Shlomo Lkhoolkhoon,
I am happy that the Pope is not letting this opprotunity pass us by. Here are a number of stories on this from Zenit.
Fush BaShlomo Lkhoolkhoon,
Yuhannon
www.zenit.org/article-27268?l=english [
zenit.org]
Apostolic Constitution to Establish "Personal Ordinariates"
VATICAN CITY, OCT. 20, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Groups of Anglicans will now be able to enter full communion with the Catholic Church while preserving elements of the Anglican spiritual and liturgical tradition.
This policy has been established in a forthcoming apostolic constitution the Vatican announced today.
It responds to requests from Anglicans who have expressed wishes to become Catholic, particularly as the Anglican Tradition continues to take steps toward opening their priesthood and episcopate to women and active homosexuals, and blessing same-sex unions.
Between 20 and 30 Anglican bishops have made such a request.
The constitution was announced at a press conference at the Vatican today, offered by Cardinal William Levada, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
A statement from the congregation explained that with the apostolic constitution, "the Holy Father has introduced a canonical structure that provides for such corporate reunion by establishing Personal Ordinariates, which will allow former Anglicans to enter full communion with the Catholic Church while preserving elements of the distinctive Anglican spiritual and liturgical patrimony."
These groups of Anglicans will be overseen and guided through the personal ordinariate, the leader of which will normally be chosen from among former Anglican clergy.
Married priests
The statement from the Vatican explained that the constitution "provides for the ordination as Catholic priests of married former Anglican clergy."
It clarified that "historical and ecumenical reasons preclude the ordination of married men as bishops in both the Catholic and Orthodox Churches."
Thus, the apostolic constitution stipulates that the leader of the personal ordinariate be "either a priest or an unmarried bishop."
As to future priests, the statement explained: "The seminarians in the ordinariate are to be prepared alongside other Catholic seminarians, though the ordinariate may establish a house of formation to address the particular needs of formation in the Anglican patrimony. In this way, the apostolic constitution seeks to balance on the one hand the concern to preserve the worthy Anglican liturgical and spiritual patrimony and, on the other hand, the concern that these groups and their clergy will be integrated into the Catholic Church."
Worldwide
The Vatican statement said the apostolic constitution provides a "reasonable and even necessary response" to what it called a "worldwide phenomenon."
It offers a "single canonical model for the universal Church which is adaptable to various local situations and equitable to former Anglicans in its universal application."
The profile of a "personal ordinariate" is similar in some ways to that of a personal prelature (Opus Dei is the only personal prelature right now) or the military ordinates, wherein a bishop has ecclesiastical authority over people of the armed forces and their families, regardless of their geographical location.
Many individual Anglicans have already entered into full communion with the Catholic Church.
Sometimes there have been groups of Anglicans who have entered while preserving some "corporate" structure, the Vatican statement noted, offering the example of an Anglican diocese in India and some parishes in the United States.
"In these cases, the Catholic Church has frequently dispensed from the requirement of celibacy to allow those married Anglican clergy who desire to continue ministerial service as Catholic priests to be ordained in the Catholic Church," the statement explained.
Enriched
According to Cardinal Levada: "It is the hope of the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, that the Anglican clergy and faithful who desire union with the Catholic Church will find in this canonical structure the opportunity to preserve those Anglican traditions precious to them and consistent with the Catholic faith.
"Insofar as these traditions express in a distinctive way the faith that is held in common, they are a gift to be shared in the wider Church. The unity of the Church does not require a uniformity that ignores cultural diversity, as the history of Christianity shows. [...]
"Our communion is therefore strengthened by such legitimate diversity, and so we are happy that these men and women bring with them their particular contributions to our common life of faith."
www.zenit.org/article-27269?l=english [
zenit.org]
Canterbury and Westminster Archbishops Reflect on Vatican Decision
VATICAN CITY, OCT. 20, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Today's announcement that the Vatican is facilitating the entry of Anglicans into the Catholic Church ends a "period of uncertainty" for those who have long expressed their wish for "embracing unity," according to a joint statement from the leader of the Anglican Communion and the archbishop of Westminster.
Roman Catholic Archbishop Vincent Nichols of Westminster and Anglican Archbishop Rowan Williams held a press conference today in London, parallel to the announcement in Rome of Benedict XVI's apostolic constitution that will set up "personal ordinariates" for groups of Anglicans seeking communion with the Church.
The constitution will respond to "a number of requests," a statement from the archbishops said -- requests that have come from groups of Anglicans "who wish to enter into full visible communion with the Roman Catholic Church, and are willing to declare that they share a common Catholic faith and accept the Petrine ministry as willed by Christ for his Church."
