(Photo: Archbishop Vincent Nichols, 21 May 2009/Kevin Coombs)
Posted on 11/23/2009 9:14:30 AM PST by NYer
Those disaffected Anglicans in England and Wales who think they can take up Pope Benedict’s offer and switch to Rome with a “pick and choose” attitude should think again, the Catholic Archbishop of Westminster, Vincent Nichols has said.
Many Anglicans unhappy with women’s ordination and gay clergy cannot just convert to Roman Catholicism as a way out, but must accept Catholic doctrine wholeheartedly, he said.
“Nothing is envisaged in this provision that the Pope has put in place is a kind of minimalist approach to picking bits of the Catholic faith that I like and then seeing myself as it were contained as a quasi-Catholic, not a real Catholic, under the umbrella of this constitution,” he said, referring to a “buffet approach” to the faith that some Catholics dismiss as “cafeteria Catholicism.”
It is still unclear how many Anglicans will convert, but the invitation, in the form of what’s called an Apostolic Constitution, has opened up old wounds between the Vatican and Lambeth Palace.
It has also crystallised divisions within the Church of England, the Anglican mother church.
A debate is raging over whether the Pope’s offer was an act of undisguised poaching, tapping into discontent among some Anglicans. or whether it was an act of generosity, responding to calls of help.
It has also raised questions about the approach adopted by Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, the head of the Church of England and spiritual leader of the Anglican Communion, towards the offer - details of which he did not know until two weeks before the announcement. Some say he has been too soft, while others say he has been judicious.
(Excerpt) Read more at blogs.reuters.com ...
He should tell that to the president of Notre Dame.
There are very few Catholics who accept all of Catholic doctrine wholeheartedly these days.
I think this good bishop should talk to LA Archidiose I think Cardinal Mahoney be classified that
At first, when I read the title to this thread, the thought flashed through my mind: “There are Remote Controled Archbishops?!” Sigh.
Truthfully speaking I think most Catholics could probably be defined as “cafeteria Catholics” by perfectionists.
I define practicing Catholics as follows: Those who regularly (defined as at least once a week)attend Mass and receive the Holy Eucharist which is at the heart of the Catholic Faith and being a “practicing Catholic” as opposed to being a nominal Catholic or CINO.
I think this is the Abp's way of saying that they better hew to the liberal line of the English hierarchy.
There may be some going straight to the top for awhile, if the English abps want to try to stop Anglo-Catholics from using Latin, celebrating ad orientem, etc.
I thought Archbishop Nicols was less “liberal” than his predecessor.
Is he a recent appointment? If so, my apologies, he is NOT part of the problem — probably part of BXVI’s solution.
He is a recent appointment.
Archbishop Nichols was indeed appointed recently, only this past April.
I've read that he used to trend more to the liberal wing of the English Catholic Church, and perhaps was part of something called the “Magic Circle” or something like that? But that in recent years, he's become a little more of a rigid, stick-in-the-mud boring orthodox kind of guy.
Or so I've read.
sitetest
Glad to hear that he has overcome his youthful errors. BXVI was a liberal theologian back before VCII, as well.
“BXVI was a liberal theologian back before VCII, as well.”
The question is, how much has he changed theologically in that time, and how much has the way we measure these things changed?
sitetest
He was involved in the runup to VCII, not in all the nonsense that followed when people decided to run with it and 'do their own thing'. The issues actually addressed by VCII are not extreme, as opposed to the 'spirit of VCII' that some liberals used to justify their inclinations.
I agree with you on all counts.
I’m with you. Give me stick-in-the-mud traditionalists who DARE to hold to orthodoxy, anytime. They are the true revolutionaries, those who fight the very good fight.
I’d put CSLewis in among them.
>>Truthfully speaking I think most Catholics could probably be defined as “cafeteria Catholics” by perfectionists.
I define practicing Catholics as follows: Those who regularly (defined as at least once a week)attend Mass and receive the Holy Eucharist which is at the heart of the Catholic Faith and being a “practicing Catholic” as opposed to being a nominal Catholic or CINO.<<
Going to church and receiving communion isn’t all there is to it. It’s living the faith.
There was a nun escorting women to an abortion clinic not too long ago. Bet she went to mass and received every week.
Many Anglicans unhappy with women’s ordination and gay clergy cannot just convert to Roman Catholicism as a way out, but must accept Catholic doctrine wholeheartedly, he said.
“Nothing is envisaged in this provision that the Pope has put in place is a kind of minimalist approach to picking bits of the Catholic faith that I like and then seeing myself as it were contained as a quasi-Catholic, not a real Catholic, under the umbrella of this constitution,” he said, referring to a “buffet approach” to the faith that some Catholics dismiss as “cafeteria Catholicism.”
*********************
That's pretty clear, isn't it?
I think there is a fundamental difference between people who, through human failings, fall into sin and repent, and those who insist that they don't accept the Church's teaching as to what constitutes sin. The latter are what is meant by the term Cafeteria Catholics.
Well the president of Notre Dame with the ND football team got their clocks cleaned out by my favorite college football team, and on Senior Day for ND, my UConn Huskies. :)
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