The congregation at one of the oldest Anglican churches in Leicester is considering converting to Catholicism.
About 50 members of St Mary de Castro’s congregation met Catholic leaders yesterday to discuss the move.
It followed the Pope’s invitation last year to disaffected Anglicans, who feel their Church has become too liberal, to convert to Roman Catholicism.
Pope Benedict XVI’s decree would allow traditionalist Anglicans to accept all Roman Catholic doctrine and teachings while maintaining aspects of the Anglican tradition.
good for them
Since the bishop of Leicester is keen to see same sex ‘marriage’ in churches, one can hardly wonder at this.
Since it’s a nine hundred year old church, why not let the congregation keep the church building should they decide to be received into the Catholic Church?
I really do think there is a moral obligation to let churches kep their buildings….after all they refuse to provide for us. And who but the congregation have cleaned, maintained, paid for it over the years? But why do I feel they would rather leave buildings empty than let th ordinariate have them
I believe the title of the article is misleading . I suggest a more accurate descriptor would be
[blockquote]Traditional Anglican Parish Seeks to Maintain Communion and Fellowship with the Wider Church. [/blockquote]
This should be interesting. After all, St Mary De Castro was a Roman Catholic church before those Anglican upstarts existed….
#6,,,you get the prize!!!! Bingo!
I wouldn’t expect much in the way of generosity about buildings from the CoE, at least if the American experience is anything to go by. Bishops there have preferred to see buildings turned into nightclubs (Colorado) or stay empty (Philadelphia) than remain in the hands of traditionalist believers.
What 1. said.
[blockquote]Anglo-Catholics… use the Church of England’s Book of Common Prayer…[/blockquote]
No, they don’t. They use the [i]Novus Ordo[/i], at least sometimes with Anglo-Catholic panache, an Englishman’s version of old continental religion and of Pope Benedict’s reform of the reform.
Actually St Mary De Castro has always been a church in the Church of England which dates back before the reformation to St Augustine and the kingdom’s out of which England was formed, and back even further into time immemorial. The big ruction was the Norman Conquest, but as far as I know even that was a replacement of Saxons by Normans in the hierachy of the Church. It never has been owned by foreigners. We continue to be part of the one holy and apostolick church as we recite in the Creeds.
RPP#4, I think almost alone of Anglican churches, the property position here is particularly complicated, and of course into that comes ones duty to the Sovereign who makes rules for governance of property and church issues through her Parliament and has certain undefined rights by virtue of her position as Supreme Governor of the Church of England. Nothing of course stopping disposals or leases of churches provided the usual requirements are followed. Anything very different might require Synodical or Parliamentary legislation. In these respects I think our position will be very different from any other church, in its vast complexity.
Also what 6. said.
#9 Isn’t St Mary de Castro’s a Prayer Book Catholic church?
#12 catholic with a small “c” I mean (at present).