted the Anglican Book of Common Prayer (or 98% of it anyway) as an authentic Catholic liturgy.  He has created a means for Anglo-Catholics to govern themselves within the hierarchy of the Catholic Church.  He has given English Christians everything that could possibly be given, and now the ball is squarely in their court.  Aesthetically, the ordinariates are in every way English.  They fully embrace the Anglican Patrimony of the last five-hundred years and beyond. The clergy of these ordinariates are autonomous, in the sense that they cannot be absorbed by the larger Roman Rite.  It is everything the Oxford Fathers could have imagined and then some.  So now, with that being said, what will English Christians choose?  That is a matter for history to decide.  The choice is no longer between English and Roman.  Rome has retreated, shall we say, at least liturgically, but it has done so with dignity, and the English ethos now permanently rules through the ordinariate.  Of course the general Roman Rite will always be available for those who want it, but no more will English Christians have to choose between Rome and their Anglican heritage.  Now, if they want it, they can have both.

The choice is no longer between Rome and Canterbury, but it is now simply a choice between Catholicism and Protestantism.  All the Church of England, and the broader Anglican Communion, has to offer now is a difference in doctrine.  Anglicans can no longer boast of a unique Christian culture, heritage and ethos.  All of this now exists in the ordinariates.  So the real choice is simply between doctrine and nothing more.  Is Scripture subject to one's own private interpretations, or is it part of a broader Christian Tradition that should be interpreted by the successors to the apostles?  Is Christ only spiritually present in the Eucharist, or is he really truly there in a physical sense?  Does moral relativism rule Christianity, or is there really such a thing as absolute right and wrong?  These are the questions that face English Christians now.  This is the choice they must now make.  It is no longer an issue of "being English."  That can be done within the ordinariates.  The question is now one of being Christian.  What would the apostles do?

As for the Church of England, and the broader Anglican Communion, I think we all know what it's future holds.  The Communion is now in the process of being shattered.  The Africans and Asians will go the way of the Evangelicals, breaking communion with Canterbury and England just as they already have with The Episcopal Church in the United States.  These Anglo-Evangelicals will follow the rest of the world's Evangelicals into their own discovery of the inadequacies of Sola Scriptura.  As for what remains of Anglo-Catholicism in England, North America, Australia and New Zealand, it will continue to follow the path of Liberal Modernism to it's ultimate conclusion -- which is total relativism and final apostasy -- creating an anti-church that in every way looks and sounds Catholic but in reality teaches an entirely different gospel.  Like all liberal churches, it will eventually shrink to practically nothing, and then rely on inter-communion with other liberal churches to shore up it's lost numbers.  The irony of the whole thing is this.  Liberal Anglicans make the accusation that Rome will eventually absorb the ordinariates into the Roman Rite, leaving nothing of the Anglican patrimony behind, even though Rome has already made such action impossible though canon law.  While at the same time, the Canterbury communion has itself consigned itself to it's own absorption of relativist syncretism through denominational inter-communion. 

Anti-Papal Anglicans Attack Emerging Ordinariates

THE CATHOLIC KNIGHT: It's not everyday one finds conservative traditionalists fighting against the pope. Usually such strange manifestations are contained to groups such as the SSPX and various Sedevacatist orders. Of course, in the Protestant world we could point to Evangelical Fundamentalists, though not very traditionalist as far as Christian standards go, they are usually conservative. I suppose if we really look hard enough, we can find traces of such lunacy in the conservative relics of mainstream Protestantism. I'm thinking of the two Lutheran synods in the United States for example, which still technically claim the pope to be the Antichrist, at least on paper anyway. However, it has been my experience that in these cases it is simply a matter of doctrinal technically, referring to the office of the papacy (as they misunderstand it), and not necessarily the man himself. Most conservative Lutherans I know tend to find this doctrinal technicality a little embarrassing. So on the conservative side of the Protestant world that's pretty much it. If you want to find anymore Protestant opposition to the pope, you're going to have to look on the liberal side, of which there is plenty to go around.

Occasionally however, we run across something a little unusual. Such is the case with the bitter Anglo-Catholic opposition developing against the emerging Anglican ordinariates within the Catholic Church. The Anglo-Catholic opposition seems to exist mainly in North America for now, as the English Anglo-Catholics were considerably more friendly about it. In the UK, the Anglo-Catholics each went their own way after the decision to consecrate women bishops in the Church of England. Some chose to stay and fight it out in the Church of England. Some chose to go with a breakaway continuing Anglican group. While some chose to venture into the pope's ordinariate for Anglicans. For the most part the parting of ways was bittersweet. Each side was sorry to see the other depart, but understood the reasons why and were generally respectful of their respective decisions. For the most part, the situation remains that way in England, with only a few very minor exceptions. To find real opposition to the pope's ordinariate plan in the UK, one must look to the liberal side of the spectrum.

In North America it's a different story. A very small, but vocal group, of Anglo-Catholics in the United States and Canada are putting up quite a stink. The American branch of the Traditional Anglican Communion, (the “Anglican Church in America” or “ACA”) has broken into two bodies, those who are for the ordinariate and those who are against. Those who are for it have reorganized under an umbrella organization titled the “Patrimony of the Primate.” While those who are against it are now in firm control of of the ACA. The Patrimony of the Primate is a considerably large chunk of the former ACA, and when combined with other groups aspiring to enter the ordinariate, the list is rather large.

