How will cradle-Catholics welcome the Anglican flying bishops, their colleagues, wives and retinues currently flapping towards Rome and its blessed ordinariate? Well, it hardly behoves someone who is pretty lapsed these days from spurning their gracious presence, but I know enough still-practising Catholics to appreciate that the Anglicans' much delayed arrival at the departure terminal will not be greeted with unalloyed joy and unconfined rapture.
To say the least!
What makes Catholics suspicious is, if Broadhurst and his ilk were so convinced of their Catholicism, what has taken them so long to convert? They could have done so at any time. It would have been arduous, conceivably long, possibly lonely, maybe even difficult and certainly low-profile, but it would have had an integrity which seems lacking now that they have had so long to get used to the single issue motivating them now: the ordination of women as bishops, so long after they were first consecrated priests.
Bates' entire opinion piece is wonderful. Do read it all.
Stephen Bates once practiced the faith, but he was agnostic when he was asked to cover religion for the Guardian.
But still, sneakingly, when I took the editor's offer, I hoped my faith would return and I could appreciate the old belief.
But after years covering religion for the newspaper, his agnosticism was only reinforced. A sad commentary, not on Stephen, but on those of us who claim the name Christian. Read his story.
H/T to Thinking Anglicans.
To be honest his faith never sounds as if it was very strong to start with, though. He was brought up with it, but it doesn't sound as if when life intruded on him and it was tested, he tried to find out if there were any deeper ways of dealing with the thornier issues (like his mother's cancer). I could be being a little harsh perhaps? ...
ReplyDeletePerhaps Stephen's faith was more form than substance, but I can well understand that the the witness of the church is not what it should be. And perhaps Stephen did not delve deeply enough into what at least some Christians do that is very right and in line with the Gospel. Still, to me, his is a sad story of opportunities lost.
ReplyDelete"...what has taken them so long to convert?"
ReplyDeleteGrandmere, as you know I have asked myself this same question. The only answers I can come up with are 1) A sweet deal 2) The intoxicating elixer of publicity.
Bex, I wonder if the deal is as sweet as those leaving for Rome think. The pope is still infallible, and the crossovers will owe him their unquestioning obedience.
ReplyDeleteAnd their basking in the limelight does seems very like intoxication.
Well, I wonder what will happen to these departing guys (who are departing because their church made a change they couldn/wouldn't accept)when Rome does something that doesn't fit in with their very unrealistic ideas of "being Catholic"?
ReplyDeleteWhere will they flee to then? These are the Anglicans mockingly described as "more Catholic than the Pope".
If they were willing to be obedient
they would have accepted the changes in Anglicanism.
Fah!
Nij
If they were willing to be obedient they would have accepted the changes in Anglicanism.
ReplyDeleteNij, you said a mouthful there. And where will they go?
For a good long while, I've been a voice crying in the wilderness over this issue. The Ordinariate is Roman Catholicism's leper colony for those who must be separated from the great mass of RCs lest they infect the general population. This modern-day Molokai will allow the disaffected Anglicans to move to Rome and yet, not be a full part of it. The RC clergy are very annoyed that these Anglicans (especially the non-celibate clergy) are getting a Get-out-of-Lambeth-free pass and would be even more annoyed if the ex-Anglican clergy ended up in the general run of RC priests.
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone think that Rome really wants a bunch of woman-hating gay-baiting Anglicans who have been carping and sniping at their leadership for three decades? The Ordinariate will separate and contain the infection until, at some time in the future, their descendants will be cleansed of their faults and can join the mainstream of Roman Catholicism.
For some reason the image of rodents boarding a sinking ship keeps coming to mind.
ReplyDeleteI have had no doubt that the Roman Church's absolute intransigence on the subject of Anglican Orders is based on the knowledge that were they to recognize their validity, there would be a flood RC's "swimming the Tiber" - as the utterly camp expression has it - in reverse.
Chris, I imagine the "keeping their Anglican customs" business could be a sop to keep the crossovers in their colony.
ReplyDeleteIndeed, not all Roman Catholics welcome the disaffected Anglicans with open arms.
Lapin, rodents are too smart to board a sinking ship.
And to the the orders thingy, validity is in the eye of the beholder. What amazes me is that the Anglican bishops who announced their departure for Rome, continue to preside at the Eucharist with their here today, gone tomorrow orders.
They flap their way . . . whereas you walked across the Thames on your own two feet.
ReplyDeleteI think we (in "Canterbury"---TEC!) got the MUCH better deal, {{{Mimi}}}!
Well, I did have a bridge, JCF. :-)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the hugs.