"The announcement of this apostolic constitution brings to an end a period of uncertainty for such groups who have nurtured hopes of new ways of embracing unity with the Catholic Church," the statement adds. "It will now be up to those who have made requests to the Holy See to respond to the apostolic constitution."
Archbishops Nichols and Williams affirm that the constitution is "recognition of the substantial overlap in faith, doctrine and spirituality between the Catholic Church and the Anglican tradition."
And, they said, this would not have been possible without the 40 years of ecumenical dialogue that the Anglican Communion and the Church have shared.
The archbishops promised "continuing cooperation" and said, "With God’s grace and prayer we are determined that our on-going mutual commitment and consultation on these and other matters should continue to be strengthened."
Vatican's Anglican Announcement Unexpected [
zenit.org]
Notified Media of Press Conference Via Text Message
By Jesús Colina
VATICAN CITY, OCT. 20, 2009 (Zenit.org).- A text message sent Monday evening ensured that Vatican correspondents wouldn't miss today's announcement that Benedict XVI is facilitating the process for groups of Anglicans to join the Catholic Church.
The message alerted the journalists to the announcement on the briefing posted in their section on the Vatican's Web page, which didn't go up until the end of the workday Monday.
This is the first time a press conference of this kind has been announced in such a seemingly hurried way.
Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, director of the Vatican press office, smiled at the beginning of today's press conference, acknowledging that such an arrangement kept the Vatican a step ahead of the secular media.
In this way, the press office was also able to ward off erroneous interpretations of the move published before the Vatican had spoken -- a case altogether contrary to the uproar in January when the Pope lifted the excommunication of Society of St. Pius X Bishop Richard Williamson, who denies the Holocaust.
The press briefing announcement simply alerted the correspondents that today's conference would address a topic related to relations with the Anglicans and also announced the presence of Archbishop Joseph Di Noia, secretary of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments.
Given the Vatican's announcement, several agencies and newspapers began to publish brief articles, which in general coincided in interpreting this message as the announcement of the entry of numerous Anglicans into the Catholic Church, something that had been expected for more than a year.
However, these sources had no more details on Benedict XVI's imminent apostolic constitution with which he creates personal ordinariates to receive former Anglican faithful.
Hours after the press conference, images of the meeting were published on the Vatican's YouTube channel (
http://www.youtube.com/vatican).
Anglican Archbishop: Our Prayers Have Been Answered [
zenit.org]
Welcomes Pope's Offer of Personal Ordinariates
BLACKWOOD, South Australia, OCT. 20, 2009 (Zenit.org).- The prayers of Anglicans wishing to enter into full communion with the Catholic Church have been more than answered today, according to the primate of the Traditional Anglican Communion.
Archbishop John Hepworth said this today in a statement that responded to the Vatican announcement that Benedict XVI would allow Anglicans to enter full communion with the Catholic Church while preserving elements of the Anglican spiritual and liturgical tradition.
This policy has been established in a forthcoming apostolic constitution, and it responds to requests from Anglicans who have expressed wishes to become Catholic, particularly as the Anglican Tradition continues to take steps toward opening their priesthood and episcopate to women and active homosexuals, and blessing same-sex unions.
Between 20 and 30 Anglican bishops have made such a request.
The constitution was announced at a press conference at the Vatican today, offered by Cardinal William Levada, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
Hepworth, who also heads the Diocese of Australia in the Anglican Catholic Church in Australia, said that the Traditional Anglican Communion is "profoundly moved by the generosity of the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI."
Dedicated to unity
"He offers in this Apostolic Constitution the means for 'former Anglicans to enter into the fullness of communion with the Catholic Church,'" Hepworth explains. "He hopes that we can 'find in this canonical structure the opportunity to preserve those Anglican traditions precious to us and consistent with the Catholic faith.'
"He then warmly states 'we are happy that these men and women bring with them their particular contributions to our common life of faith.'"
"May I firstly state that this is an act of great goodness on the part of the Holy Father," continued Hepworth. "He has dedicated his pontificate to the cause of unity."
"It more than matches the dreams we dared to include in our petition of two years ago," he added. "It more than matches our prayers.
"In those two years, we have become very conscious of the prayers of our friends in the Catholic Church. Perhaps their prayers dared to ask even more than ours."
The archbishop said he would take the offer of the Holy See to each of the national synods of the Traditional Anglican Communion.
"Now the Holy See challenges us to seek in the specific structures that are now available the "full, visible unity, especially Eucharistic communion," for which we have long prayed and about which we have long dreamed. That process will begin at once," he affirmed.