Sadly, the ACA, along with a few sympathizers in Canada, have done much to harass those entering the ordinariate, even to the point of claiming that embracing the pope's offer is nothing short of abandoning one's Anglican heritage and is altogether a “dishonest” way of becoming Catholic. Not less than a few articles have been written, on blogs that cater to such groups, which have consistently misled readers with fabricated information, or at the very least distorted data cited out of context. One such blog even had the audacity to publish a private email exchange between a Roman Catholic bishop and the Primate of the Traditional Anglican Communion. (I wonder who leaked that email and if that person still has a job.) This is probably the worst example of anti-papal Protestantism I've ever seen in a group that claims to be “catholic.”

I only bring this up so my readers may be aware of what's happening. This is a very small, but very loud, group that is doing this. Unfortunately, many Catholic and Secular news sources are unaware of the politics behind the stories, and are publishing links to those news stories on their news aggregation websites. I think it's only fair to warn those news sources to beware and consider where the news is coming from. Even some of the news coming from the Apostolic Delegates, for the American and Canadian ordinariates, isn't entirely accurate. That's not to say there is any malicious intent there, as I don't believe there is, just that I think some of the information they're letting out is a bit obsolete and sometimes incomplete. We have to remember, the job of the pope's apostolic delegates is to gather information and report on the emerging ordinariates, not guide or direct them, so we shouldn't expect them to have all the answers.

I'm not going to point out the problematic blogs and news sources here. Rather I prefer to point my readers in the right direction. To the best of my knowledge, the most reliable source for information on the emerging Anglican ordinariates is The Anglo-Catholic Blog, and the Ordinariate Portal Blog. Anything written by Damian Thompson on the Telegraph Blog is usually pretty good stuff. Of course, yours truly (The Catholic Knight Blog) will endeavor to bring you the most accurate information as well. Beyond that, I wouldn't trust anything else unless it comes directly from Rome.

U.S. Anglican Ordinariate Surpasses The Episcopal Church USA

View Emerging Anglican Catholic Ordinariates in a larger map

THE CATHOLIC KNIGHT: Br. Stephen Treat has made an interesting observation over at "The Anglo-Catholic" blog. According to his calculation, even in a worst case scenario, assuming that there would be no further interest in the Anglican Ordinariate in the United States other than what already exists (an assumption that runs against all observations and expectations so far), the average Sunday attendance (ASA) of the emerging Anglican ordinariate already surpasses that of The Episcopal Church U.S.A. ever so slightly. Now let me be perfectly clear. Br. Treat is not claiming the emerging U.S. Ordinariate will be larger than The Episcopal Church, not yet anyway, he's just saying that the estimated ASA is larger. The average national ASA of the emerging U.S. Anglican ordinariate currently ranks at about 69. While the average national ASA of The Episcopal Church U.S.A. currently ranks at about 66. This of course assumes zero growth of the emerging U.S. Anglican ordinariate, and zero interest in ordinariate parishes by Catholics of the general Roman Rite.

Of course the last thirty years of observation of the Anglican Use in the United States tells a different story. Anglican Use parishes have grown, some gradually, some rapidly and one explosively! (The presence of a parochial school helps explain the explosive growth in that one case.) Regardless of the cause, virtually all of the Anglican Use parishes have grown somewhat, and that is in spite of virtual obscurity.

What does this mean? It means that regardless of the rate of growth of the U.S. Anglican Ordinariate, it's size in average Sunday attendance (ASA) will surpass that of The Episcopal Church U.S.A. within a very short period of time, if indeed it hasn't already surpassed it!

The Episcopal Church U.S.A. is the official U.S. branch of the worldwide Protestant Anglican Communion.

Five 'Church of England' Bishops Defect To Rome

THE CATHOLIC KNIGHT:  In what is sure to be the first wave of several, five Anglican bishops have left the Protestant Church of England to join the pope's emerging Anglican Ordinariate within the Catholic Church...

(Reuters) - Five Church of England bishops opposed to the ordination of women bishops will take up an offer by Pope Benedict and convert to Roman Catholicism, heralding a possible exodus of traditionalist Anglicans.

The bishops will enter full communion with Rome through an ordinariate, a body proposed by the pope last October to let traditionalists convert while keeping some Anglican traditions, the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales announced.

The ordinariate will let married clerics become Catholic priests, in an exception to the Vatican's celibacy rule, but not bishops. Married Anglican bishops who convert may be granted a special status almost equivalent to their former rank.

Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, head of the Church of England and the worldwide Anglican Communion, accepted the resignations of two bishops directly under his authority, Andrew Burnham and Keith Newton, "with regret." He wished them well "in this next stage of their service" to the Christian faith...

read full story here

So begins the slow death of the Church of England, and the rebirth of Anglican Catholicism in full communion with the worldwide Catholic Church.

In related news, the pope has called for a consistory on November 19th to discuss many issues including...

(AFP) – This month’s meeting will also deal with the thorny issue of how Anglicans disgruntled with the Church of England’s policies on gay marriage and women priests can be integrated into the Catholic Church.

The Vatican in 2009 announced that such converts would be welcome.

The consistory call coincided with an announcement by the Catholic Church on Monday that five Anglican bishops are to convert under Benedict’s offer.

The Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales said it welcomed the decision by the bishops “to enter into full communion with the Catholic Church”.

In a statement, the five bishops said they had been “dismayed, over the last 30 years, to see Anglicans and Catholics move further apart on some of the issues of the day.”

They said the Vatican offer was a “generous response to various approaches to the Holy See for help and a bold, new ecumenical instrument in the search for the unity of Christians.”

read full story here

The Episcopal Church USA is Crumbling

(Virtue Online) - The Dean of the flagship cathedral of St. Matthew's, Dallas, the Very Rev. Kevin Martin, says The Episcopal Church is heading off a cliff into oblivion. He opines that the "20/20: A Clear Vision" set by GC2000 to double the church in the next decade is now an impossibility.

