Pope Creates New Structure to Enable More Anglicans to Return to Catholic Church

According to the AP: "Pope Benedict XVI has created a new church structure for Anglicans who want to join the Catholic Church, responding to the disillusionment of some Anglicans over the ordination of women and the election of openly gay bishops.
The new provision will allow Anglicans to join the Catholic Church while maintaining their Anglican identity and many of their liturgical traditions, Cardinal William Levada, the Vatican's chief doctrinal official, told a news conference.
The new church structure, called Personal Ordinariates, will be units of faithful within the local Catholic Church headed by former Anglican prelates who will provide spiritual care for Anglicans who wish to become Catholic."

As usual, the media fails to report the whole story. It totally ignores the fact that there are already many Anglican Use parishes in existance & that this is just another step to enable more parishes to cross the Tiber with fewer hassles.

It will be interesting to see how many Anglican & Episcopal Bishops come over, as well as how many more whole parishes. There have also been reports that The Traditional Anglican Communion (TAC) was seeking union with Rome. It appears that if they are, this will facilitate their efforts greatly. The Anglican Church in America is a part of the TAC & they have a parish here in DBQ. Saint Thomas of Canterbury Anglican Church is a part of the Diocese of the Missouri Valley.

I wonder what the process will be for integrating the Anglican use parishes into this new structure will be. & it will be interesting to see how the reaction from within & outside the Catholic Church.

1 of the delicious ironies in all this is the fact that while you have so many Catholics in Name Only trying to destroy authentic Catholic teaching, we see a group that wants to draw closer to what the CINOs are trying to destroy. I can't see the CINO press being too receptive either. The Non-Catholic Reporter has already started it's spin. John Allen's article (Vatican reveals plan to welcome disaffected Anglicans, Pope OKs new structures to absorb disgruntled Anglican conservatives) is pretty straight forward. But the titles used in the various links give us a clear view of their opinion of those Anglicans applying to join the Catholic Church & the CINO unhappiness with what is going on.

& Richard McBrien has already started his spin (The crisis in Anglicanism revisited 19 October 2009). Not surprizingly, the article that came out yesterday totally misses what is really going on & is an attempt by him to try & make it sound like what is going on is merely a battle between differnt views rather than between those who uphold the truth & people like him who promote heresy & can never have their views accepted as valid.

Damian Thompson over at the UK Telegraph has an article on the announcement (New era begins as Benedict throws open gates of Rome to disaffected Anglicans ) that does a much better job of looking at what has occurred & what it means.

I conclude with my welcome to those who are returning to unity with Holy Mother Church. You are an example of what ecumenism is really meant to be.

AP Source: Pope Approves Plan to Bring Anglicans Into the Fold

Note from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith

joint statement from Archbishop Nichols and Archbishop Williams