Noting that the Anglican Office of Morning Prayer included the Hymn of Thanksgiving, the Te Deum, Hepworth added: "It is with heartfelt thanks to Almighty God, the Lord and Source of all peace and unity, that the hymn is on our lips today.
"This is a moment of grace, perhaps even a moment of history, not because the past is undone, but because the past is transformed."
www.zenit.org/article-27268?l=english [
zenit.org]
Affirm History of Ecumenical Dialogue
WASHINGTON, D.C., OCT. 20, 2009 (Zenit.org).- The president of the U.S. bishops' conference is expressing support for a Vatican statement regarding Anglican groups that desire to enter the Catholic Church.
Cardinal Francis George, archbishop of Chicago, affirmed this in a statement today, after receiving word "of the new provision in the form of an apostolic constitution issued by the Holy See for the reception into full communion with the Catholic Church of groups from the Anglican tradition."
The bishops' conference "stands ready to collaborate in the implementation of that Provision in our country," he stated.
The cardinal explained that "this step by the Holy See is in response to a number of requests received in Rome from groups of Anglicans seeking corporate reunion."
"The application of the new Provision," he continued, "recognizes the desire of some Anglicans (Episcopalians) to live the Catholic faith in full, visible communion with the See of Peter, while at the same time retaining some elements of their traditions of liturgy, spirituality and ecclesial life which are consistent with the Catholic faith."
The prelate affirmed that this Provision, "at the service of the unity of the Church, calls us as well to join our voices to the priestly prayer of Jesus that 'all may be one' (John 17:21) as we seek a greater communion with all our brothers and sisters with whom we share Baptism."
He recalled that the bishops' conference has "engaged in ecumenical dialogue with the Episcopal Church, which is the historic province of the Anglican Communion in North America," for the past 45 years.
Cardinal George continued, "The Catholic bishops of the United States remain committed to seeking deeper unity with the members of the Episcopal Church by means of theological dialogue and collaboration in activities that advance the mission of Christ and the welfare of society."
Vatican Note on Establishing Personal Ordinariates for Anglicans [
zenit.org]
Published by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
VATICAN CITY, OCT. 20, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Here is the note published today by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith on establishing personal ordinariates for Anglicans entering the Catholic Church.
* * *
With the preparation of an Apostolic Constitution, the Catholic Church is responding to the many requests that have been submitted to the Holy See from groups of Anglican clergy and faithful in different parts of the world who wish to enter into full visible communion.
In this Apostolic Constitution the Holy Father has introduced a canonical structure that provides for such corporate reunion by establishing Personal Ordinariates, which will allow former Anglicans to enter full communion with the Catholic Church while preserving elements of the distinctive Anglican spiritual and liturgical patrimony. Under the terms of the Apostolic Constitution, pastoral oversight and guidance will be provided for groups of former Anglicans through a Personal Ordinariate, whose Ordinary will usually be appointed from among former Anglican clergy.
The forthcoming Apostolic Constitution provides a reasonable and even necessary response to a world-wide phenomenon, by offering a single canonical model for the universal Church which is adaptable to various local situations and equitable to former Anglicans in its universal application. It provides for the ordination as Catholic priests of married former Anglican clergy. Historical and ecumenical reasons preclude the ordination of married men as bishops in both the Catholic and Orthodox Churches. The Constitution therefore stipulates that the Ordinary can be either a priest or an unmarried bishop. The seminarians in the Ordinariate are to be prepared alongside other Catholic seminarians, though the Ordinariate may establish a house of formation to address the particular needs of formation in the Anglican patrimony. In this way, the Apostolic Constitution seeks to balance on the one hand the concern to preserve the worthy Anglican liturgical and spiritual patrimony and, on the other hand, the concern that these groups and their clergy will be integrated into the Catholic Church.
Cardinal William Levada, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith which has prepared this provision, said: "We have been trying to meet the requests for full communion that have come to us from Anglicans in different parts of the world in recent years in a uniform and equitable way. With this proposal the Church wants to respond to the legitimate aspirations of these Anglican groups for full and visible unity with the Bishop of Rome, successor of St. Peter."
These Personal Ordinariates will be formed, as needed, in consultation with local Conferences of Bishops, and their structure will be similar in some ways to that of the Military Ordinariates which have been established in most countries to provide pastoral care for the members of the armed forces and their dependents throughout the world. "Those Anglicans who have approached the Holy See have made clear their desire for full, visible unity in the one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church. At the same time, they have told us of the importance of their Anglican traditions of spirituality and worship for their faith journey," Cardinal Levada said.