Writing in the October 3 issue of The Living Church Martin said, "I have come to the conclusion that the Episcopal Church is headed toward about 1 million members in 2020, an average Sunday attendance around 400,000 and around 6,000 mainly small congregations.

"The 20/20 initiative was, among all things, a concerted effort to bring revitalization and growth to a long declining mainline church. It failed and we are now faced with an institutional decline that, save a direct intervention and miracle by God, cannot be reversed. There is insufficient leadership, desire, or institutional will to change.

"The failure of the 20/20 initiative, combined with the subsequent controversy around human sexuality, has placed our community in a very precarious position," he writes...

read full story here

THE CATHOLIC KNIGHT:  Some of my readers may wonder why I've spent so much time on matters related to the Anglican Communion and The Episcopal Church USA.  My reasons are as follows...

1. I used to be an Episcopalian before joining the Catholic Church
2. Tens (perhaps even hundreds) of thousands of Anglican/Episcopalians have become Catholic over the last thirty years, just as I have.
3. Hundreds of thousands more will soon come into the Catholic Church through the pope's Anglican Ordinariate provision.
4. The Anglican Communion and the Episcopal Church USA serve as a perfect object lesson for Cafeteria Catholics.

A word to the wise for Cafeteria Catholics.  Do you believe women should be ordained to the priesthood, even elevated to the level of bishop?  Do you believe the priesthood should be open to homosexuals and the Church should be open to gay marriage?  Do you believe artificial contraception is a moral good, and that abortion is a matter of personal "choice?"  Do you believe holy communion should be open to anyone?  Do you believe the Catholic Church should be more lenient and relaxed with its rules and moral teachings?  Well, if you believe any of these things there is already an example of a catholic-style church that has already implemented them in full.  In the United States it is called The Episcopal Church (see website here).  This American branch of the worldwide Anglican Communion, is a Protestant church that maintains catholic forms and customs, "sacraments" and rites.  It is EXACTLY what the U.S. Catholic Church would look like if Cafeteria Catholics got everything they wanted.  Has The Episcopal Church benefited from these things?  Far from it.  Rather, this denomination of 3.5 million members in the United States shrunk to 2.5 million within just twenty years after ordaining the first women to the "priesthood."  All projections now indicate the American denomination will shrink to a mere 1 million by the year 2020.  The Episcopal Church USA is in free fall, and there is no end in sight.  Liberal Progressivism destroys churches.

In contrast, the few Episcopal parishes that are doing well, even growing, happen to be those who have adopted the strict Anglo-Catholicism of the Oxford Movement.  Meanwhile, those parishes that have adopted the most liberal progressive attitudes are those most suffering from an aging membership with little growth to compensate.  Their funerals outnumber their new baptisms five to one.  This is the potential future of the U.S. Catholic Church, if it were to follow the example of the Episcopal Church by adopting their liberal progressive policies.  Cafeteria Catholicism, quite to the contrary of what it's proponents say, results in a dead Church.  The evidence is before us, and The Episcopal Church USA provides a perfect laboratory for us to view the results.

Anglo-Catholicism Crumbles as Anglican Ordinariate Forms

(Telegraph) - Anglo-Catholicism within the Church of England is dispersing like a cloud of incense rolling down the nave. Those Anglicans who have decided to take advantage of Pope Benedict XVI’s historic offer of special privileges within the Roman Catholic Church are already constructing a network of Ordinariate communities that will bear fruit in new Catholic parishes. Crucially, they are led by two “flying” Anglican bishops, the Rt Rev Andrew Burnham of Ebbsfleet and the Rt Rev Keith Newton of Richborough.

Meanwhile, Anglo-Catholics who don’t feel ready to make the move yet, or perhaps at all, have muddied the waters with the creation of a body called the Society of Saint Wilfrid and Saint Hilda (SSWSH) whose role is unclear, to say the least. Depending on who you listen to, it’s either a group of traditionalists who want to stay in the Church of England, playing the role of Japanese jungle fighters who don’t know the war is over, or a holding body for people who will join the Ordinariate eventually but need more time to prepare. [Update: I see from the thread below that SSWSH has already been christened "The Society of St Hinge and St Bracket".]...

read full story here

THE CATHOLIC KNIGHT: It's over. It's over for the Church of England and it's over for the Anglican Communion. The Oxford Movement has finally reached it's ultimate goal - full corporate reunion with the Holy See - and in doing so it has resulted in the largest ongoing schism the Church of England (and the Anglican Communion) will ever suffer. What remains of "catholic" tradition within the Church of England will soon be a relic - a tiny huddle of "Japanese jungle fighters" who don't know the war ended long ago. They will soon be forced to concede to the wishes of Modernists whenever the Modernists will it, and yes they WILL submit to female bishops eventually - all of them. The Church of England, along with the entire Anglican Communion, is now thoroughly Protestant. All vestiges of "catholic" patrimony are going over to the pope's ordinariate. This is the fruit of Progressive Modernism. It is completely and totally INCOMPATIBLE with the apostolic Christian faith. This is where Progressive Modernism always leads.

In contrast Pope Benedict XVI has come to the rescue of Anglo-Catholicism, providing an ordinariate structure which is ongoing and perpetual. Anglo-Catholics who accept the ordinariate proposal, and sign on to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, will be granted a status that is nearly equal to a full rite within the Catholic Church. The provision for a married priesthood, on a case-by-case basis, is perpetual. The provision for their own liturgy is perpetual. The provision for their own episcopacy is perpetual. These Anglo-Catholics within the Protestant world will now become "Anglican Catholics" within the Catholic Church, distinct from Roman Catholics, but united in every way sacramentally and apostolically. These parishes will grow, and likewise the ordinariates will grow as well, until one day in the not-too-distant future they will surpass the Church of England and the Anglican Communion. What's that? You don't think it will happen? Never say "never." It's already begun.

