Under a huge dome with images of winged angels, six former Fort Worth-area Episcopal clergymen — including a father and son — lay facedown at a marble altar Saturday and were ordained as priests in the Roman Catholic Church.
In what officials called a historic moment, Fort Worth Catholic Bishop Kevin Vann and other white-robed priests in the diocese laid hands on the priests at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church in Keller to welcome them.
It was the first ordination class under Pope Benedict XVI’s new Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter, created Jan. 1 to allow Episcopal priests to be ordained as Catholic clergy and for Episcopal congregations to join the Roman Catholic Church.
Given the subject matter of the two posts at the top of this blog, one can only imagine their joy, if not actual relief.
As most of the ordinands said, the current problems with TEC are a minor issue in their decisions, and that is wise. One does not become Roman Catholic to escape problems. There’s this thing called “humanity” that seems ubiquitous.
Charles52
That’s a fair and sound point. But I bet they are still feeling a bit of relief to be on the other side of the bars at the zoo.
It’s sad for those of us in the ACNA Dioc. of Ft. Worth who supported these men in their priesthood…helping many of them to get through seminary and be ordained in the first place. They are good men and, I think, honestly trying to follow their calling.
I wish my friends in the Ordinariate every blessing because surely this, too, is part of the will of God.
As I understand it, these priests left TEC well before they went to the Ordinariate.
For the same reason, the Ordinariate has little relevance to KJ Schori – those bound there generally left TEC a long time ago.
Ad Orientem,
Fair enough, but are out of the cage, or into it? Ok, the analogy doesn’t go too far, but after 25 years a Catholic, I assure you, we are our own zoo. 🙂
Actually, I was at the ordination, and there was talk not of the Anglican troubles (indeed, there was recognition of and thanks for the graces in their Anglican ministries), but I think a real joyous relief that the process is over. You can only live “in-between” for so long.
Timothy Perkins has been my spiritual director for ~20 years and I am truly grateful that God has provided this path forward for this deeply spiritual man.
There is no doubt our Catholic Church is full of sinners exhibiting all the faults, foibles and evils of humanity. And, unfortunately, has trouble keeping from being corrupted in practice by some. But the official teachings of the Catholic Church are the pure medicine in a spiritual hospital for those who want to aspire to what Christ said he wanted us to aspire to:
:”If thou woudst be perfect..”
Sadly, many churches which ignore apostolic and Biblical Teachings are NOT spiritual hospitals, but have become organized enablers for some of the most degraded evils of humanity while giving a phony veneer of morality to them.