The provision of this new structure is consistent with the commitment to ecumenical dialogue, which continues to be a priority for the Catholic Church, particularly through the efforts of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity. "The initiative has come from a number of different groups of Anglicans," Cardinal Levada went on to say: "They have declared that they share the common Catholic faith as it is expressed in the Catechism of the Catholic Church and accept the Petrine ministry as something Christ willed for the Church. For them, the time has come to express this implicit unity in the visible form of full communion."
According to Levada: "It is the hope of the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, that the Anglican clergy and faithful who desire union with the Catholic Church will find in this canonical structure the opportunity to preserve those Anglican traditions precious to them and consistent with the Catholic faith. Insofar as these traditions express in a distinctive way the faith that is held in common, they are a gift to be shared in the wider Church. The unity of the Church does not require a uniformity that ignores cultural diversity, as the history of Christianity shows. Moreover, the many diverse traditions present in the Catholic Church today are all rooted in the principle articulated by St. Paul in his letter to the Ephesians: ‘There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism’ (4:5). Our communion is therefore strengthened by such legitimate diversity, and so we are happy that these men and women bring with them their particular contributions to our common life of faith."
Background information
Since the sixteenth century, when King Henry VIII declared the Church in England independent of Papal Authority, the Church of England has created its own doctrinal confessions, liturgical books, and pastoral practices, often incorporating ideas from the Reformation on the European continent. The expansion of the British Empire, together with Anglican missionary work, eventually gave rise to a world-wide Anglican Communion.
Throughout the more than 450 years of its history the question of the reunification of Anglicans and Catholics has never been far from mind. In the mid-nineteenth century the Oxford Movement (in England) saw a rekindling of interest in the Catholic aspects of Anglicanism. In the early twentieth century Cardinal Mercier of Belgium entered into well publicized conversations with Anglicans to explore the possibility of union with the Catholic Church under the banner of an Anglicanism "reunited but not absorbed".
At the Second Vatican Council hope for union was further nourished when the Decree on Ecumenism (n. 13), referring to communions separated from the Catholic Church at the time of the Reformation, stated that: "Among those in which Catholic traditions and institutions in part continue to exist, the Anglican Communion occupies a special place."
Since the Council, Anglican-Roman Catholic relations have created a much improved climate of mutual understanding and cooperation. The Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC) produced a series of doctrinal statements over the years in the hope of creating the basis for full and visible unity. For many in both communions, the ARCIC statements provided a vehicle in which a common expression of faith could be recognized. It is in this framework that this new provision should be seen.
In the years since the Council, some Anglicans have abandoned the tradition of conferring Holy Orders only on men by calling women to the priesthood and the episcopacy. More recently, some segments of the Anglican Communion have departed from the common biblical teaching on human sexuality—already clearly stated in the ARCIC document "Life in Christ"—by the ordination of openly homosexual clergy and the blessing of homosexual partnerships. At the same time, as the Anglican Communion faces these new and difficult challenges, the Catholic Church remains fully committed to continuing ecumenical engagement with the Anglican Communion, particularly through the efforts of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity.
In the meantime, many individual Anglicans have entered into full communion with the Catholic Church. Sometimes there have been groups of Anglicans who have entered while preserving some "corporate" structure. Examples of this include, the Anglican diocese of Amritsar in India, and some individual parishes in the United States which maintained an Anglican identity when entering the Catholic Church under a "pastoral provision" adopted by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and approved by Pope John Paul II in 1982. In these cases, the Catholic Church has frequently dispensed from the requirement of celibacy to allow those married Anglican clergy who desire to continue ministerial service as Catholic priests to be ordained in the Catholic Church.
In the light of these developments, the Personal Ordinariates established by the Apostolic Constitution can be seen as another step toward the realization the aspiration for full, visible union in the Church of Christ, one of the principal goals of the ecumenical movement.
Joint Statement of Anglican and Catholic Archbishops [
zenit.org]
"This Apostolic Constitution Is One Consequence of Ecumenical Dialogue"
VATICAN CITY, OCT. 20, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Here is the joint statement published today by Roman Catholic Archbishop Vincent Nichols of Westminster and Anglican Archbishop Rowan Williams on the establishment of personal ordinates for Anglicans wishing to enter into full visible communion with the Catholic Church.
* * *
Today’s announcement of the Apostolic Constitution is a response by Pope Benedict XVI to a number of requests over the past few years to the Holy See from groups of Anglicans who wish to enter into full visible communion with the Roman Catholic Church, and are willing to declare that they share a common Catholic faith and accept the Petrine ministry as willed by Christ for his Church.