The only question that remains now is one of property. What will become of all those beautiful Anglo-Catholic chapels in Britain, North America and Australia?

In the short run their future is uncertain. In the United States for example, when Episcopalian parishes broke with the larger Episcopalian diocese to join with continuing Anglican groups, the lower courts ruled in their favor. These rulings were later overturned by the state supreme courts. Now the whole matter is being brought before the U.S. Supreme Court, and to the best of my knowledge, no decision has been handed down yet. In Britain and Australia it appears that property issues are more firmly decided in law already, each favoring the Anglican diocese for property rights. I have no idea about Canada, but I imagine the situation is similar.

In the long run the future of the properties is more certain. Most of the more traditional properties (depending on their condition) will end up back in the hands of the Catholic Church. Gasp! What do you mean!?! you say. Well, here's the reality of the situation. The Catholic Church is growing, and the Anglican Ordinariates will be growing exponentially once they get settled in. Money will be flowing into these Catholic parishes, along with new memberships, and so on. In contrast the Church of England, the U.S. Episcopal Church and virtually every Anglican body in the Western world is hemorrhaging. Progressive Modernism has destroyed their ability to grow and flourish. Instead they are stuck in a rut of ever increasing Liberalism, until finally the only people they appease are the Leftist radicals who aren't so big on religion in the first place. Their congregations are becoming increasingly gray headed. Their funerals outnumber their baptisms nearly five to one. They're churches are dying, and now thanks to the ordinariates, they will soon be dying faster. The day will come in the not-too-distant future when they will have to sell off properties just to keep their dioceses afloat. I guarantee it won't be the trendy neo-modern chapels they'll be selling. Nobody wants them. No. They'll be selling those chapels that are worth the most, to maximize their financial gain out of their property loss. Those chapels are the smaller traditional chapels, usually located on choice real estate in the inner cities. That's where they'll get the most money for the least property loss. Who will they sell them to. Well, they really only have two candidates who will be interested. The Evangelicals could care less. They would be more interested in buying something big for their mega-stage productions. No, the only two candidates who will really be interested in buying their properties, and using them for worship, will be the traditional Catholics (either Roman or Anglican), or else the Muslims who will gut them and turn them into mosques. So unless they've got an ax to grind against Catholics, and they want to see their chapels gutted, the most likely candidate they will sell them to are the traditional Catholics (Roman or Anglican) and that is how many of them will eventually end up back in the hands of the Catholic Church. It's inevitable.

After all is said and done though, property is an issue that shouldn't be entering into the equation. What we're talking about here is reunion with the See of Peter. In light of that, property is a very small thing indeed. If that is what holds any Anglo-Catholics back from the ordinariate, than perhaps they need to reassess their priorities.

Pope's Subtle Message To Anglicans

THE CATHOLIC KNIGHT: I want you to take a good look at this picture. Besides it being an outstanding photo of our fantastic pope, I want you to take special notice of his gentle non-threatening gaze, as well as the stole worn around his neck.

A stole is a large piece of cloth worn around a clerics neck. It is a symbol of his ministry and spiritual authority. It is modeled after the Jewish prayer cloth called a tallit. The tradition obviously comes down to us from the apostolic age, as Jewish apostles wore tallitot (plural for tallit) while preaching the gospel to Gentiles. This is why the stole is seen as a symbol of authority to Christians.

Anyway, this particular photograph is very interesting because you see the pope was sitting in Westminster Abbey, when it was taken, where he was to address the spiritual leaders of the Church of England. Westminster Abbey is the primary place of worship for Anglicans. It's sort of like the Anglican answer to St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. The stole he wore around his neck was not his normal stole. It was the one worn by Pope Leo XIII (1878-1903 AD). Pope Leo XIII was the pope who elevated John Henry Newman to the office of cardinal-deacon, so since the pope would beatify Cardinal John Henry Newman two days later, it somewhat explains his use of Pope Leo's stole. However, there is a deeper symbolism here, and this pope is well known for teaching through symbols. Pope Leo XIII was also known as the pope who officially declared Anglican religious orders invalid...

Wherefore, strictly adhering, in this matter, to the decrees of the pontiffs, our predecessors, and confirming them most fully, and, as it were, renewing them by our authority, of our own initiative and certain knowledge, we pronounce and declare that ordinations carried out according to the Anglican rite have been, and are, absolutely null and utterly void.

-- Apostolicae Curae, 36

Anglicans are fully aware of this, and the Catholic Church has never once altered of revoked this decree. To this day, Anglican priests who reconcile with Rome are re-ordained properly according to authentic apostolic orders. In declaring Anglican orders invalid, Pope Leo XIII leveled his charge against the British queen, the Protestant British government, and the entire British Empire as well as the whole Anglican Communion. The schismatic actions of King Henry VIII in 1534, and his daughter Elizabeth I in 1559, not only broke the Church of England away from Rome, but they effectively established a whole new religion, wherein the British monarch (king or queen) acted as "pope" with the Archbishop of Canterbury acting as his/her spiritual mouthpiece. The Church of England (Anglicanism) was born, and it was the monarch's church, an extension of the monarch's political and "spiritual" power. What followed was the rise of the British Empire, and it was indeed British schism with Rome that spawned the birth of imperial rule. The monarch armed with the royal military in one hand, and his/her own royal religion in the other, could exercise full physical and spiritual supremacy over his/her subjects wherever the British flag was planted.

