"If Anglican orders were "absolutely null and utterly void" 100 years ago, then how could Rome recongnize TAC orders as valid? The clergy who left for TAC were ordained by the same bishops as the clergy who stayed. Therefore, if those bishops and the clergy who stayed are invalid, then the initial TAC priests were invalid as well. Were all TAC clergy re-ordained by Polish bishops? What rite was used?"
My understanding is that it has been and would continue to be the policy of the church to require those religious of the Anglican tradition converting to be ordained by a Catholic bishop. I am not aware of any exceptions to this policy being granted in the last century or so. If anyone has knowledge of such exceptions I would be interested to read the particulars.
An interesting question is how solid is the decree regarding the validity of Anglican orders? It must be remembered that the church has always taught that Holy Orders along with Baptism and Confirmation are sacraments which may not be conferred more than once without sacrilege. In the case of Baptism the custom has been to use the formula for conditional Baptism if there is the slightest doubt about the convert having been validly baptized previously. Is there such a thing as conditional Holy Orders? If there is even a slight doubt about the validity of these orders how should one proceed?
My understanding is that it has been and would continue to be the policy of the church to require those religious of the Anglican tradition converting to be ordained by a Catholic bishop. I am not aware of any exceptions to this policy being granted in the last century or so. If anyone has knowledge of such exceptions I would be interested to read the particulars. Fr. John Jay Hughes and and Fr. Leonard Graham were both conditionally reordained sub conditione to the Priesthood.
An interesting question is how solid is the decree regarding the validity of Anglican orders?
The decree is utterly irreformable and is infallible. However, the decree is a dogma of historical circumstances and applied to the historical situation of 1896 in the CofE and ECUSA, not 2005 in the TAC and among FIF.
Is there such a thing as conditional Holy Orders? If there is even a slight doubt about the validity of these orders how should one proceed?
It is called reordination sub conditione. If there is the slightest doubt that an Anglican Minsiter might have valid orders, he is reordained sub conditione to avoid profanation. If there were some absolute proof he did have valid orders (say he was ordained by a Old Catholic or Polish National Bishop), he would simply be accepted into communion and and a clerical office by confession.