Pope Benedict XVI has approved, within the Apostolic Constitution, a canonical structure that provides for Personal Ordinariates, which will allow former Anglicans to enter full communion with the Catholic Church while preserving elements of distinctive Anglican spiritual patrimony.
The announcement of this Apostolic Constitution brings to an end a period of uncertainty for such groups who have nurtured hopes of new ways of embracing unity with the Catholic Church. It will now be up to those who have made requests to the Holy See to respond to the Apostolic Constitution.
The Apostolic Constitution is further recognition of the substantial overlap in faith, doctrine and spirituality between the Catholic Church and the Anglican tradition. Without the dialogues of the past forty years, this recognition would not have been possible, nor would hopes for full visible unity have been nurtured. In this sense, this Apostolic Constitution is one consequence of ecumenical dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion.
The on-going official dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion provides the basis for our continuing cooperation. The Anglican Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC) and International Anglican Roman Catholic Commission for Unity and Mission (IARCCUM) agreements make clear the path we will follow together.
With God’s grace and prayer we are determined that our on-going mutual commitment and consultation on these and other matters should continue to be strengthened. Locally, in the spirit of IARCCUM, we look forward to building on the pattern of shared meetings between the Catholic Bishops Conference of England and Wales and the Church of England’s House of Bishops with a focus on our common mission. Joint days of reflection and prayer were begun in Leeds in 2006 and continued in Lambeth in 2008, and further meetings are in preparation. This close cooperation will continue as we grow together in unity and mission, in witness to the Gospel in our country, and in the Church at large.
London, 20 October 2009
+ Vincent Gerard Nichols
+ Rowan Williams
Traditional Anglican Communion on Personal Ordinariates [
zenit.org]
"It More Than Matches Our Prayers"
BLACKWOOD, South Australia, OCT. 20, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Here is the statement published by Archbishop John Hepworth, the primate of the Traditional Anglican Communion, in response to the Vatican announcement today of a provision that has been established by Benedict XVI that would allow Anglicans to enter full communion with the Catholic Church while preserving elements of the Anglican spiritual and liturgical tradition.
* * *
I have spent this evening speaking to bishops, priests and lay people of the Traditional Anglican Communion in England, Africa, Australia, India, Canada, the United States and South America.
We are profoundly moved by the generosity of the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI. He offers in this Apostolic Constitution the means for "former Anglicans to enter into the fullness of communion with the Catholic Church." He hopes that we can "find in this canonical structure the opportunity to preserve those Anglican traditions precious to us and consistent with the Catholic faith." He then warmly states "we are happy that these men and women bring with them their particular contributions to our common life of faith."
May I firstly state that this is an act of great goodness on the part of the Holy Father. He has dedicated his pontificate to the cause of unity. It more than matches the dreams we dared to include in our petition of two years ago. It more than matches our prayers. In those two years, we have become very conscious of the prayers of our friends in the Catholic Church. Perhaps their prayers dared to ask even more than ours.
While we await the full text of the Apostolic Constitution, we are also moved by the pastoral nature of the Notes issued today by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. My fellow bishops have indeed signed the Catechism of the Catholic Church and made a statement about the ministry of the Bishop of Rome, reflecting the words of Pope John Paul II in his letter "Ut Unum Sint".
Other Anglican groups have indicated to the Holy See a similar desire and a similar acceptance of Catholic faith. As Cardinal Levada has indicated, this response to Anglican petitions is to be of a global character. It will now be for these groups to forge a close cooperation, even where they transcend the existing boundaries of the Anglican Communion.
Fortunately, the Statement issued by the Archbishop of Canterbury reflects the understanding that we have gained from him that he does not stand in our way, and understands the decisions that we have reached. Both his reaction and our petition are fruits of a century of prayer for Christian unity, a cause that many times must have seemed forlorn. We now express our gratitude to Archbishop Williams, and have regularly assured him of our prayers. The See of Augustine remains a focus of our pilgrim way, as it was in ages of faith in the past.
I have made a commitment to the Traditional Anglican Communion that the response of the Holy See will be taken to each of our National Synods. They have already endorsed our pathway. Now the Holy See challenges us to seek in the specific structures that are now available the "full, visible unity, especially Eucharistic communion," for which we have long prayed and about which we have long dreamed. That process will begin at once.
In the Anglican Office of Morning Prayer, the great Hymn of Thanksgiving, the Te Deum, is part of the daily Order. It is with heartfelt thanks to Almighty God, the Lord and Source of all peace and unity, that the hymn is on our lips today. This is a moment of grace, perhaps even a moment of history, not because the past is undone, but because the past is transformed.