Not long after Leo XIII's encyclical declaring the nullity of Anglican orders, the power of the British Empire began to wane. By World War I (1914-1918 AD) the empire was crippled. By World War II (1939-1945 AD) it was finished. Today there is nothing left, save an exoskeleton called the "Commonwealth of Nations" which has not amounted to much, and it is universally agreed by everyone that the British Empire is defunct. The monarchy itself faces irrelevancy while the Anglican Communion has become a disheveled group of member-churches united in little more than name. The Anglican religion and the British empire were one in the same. They were extensions of the Protestant monarch's power. Both are now relics of history. This was the cost of England's schism with Rome. In the short run it brought England wealth and power beyond imagination. In the long run it brought political, social and spiritual bankruptcy. Today, Islam threatens to take over England as it's number one practiced religion.

So on September 17, 2010 Pope Benedict XVI sat in the highest chapel of the Church of England, before the highest prelates of the Church of England, wearing the stole of the man who declared all of their clerical orders totally and completely invalid. What was their response to this symbolic act? They applauded him!

Two days later, September 19, 2010 he beatified John Henry Newman, the high profile Oxford reformer of Anglicanism who reconciled with Rome and became a Catholic cardinal. Obviously, the pope's message to Anglicans here was to follow John Henry Newman's example. Then he instructed the Catholic bishops of England to make wide and generous provision for the Anglican converts that will soon enter the Catholic Church through the upcoming ordinariates.

Anglican Catholicism Officially Begins

Blessed John Henry Newman

THE CATHOLIC KNIGHT:  With the beatification of Blessed John Henry Newman completed in Birmingham, Pope Benedict XVI returns to Rome victorious.  His trip to England was a remarkable success, having energized millions of the nation's Catholics and intrigued at least an equal amount of Anglicans.  The noise of anti-catholic protesters was drowned by the cheers of uncountable throngs of supporters upon the pope's arrival in England.  His safety being of primary concern to the British government, half a dozen Muslims were detained for what appeared to be an alleged plot against the pope.  Further investigation revealed no credible evidence and the suspects were released after the pope departed British soil.  While in the U.K. the Holy Father gave an inspirational defense of the Catholic faith at Westminster, in the very place where St. Thomas More was condemned to death by the Protestant regime of King Henry VIII.  Even the most liberal publications in the U.K. acknowledged the historical significance of this event...

(Catholic Culture) - Writing in the Guardian-- a paper that has given heavy coverage to protesters during the papal visit—Andrew Brown writes that the Pope’s address to the nation’s political leaders was a historic event:

This was the end of the British Empire. In all the four centuries from Elizabeth I to Elizabeth II, England has been defined as a Protestant nation.

Brown recognizes the significance of the fact that Pope Benedict based his thoughts on the example of St. Thomas More: a man who had defied the king in loyalty to his faith. He notes, too, that the British Empire arose soon after the Reformation:

Rebellion against the pope was the foundational act of English power. And now the power is gone, and perhaps the rebellion has gone, too.

read full story here

'The Catholic Knight' agrees with columnist Andrew Brown insofar that the pope's political address does indeed mark the end of the British Empire, British supremacy and the British national religion formally known as "Anglicanism."  In regards to the empire and supremacy, the events of the 20th century should make that obvious.  In regards to the British national religion of "Anglicanism" the events of the last few decades should make that painfully obvious.  The Church of England is stagnant, having abandoned all remnant of apostolic authority, if indeed it ever had any to begin with.  British Christianity has declined under Anglicanism so severely that Islam now threatens to become the nation's top religion.  The Anglican Communion has become nothing more than a disheveled affiliation of disorganized member-churches united in nothing more than name.  The Archbishop of Canterbury, the great right-hand-man of the queen's national religion, has become as impotent as the queen herself, if indeed either the archbishop, or the queen, had any significant power to begin with in the modern world.  In every way, the United Kingdom has become spiritually and socially bankrupt.  The religion of King Henry VIII, and his daughter Queen Elizabeth I, has left the nation that was once "Mary's Dowry" in ruins.  So it is fitting that the modern Queen Elizabeth II should bear the name of her predecessor who essentially created what is today known as "Anglicanism."  Under Queen Elizabeth I Anglicanism was born, and under Queen Elizabeth II it has died.  The latter should not be blamed though, as the poison of Anglicanism's demise was administered 500 years ago.  It just took five centuries to fully run it's course.  Anglicanism is spiritually dead.  That's not some declaration on my part, but a simple statement of the obvious.  The stench of the evidence has been wafting for decades.  All that remains now is to bury the rotting corpse.  Pope Benedict XVI did not do that in his recent trip to England.  He left that job to the British people.  Nor did he come to England to state the obvious.  Everyone knows that Anglicanism is spiritually dead, and to make such an obvious statement is beneath the office of the papacy.

Instead he came to England to shine a light in the darkness and point the way toward a much brighter future.  The Holy Father did this with the beatification of Blessed John Henry Newman, the 19th century Anglican pastor who returned to the Catholic Church, became a Catholic priest and was eventually elevated by Pope Leo XIII to the office of cardinal-deacon even though Newman was neither a bishop nor a resident of Rome.  The current pontiff's actions have much greater significance than the mainstream news media would care to admit.  Blessed John Newman was an Anglican who became Catholic, his conversion was eventually rewarded with much favor and dignity, putting him on the path to sainthood.  Newman was certainly not the first Anglican to become Catholic, but his conversion is very high profile, and in his conversion, elevation and later beatification, the pope has pointed the way home for all Anglicans.  The Holy Father's address to the Catholic bishops at Oscott College ended with the following statement...

