It may have puzzled many members of the Church of England to discover that last Saturday, just a few days before the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Westminster ordained three former Anglican Bishops into the Roman Catholic priesthood!
This annual week of prayer is intended to acknowledge and be thankful for the riches of all our various churches. But by its action last week, the Roman Catholic Church seems to be suggesting that the only way to achieve real unity is for others to join the Roman Catholic Church.
In the past, anyone wishing to join the Roman Catholic Church from another Church, has sought instruction and then been received into the Roman Catholic Church, and joined the local Roman Catholic congregation.
What is different about the three who sought ordination as priests last week, and other former Anglican clergy and lay people who choose to follow them, is that although they will cease to be Anglicans, and will become Roman Catholics, they will not be joining Roman Catholic congregations, but will be setting up in a separate structure called ‘the Anglican Ordinariate’ (see separate article on page …).
By their actions, those clergy leaving the Church of England in this way seem to be saying that they wish to become Roman Catholics, but still want to be separate from the rest of the Roman Catholic flock. And the lay people who choose to join the Ordinariate, having rejected the Anglican cake on the plate before them, are not willing to accept the cake offered to them by ordinary Roman Catholic congregations. And the Roman Catholic Church, so quick in the past to criticise Anglican fudge or compromise, have encouraged this “join us – but you can stay separate” arrangement.
It must be said that many Roman Catholics (bishops and priests among them) do not see things this way, and are in fact puzzled, and some embarrassed, by what their own Church is doing. And there must have been many mixed feelings among the celibate Roman
Catholic clergy present at the ordination of the former Anglican bishops, when their respective wives came forward to proudly vest them in their chasubles after their ordination. While Roman Catholic clergy have forgone the companionship of wives and families, these (former) Anglicans have been fully accepted – along with their wives and families. While all this is confusing to those who take such things seriously, I wonder what the man or woman in the street makes of it all?
But this is the situation that those of us who value our Anglican tradition, and those of our Roman Catholic brothers and sisters, now find ourselves in. Those of us who have gathered morning by morning during the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity to share in the worship of each others’ traditions still believe we are called by the Lord of the Church to pray that ‘we might be one’. But surely the unity for which Christ prayed was unity without confusion or compromise. There’s obviously still a lot of work to be done!
May the Lord of the Church bless you all.
Fr John
Director of Music:
After just under 2 years as our Director of Music, Travis Baker has resigned. After due consideration of his reasons for this move, the Churchwardens and I have reluctantly agreed to accept his
resignation. As time has gone on, Travis came to recognise that the demands of this particular post are not quite what he expected, and as he put it to me, he feels he has not been ‘playing to his particular strengths’. It is important to make it clear to the Parish that we have parted on good terms, and that we are enormously grateful for all he has achieved here during his time with us.
In order to maintain stability for the choir, and congregation, I am very glad to announce that Claire Cousens has kindly agreed to accept my invitation to become acting Director of Music. Claire is well known at St John’s, having assisted here for some years. We welcome her warmly, and are grateful to her for accepting this interim appointment.
Fr John