Rome says "Welcome..."

Well, there was a surprise! Yesterday's unexpected hurriedly put together press conference in London, responding to the Vatican's scheme for special Anglican ordinariates appears to have put cats amongst pigeons.

I am seriously struggling to understand what all this is about, where it is going, and I await the 'details' with interest. 

It feels a little like we are being told: 'You know where the door is to come in, but here is a window you can climb in through, too'. Except I'm not one that feels I am standing outside, needing to come in. I'm already at home (even if some of the members of the family are a little strange).

If the CofE is truly catholic and reformed (or at least supposed to be!), I can see that for some, it may appear to be losing, or have lost significant degrees of it's catholicity. But this new 'solution' appears to reinstate quality catholicity at the high price of any degree of remaining reformed. I mourn any diminution of our catholicity - but so do I mourn any amelioration of our reformation.

It still sounds a bit like the little Orthodox book on ecumenism that I've picked up in Cyprus a number of years ago. Of the breakaway Roman Catholics, it says: You want unity? Of course you may have it. Simply renounce your schismatic ways, repent, and return to Mother Church and we will have unity.


I do hope that where the Roman church is saying "Welcome...", we are not saying "Grandma, what big eyes you have; what big ears you have..."

Does Rome really want this sort of complicated, bi-polar unity, with these sorts of Anglo-Catholics? I thought Bishop Alan's Blog was helpful. Many more links through Thinking Anglicans as usual.

(I had been half way through planning an update post on Women Bishops, but this subject has queue jumped it... Later.)


Alastair Cutting GS101