The other matter I touched upon in February with the Bishops of England and Wales, when I asked you to be generous in implementing the Apostolic Constitution Anglicanorum Coetibus. This 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. Let us continue to pray and work unceasingly in order to hasten the joyful day when the goal can be accomplished.

Once again Pope Benedict XVI has demanded "generous" implementation of the Apostolic Constitution he created for Anglican converts nearly a year ago.  Sadly, some Catholic bishops in the U.K. have expressed reluctance toward it's implementation for fear of what may become of ecumenical relations with the Church of England.  The Holy Father has made it clear however, that Anglicanorum Coetibus is a "prophetic" gesture of true ecumenism.

That being said, it stands to reason that what follows is the Vatican's implementation of Anglicanorum Coetibus, as the English bishops cannot act on their own.  So I think it's reasonable to say that something is coming on this - something very soon - and the beatification of Blessed John Henry Newman is a sign marking the beginning of Anglican Catholicism.

Church of England Prepares For Massive Exodus

(Catholic Online) - The recent action by the Church of England to introduce a resolution for consecration of women bishops has all but guaranteed that the largest exodus from the mother church of Anglicanism is about to take place. For many, the destination will be Rome

At a recent meeting in York, the General Synod voted to move forward on the new policy, which provides no real protection for those who oppose the practice. Dr. Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury and honorary head of the Anglicanism was powerless in his efforts to provide compromise...

read full story here

THE CATHOLIC KNIGHT: The Church of England is about to learn a painful lesson. It's a lesson learned by The Episcopal Church USA some thirty years ago. The only sad thing about this lesson is that once it's learned, there is no turning back. A little over thirty years ago The Episcopal Church USA began ordaining women priests and modified it's prayerbook to accommodate newer and more innovative means of worship. Of the 3.5 million Episcopalians in the United States, about 1 million saw the writing on the wall. Some of them immediately split from the national province, creating for themselves various traditional provinces. These came to be known as part of the greater Anglican Continuum. Many Episcopal priests converted to Rome, and brought many lay faithful with them. Some Episcopal priests and laymen converted to Eastern Orthodoxy (where it was available to them). Some left for other Protestant churches. Within just ten years The Episcopal Church USA lost nearly a third of it's membership! The denomination has yet to recover.

Now the Church of England is about to learn the same lesson. Sadly, however, as learned by The Episcopal Church USA, once you go down this road there is no turning back. You see, the people most likely to leave are the conservatives and traditionalists. Thus the only people left behind are the liberal modernists. Once the denomination has been "liberated" from the conservatives and traditionalists "holding it back" it is free to explore further liberal innovation, and so it does, eventually driving out the moderates too, until all that remains are the most liberal of the bunch. With the loss of traditional Anglo-Catholics, and conservative Evangelicals, the Church of England will soon become a left-wing liberal laboratory, fit for nothing but to implement the next wave of experimental innovation. Today it's women bishops. Tomorrow it's gay and lesbian bishops, along with gay marriages, and who knows what next! That was the pattern of The Episcopal Church USA, so it is now the pattern of the Church of England.

For all the talk on this blog about traditional Anglo-Catholics going to Rome, we often overlook the conservative Evangelicals in the Church of England. This is also a sizable bunch, which is one more reason why the decision to elect women to the episcopacy (without provision for those who object) is especially tragic for the Church of England. These Evangelicals are likely to wander away from the C of E as well. In time, many of them will find their way into non-affiliated Evangelical churches, while others are likely to start their own "continuing" Anglican divisions, apart from Canterbury, but perhaps aligned with some African metropolitan willing to oversee them.

In the 20th century we saw the demise of the British Empire. In the early days of the 21st century we are now seeing the fall of the Church of England and the broader Anglican Communion. Perhaps this has some prophetic implications. Only time will tell. What is certain now is that the Catholic Church and the Evangelical world will both have a lot to gain from the British Isles over the next decade. For Catholics there is a lesson to be learned. This is what happens when you compromise with liberal modernists. You give an inch, they take a mile, and they absolutely will not stop - EVER - until they have destroyed everything the Church once was. When we Catholics look upon the Anglican Communion, we must understand that there is a reflection of ourselves without orthodoxy. Were it not for the stubbornness of the pope, and those faithful bishops in union with him, we too would find ourselves in the same pickle.

An Open Letter to Anglo-Catholics

To our dear Anglican brethren in Christ,

Ten years ago I left The Episcopal Church USA to join the Roman Catholic Church. Back then they didn't have the apostolic constitution or the Anglican ordinariates. There was the Anglican Use Pastoral Provision, but no such parishes existed in my area. I was forced to join the Church through the general Roman Rite, but I was glad to do so, because what I sought was unity through orthodoxy and Catholicism provided that. I was received into the Catholic Church on the Easter vigil of 2000.

For ten years I watched and waited, keeping my ear to the ground as to the developments of Rome's relation to Anglo-Catholics. Then in late 2009 it happened!  Pope Benedict XVI issued the apostolic constitution Anglicanorum Coetibus (or "Groups of Anglicans"). Oh, how I would have given anything for that document to have been issued ten years prior in 1999. Perhaps I could have had my cake and eaten it too. Perhaps I could have not only been received into the Catholic Church, but I could have brought my Episcopalian customs with me. For years I searched Catholic book stores for something comparable to the Book of Common Prayer that I could use for private devotion. In the end, I settled for the Book of Common Prayer, which I have kept on my dresser for years, and still use regularly for devotion. Actually I have two versions, the 1979 American edition, as well as the 1928 American edition. They sit right next to my Roman Missal - 1962 edition.

