“I trust the new Bishop is NOT married.”
Unmarried. He was never an Anglican minister. That’s why this was somewhat of a surprise in that he was never an Anglican. He worked so well with those shaping the ordinariate, however, that the clergy and lay people of the ordinariate felt like they were getting one of their own as bishop.
They also needed a young man - he’ll be logging a lot of flight miles - and they got one. He’s only 40!
I think this is good that the new bishop was not an Anglican. He will bring a Roman Catholic phronema to the Ordinariate which will be good for it in these early years.
Lopes was never an anglican, but while in Rome at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, he worked closely with Dr. Clint Brand of the University of St. Thomas in Houston to write all the liturgy, tied to the anglican tradition from the Catholic line, which is really quite beautiful. I imagine the mass to be very similar to what was in England before things fell apart with Rome.
Lopes is a brilliant man, and also knows very well each of the anglican/episcopal priests who converted to Catholicism, because he was the man in Rome in charge of interviewing them and confirming their education/eligibility to convert. I will say, however, that Rome is quite uncertain what to do with all these anglican priest-wives. Not a social class with built in activities there in Rome.