Posted on 10/20/2009 7:53:46 AM PDT by Traianus
» 10/20/2009 16:11
VATICAN
Pope approves special rules and structures to welcome Anglican clergy, including married priests
Married clergymen and bishops will be ordained by the Catholic Church but will not be able to become ordinaries, this according to the forthcoming Apostolic Constitution approved by Benedict XVI. The purpose is to allow Anglicans to retain their traditions and liturgy, whilst professing fidelity to Rome.
Vatican City (AsiaNews) – Benedict XVI has decided to create a structure for Anglican clergy and groups who want to join the Catholic Church. The forthcoming Apostolic Constitution will provide for “Personal Ordinariates”, thus allowing “for the ordination as Catholic priests of married former Anglican clergy.”
The ordination of Anglican priests in the Catholic Church is nothing new. In 1982, John Paul II had approved provisions whereby married Anglican clerics who wanted to become Catholic priests could perform their ministerial service.
Benedict XVI has decided to provide a framework for such a situation, this according to a Note of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith about personal Ordinariates for Anglicans entering the Catholic Church.
Personal Ordinariates “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 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.”
Ultimately, the papal document “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.”
This, according to the Note, is due to events that occurred since the Second Vatican Council, most notably the decision by some Anglican communions to ordain women and “openly homosexual clergy” and bless “homosexual partnerships.”
Following such experiences, in addition to decisions by individuals, “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.”
“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,” said Card William Levada, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
“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,” he added.
The provision of this new structure, the Note of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith said by way of conclusion, “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.”
First off, I am not Catholic.
However, doesn’t this bother anyone, other than me? Doesn’t this shift in policy seem more inspired by the demands of ‘man’ rather than the commandments of ‘God’? What does the Catholic church stand for? What is the next change?
Traditional Anglican ping, continued in memory of its founder Arlin Adams. The time for priests to be able to marry is long past due. If this policy is adopted, I think it will also cut way down on the child abuse that has so plagued the various churches and faiths over the past few decades.
Gosh, Hodar, I think you just might have created a new category for yourself: The traditionalist Catholic non-Catholic.
Well, that’s what happens when an influential power group of Anglicans stray too far from Orthodoxy and try to drag the church with them, i.e. homosexual priests, gay marriage, female ordination, etc. The faithful head back to Rome where they are welcome.
This is very wonderful news. Can you explain your questions a bit more? It's difficult to address them the way they're stated. What makes you think this "shift" in man-centered vs. God-centered? In what way do you see this as a change? A change from what to what?
Welcome home, brother and sister Anglicans!
Many of these Anglicans are disenchanted with the way their church has gone. In my opinion, that is why this is happening — they have asked to come over the Tiber to Rome. And the Pope is granting that wish.
This has nothing to do with allowing priests to marry. This is a vehicle accepting a group of already married priests, just as Rome already recognizes those of the Eastern Rite.
Did you read that part where it says that the married priest can come in, but they cannot be further promoted? I’ll bet that they also cannot re-marry, once widowed. And I’ll bet that they cannot marry after they’ve been ordained. Same rules as always.
Priests are never going to be able to marry. In some cases married men can become priests, this might be an expansion of those special cases.
Freegards
And why is that? Are you saying that child abuse does not happen in other congregations? It is a big problem with any group that works closely with children, including school teachers, all Protestant faiths, Synagogues, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, and the YMCA. There is no exclusivity to the Catholic clergy here and has nothing to do with marriage. In fact, I think most child abusers are married, or have been married at one time.
For any church to claim to represent God on Earth, to claim that they teach God's word - one would have to assume that God has spoken, and the church is teaching his word through the generations. Now, for centuries the Catholic church has held that Priests ought not to be married, to be free from non-theologian 'distractions' such they may focus their lives entirely upon the divine. While I do not personally agree with this stance, I understand and appreciate the dedication to this stance.
Now, after many centuries; this stance has been abandoned - without any fanfare. What is next? Will the Catholic church welcome practicing Gay Priests? With the Catholic churcn marry gay couples?
This isn't the first church to suddenly change principles that have stood for a long period of time. Yes, I am a traditionalist, in that unless someone in a leadership position in the church is willing to stand up and say "God spoke to me, and he told me that it is HIS will that this be done". Anything else, is just a change based upon the wants of 'man'. The church is supposed to represent the will of 'God'; not the wants of 'man'.
Exactly!
One anecdote involved Anglican British soldier conversions to Catholicism during WWI. Catholic priests were far more numerous as chaplains serving where they were needed, in the filthy trenches.
It is antiquated views on divorce and married priests that is hurting the church. I think there is some wiggle room for change on these matters.
It is antiquated views on divorce and married priests that is hurting the church. I think there is some wiggle room for change on these matters.
As a Catholic, I will attempt to explain what is change and what is not. To do so, you must understand the difference between a dogma of the faith and a discipline.
A dogma is an unchanging tenent of the faith- the trinity, the incarnation, basically the Apostles creed. These things cannot be changed ever. They are the faith. Another dogma is women priests. This will never be changed no matter how hard they try. Jesus only chose men, tho as GOD, he certainly could have chosen women for the role of apostle if he wanted to. It was not unheard of, and there were many religous groups then that had priestesses, so it would not have been counter cultural. Jesus considered the church his bride. He is the bridegroom. The only way a Catholic priest can act in persona christi (as another Christ) is if he is male, so he too can stand in for Christ and his bride.
Disciplines are things that are right and good, and have long been practiced within the church. They do have a basis in scripture, or, they are in harmony with it. Unmarried priests fall into this catagory. We know Peter was married, and we know that scripture tells us a bishop should be the husband of only one wife. But other scriptures point to the fact that priests are told the better way is to remain single, so they can devote all they have to the priesthood and the church. Jesus also speaks about becoming a unich for the kingdom of God, as well as promising anyone who gave up wives or husbands or children for the kingdom would be rewarded. He would never advocate leaving a family in order to follow him, as that would be against scripture, so he was referring to those who chose not to have those things in the first place for the sake of the kingdom.
Disciplines can and do change. They are often given exceptions based on individual circumstances. The anglican church has left these priests. They are left with nothing, yet their call to the priesthood may have been absolutely legitimate. They answered it, and in their churches rules, clergy could marry. They have now looked to Rome to bring them home so exceptions will be and should be made.
The priesthood, like marriage, is a vocation. We can really only have one vocation as it is who we are, not what we do. Catholic priests accept their vocation to the priesthood, just as married couples accept their vocation to marriage. It is sad that the splintering of the faith has caused this to become an issue, but I am glad to see Rome working on repairs.
That all would be my guess also (I’m an ordained Anglican priest). I happen to be widowed and am not planning on remarrying (though theoretically I could). It spiritually isn’t right, as I see things.
If my bishop agreed to this relationship with Rome, I would be very satisfied and happily go along with it. I tend to Romish ways, anyway, mostly.
Thank you for your courteous response. I think I understand.
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