My reasons for leaving The Episcopal Church were significant but not uncommon. I was previously an Evangelical, but found myself on the Canterbury trail after reading the Church Fathers. I wanted to get in touch with Christianity's Catholic side. I figured The Episcopal Church would be a good "safe" environment for that to happen, for as a former Evangelical I still feared and distrusted the Roman Catholic Church.

After getting quite comfortable with the Anglo-Catholic way of doing things, my fear of Roman Catholicism subsided.  I started to become more aware of church politics within the The Episcopal Church. Back then we had been given "moral assurances" from Lambeth that a consecration of an openly homosexual bishop would never happen, and gay-marriages would not lawfully be condoned. However, as I began talking to fellow Episcopalians I came to realize the writing was on the wall. I predicted these "moral assurances" would crumble within a decade. Little did I know at the time, my prediction would come true within just four years. By then however, I was long gone, having reunited with Rome for the better.

I may have removed myself from Anglo-Catholicism, but I could never remove Anglo-Catholicism from me. There is still a big part of me that yearns for that high-church Anglo-Catholic worship, fiery homilies and old English hymns. I still use the Daily Office from the Book of Common Prayer, and occasionally use my Anglican prayer beads interchangeably with my Roman rosary. I insist on receiving the Eucharist on the tongue while kneeling, and while this is permitted in ALL Catholic masses, I find it is easier in the extraordinary-form Latin liturgy, which is why I usually attend mass there. In everything I have tried to be a good Catholic, still I can't help but remember how I got here. The Canterbury trail led me straight to the Tiber River. In those days a convert such as myself had to swim the Tiber to get to the other side. Thanks to the apostolic constitution Anglicanorum Coetibus, the pope has now built a bridge. Anglicans today just don't know how easy they've got it!

Today I'm looking forward to the future. A friend of mine is starting an Anglican Use group in my area, and I've been helping him with that. Perhaps someday we will have a new Anglican Catholic ordinariate parish in town. God willing.

What amazes me is how quickly all of the political rancor from my Anglican/Episcopalian days became a distant memory. Immediately after being received into the Catholic Church the debate about women clergy was over. The same went for homosexuality and militant feminist issues. Oh sure, the Catholic Church has it's problems, and I've discussed them at length on this blog. However, none of them threaten the survival of Catholicism for anyone interested in practicing it, and none of them have threatened to alter the Catholic Church beyond recognition. Today we quibble about such things as reverent liturgy, quality of catechesis, and wimpy bishops. That's about as bad as it gets. This isn't to say there aren't Catholics today who subscribe to the same nonsense going on in the Anglican Communion. They're are plenty. However, the nice thing about that is in the Catholic Church, they're very frustrated, having never gotten to first base with any of their so-called "reform" nonsense. The best they can hope for is a wimpy bishop who lets them get away with it at the local parish level. Thanks to the leadership of both Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI, they have never gotten it much further than that. For both Catholics and Anglicans the war against Modernism is a war of attrition. On the Anglican side it is the conservative traditionalists that are retiring while liberal modernists take over the church. On the Catholic side it's the exact opposite. Liberal modernists are going the way of the dinosaur, while most of the young seminarians today are orthodox and traditional. The pope is making advances every day into modernist strongholds, and it's actually gotten to the point where the liberals are about to break away from Rome. It's the only way they can survive for the few years they have left before retirement. I suspect if they actually do muster the courage to make the break, most of them will probably end up going over to the Anglican Communion.

This is what awaits you in the Catholic Church my Anglican brethren, for those of you willing to accept the teachings of the Catechism and join the ordinariates once they are erected. You will be united, but not absorbed. The battles for survival you so valiantly fought over the last three decades have been lost in the Anglican Communion and cannot flourish in the continuing Anglican bodies. However, they have not been lost in you. You are the embodiment of traditional Anglo-Catholicism. You are the successors of the Oxford Movement, and in you alone is the seed of Anglo-Catholic survival, but you can't survive under the persecution of liberal modernists in the Anglican Communion, nor in the obscurity of continuing Anglican bodies. The time has come to jump ship. A new ship awaits you now, in the ordinariates, and I cannot help but appeal to your good senses. Why do you stay within a Communion that will NEVER honor what you believe to be honorable? If you think the tradition of an all male priesthood is worth preserving, than why do you stay within a Church that seems to be determined to ordain as many female priests as possible, and consecrate female bishops once they make it legal. If you think the moral teaching against homosexuality is worth preserving, than why do you (American Episcopalians) stay in a national church that has consecrated two openly practicing homosexuals as bishops, and has permitted one of them to "marry" his gay partner, as well as ordained dozens upon dozens of gay and lesbian priests? As for the rest of you Anglicans, why do you stay within a communion that will tolerate this? The list of problems goes on, but I will not go any further into it here.

The best advice I can give you is to stop believing the lies. The officials within the Anglican Communion will give you plenty of lip service, but after all is said and done, they will betray you over and over again. I speak not on speculation, but on historical precedence. The officials in the continuing Anglican bodies are valiant souls, who have worked tirelessly to preserve the heritage of the Oxford Movement. God bless them for this! However, these brave men, for all their efforts, cannot provide the one thing continuing Anglicans need the most - mainstream visibility. For all their fantastic work, the continuing Anglican bodies will always be "breakaway groups," a mere rebuttal to mainstream Anglicanism, and never the mainstream itself. There are many Christians out there who have never even heard of "Traditional Anglicans" and most likely they never will. What Rome offers is an opportunity to turn the tables. It's a complete game changer. Once the ordinariates are erected they may be small at first, but they will grow, and they will grow rapidly. They have within them the structure and capacity to spread like a wildfire. For the first time in a long time, Anglican Catholic parishes will be able to reach out to more than just traditionally-minded Anglicans. They will also appeal to many Roman Catholics, and together they can focus on bringing the message of the apostolic faith to other Christians, and to the world.

