The Tablet–Vatican opens door to groups of conservative Anglicans

Both the cardinal and the archbishop stressed that the establishment of the personal ordinariates was “consistent with the commitment to ecumenical dialogue, which continues to a be a priority for the Catholic Church”. Yet the new development marks a shift in the Vatican’s longstanding policy of discouraging the wholesale reception of breakaway groups from other denominations.

“This changes the context of ecumenism and is a new departure,” said the Rev. Dr William Franklin, an Academic Fellow at the Anglican Centre in Rome. “We, as Anglicans, will be interested to hear how the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity (PCPCU) responds,” he said. Not a single PCPCU official ”“ including Cardinal Walter Kasper, the president ”“ was at the briefing.

“With this proposal the Church wants to respond to the legitimate aspirations of these Anglican groups for full and visible unity with the Bishop of Rome,” Cardinal Levada said.

Read it all.

Posted in * Anglican - Episcopal, * Religion News & Commentary, Anglican Provinces, Archbishop of Canterbury, Church of England (CoE), CoE Bishops, Other Churches, Pope Benedict XVI, Roman Catholic