A little more than a year ago (Oct. 20, 2009) William Cardinal Levada signaled to the world that Pope Benedict XVI was planning to release an apostolic constitution helping those spiritually disenfranchised Anglicans seeking to reunite with the See of Peter. Less than two weeks later (Nov. 9, 2009) the Vatican published ” Anglicanorum Coetibus “. This paves the way for the eventual establishment of a unique Anglican Ordinariate, for those entering into full communion with the Catholic Church from the Anglican tradition. At the announcement the Anglican world was shaken to its core.
Since that time Anglicans and former Anglicans around the world — including American Episcopalians — have been considering the Pope’s offer to become fully-fledged Catholics and yet retain some of their unique Anglican liturgy, patrimony and ethos in their life and worship as Catholics. Now a year has come and gone. Questions have been raised, meetings have been held, and some answers have been given, well all the while, slowly the face the various proposed national ordinatiates are starting to take shape.
“At the announcement the Anglican world was shaken to its core.” While one appreciates the self-interest of the writer(s), would it not be more accurate to say that the vast majority of the Anglican world didn’t even notice, those who follow blogs and emails were perhaps interested, and a few quite genuinely were shaken/attracted?
I think it is plenty accurate to say the Anglican world has been shaken to its core–not by the Ordinariate announcement, but by the many events that have made it a possibility. The pope has done nothing to harm Anglicanism. Anglicans have done this all on their own.
It seems to me that “Anglican world” references our leaders. The rest of us are more interested in our own Parish.