In the thirty years since the creation of the Anglican Use Pastoral Provision, the few bishops in the United States, who have allowed the existence of such parishes within their diocese, have witnessed them grow and flourish. The model works! As small as it is, it really works! What Pope Benedict has done however is much more grand than the pastoral provision. The Holy Father has set up an episcopal structure, that will allow Anglican Catholic parishes to operate freely, unencumbered by the fears and hesitations of Roman Rite bishops. Parishes can be established anywhere, and they will be established EVERYWHERE! That is the inevitable outcome of Anglicanorum Coetibus.

So I appeal to all Anglicans, both within the Anglican Communion and outside it, to avail yourselves of the pope's offer. For you traditional Anglo-Catholics, there is one big difference between the Anglican Communion and the Catholic Church. Within the Anglican Communion they will only do the bare minimum it takes to keep you from leaving, and perhaps we could say that is only because they fear losing revenue. As it seems lately, some provinces (like the C of E for example) aren't even willing to do that. The Anglican Communion just tolerates you, and that's all.  Meanwhile, the Catholic Church actually WANTS you! We Catholics actually WANT to be in full communion with you, and we WANT you the way you are. We treasure your Anglo-Catholicism, and your conservative orthodox views. We actually want to nurture it and help you propagate it.

Please think it over. This doesn't have to be a tragic time anymore. Together we can turn it into something positive, historic and good. Together we can present a united front against the forces of liberal Modernism. Together we can actually fulfill the prayer of Christ "that they all may be one." What are you waiting for? How long do you think the Anglican Communion will tolerate you? Historic Anglicanism doesn't have to die. Let's work together in full-communion with Rome, and each other, to make sure it doesn't.

Church of England Disowns Traditional Anglo-Catholics

THE CATHOLIC KNIGHT: The Church of England today dispelled all doubt that it is thoroughly 100% Protestant...

(The Australian) - Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, the leader of the world's Anglicans, and Archbishop of York John Sentamu, his No 2 in the Church of England, had put forward safeguards for objectors.

They received the backing of a majority of the houses of bishops and laity of the General Synod, but the concessions did not win a majority of the House of Clergy, meaning that the proposals were lost.

The archbishops proposed a scheme where a male bishop would share the role and responsibilities of a female bishop, to cater for objectors.

The vote almost guarantees the success of the Anglican Ordinariate, the new body announced this year by the Pope to allow disaffected Anglicans to convert to Rome while retaining key aspects of Anglican heritage...

read full story here

So another half baked idea by the Archdruid of Canterbury bites the dust, and as a result it now becomes perfectly clear Rowan Williams has lost control of not only the worldwide Anglican Communion, but of his own national province, the Church of England itself. Rome has made it clear, time and time again, that the consecration of female "bishops" will hamper ecumenical relations beyond repair. Rome has also made it clear that it will regard any Anglican church that does this as a totally Protestant organization without any connection to the historic Catholic faith. It's not just the pope who holds to this position, but every patriarch of every Orthodox Church as well. The Church of England is finished in the Catholic sense. It is now no better than the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States. Today it's female bishops. Tomorrow it's gay bishops. That seems to be the established pattern. Any traditional Anglo-Catholic who rejects the pope's ordinariate offer now is either insane or else hopelessly in denial. The message of this last synod is perfectly clear. The Church of England is moving ahead with it's liberal modernist agenda, traditionalists be dammed, and Anglo-Catholics had better either shut up and take it, or else get the hell out of the way!

Meanwhile the pope waits with open arms, ready to establish an ordinariate system that will FOREVER preserve the historic Anglo-Catholic patrimony, fully reunited with Rome but not absorbed into the Roman Rite. When you think about it, this all makes sense from a historical and spiritual perspective. Once called "Mary's Dowry" it is completely unnatural for English Christians to be separated from the Roman Catholic Church. Before the schism of 1534 Rome had always made special provision for the British Isles. The Sarum Use is one such example of this. It only makes sense for Rome to once again offer the same type of provisions it has always historically done, only this time on a much grander scale. The ordinariate plan is designed to last indefinitely. It is not only designed for a particular church, but for an entire communion of churches spanning the globe. It is in every sense a church within the Church, and it will be thoroughly Anglican as well as Catholic.

It is time for Anglo-Catholics within the Church of England, and around the world, to wake up and smell the coffee. The entire Christian world is under assault by the new value system of the modernist world, who's agents within our churches are hell bent on conforming Christianity to their modernist immorality. It begins subtly with the rejection of historic Christian standards (such as an all male priesthood) and once Christians have compromised on this by ordaining women, they move in with the real agenda. Sexual values are skewed. Fornication becomes a matter of "private conscience." Contraception and abortion become a "personal choice." Homosexuality becomes a matter of "genetic inheritance" and of course if that's the case, any discrimination against it becomes a form of "racism." Once the initial compromise is made, the downward spiral is inevitable. The ONLY WAY to combat this modernist agenda is for Christians to unite behind the barque of Peter as he navigates this storm at sea. If your raft is sinking, and he throws you a life line, why on earth would you say "no thanks?" God has just provided a way out, a means of living to fight another day, how will you answer His "why" should you decide to refuse it?

This is it England! In a spiritual sense, this is the Battle of Dunkirk. You can either get on the flotilla the pope has sent you, to survive and fight another day, or you can stay behind and face extinction from the unstoppable force taking over your national Church. What will it be England? The ball is now in your court, the choice is yours.