Roman Overtures

I have been asked by many people how I feel about the news of the Vatican's offer to accept Anglicans en masse and create a new structure within the Roman Catholic Church to accommodate them. Like for many people, this announcement filled me with joy and happiness, but also raised some serious questions. From the Anglican perspective there are doctrinal questions to be dealt with. There is no need to list them as they are obvious to all. Neither the generous offer from the Holy Father, nor the confusion and fragmentation of Anglicanism changes alters the state of these doctrinal questions. From the Roman perspective there are canonical questions to be dealt with. How will irregular marriages be dealt with? What about orders? What about confirmation? What about liturgy? And so on. On both sides there are practical questions: how will this work? Who will be in charge? Who owns property? Etc. So until the Apostolic Constitution comes out there will be many questions, and even after it comes out there will be many questions. As has been seen with the recent Summorum Pontificum, radical changes such as this is are slowly phased in, and sometimes there are lots of growing pains in the process.

If the doctrinal and practical questions can be resolved by those Anglican clergy wishing to take this option there will no doubt be more opportunities for them in the larger body of the Roman Catholic Church. I imagine there will be more chances and opportunities for ministry, and more chances for fellowship and support. Right now, because of the fragmented state of the Anglican world (especially the "continuing" Anglican world), there are few chances for ministry and few opportunities for fellowship and support. I think that many Anglicans yearn to be part of something larger, and even though we are (perhaps only in our own minds) "Catholics" it doesn't always feel that way because of the fragmented state of things. Granted this problem is probably more acute in "continuing" parishes than in the new ACNA group.