Two other ecumenical developments this week are worth noting.
On Dec. 1, Bishop Jeffrey Steenson of the Episcopalian Diocese of the Rio Grande, which covers New Mexico and portions of Texas, was received into the Catholic church by Cardinal Bernard Law in a private ceremony at Rome’s Basilica of Saint Mary Major, where Law serves as the archpriest. Steenson, 55, was accompanied to Rome by Catholic Archbishop Michael Sheehan of Santa Fe.
Steenson, who is married with three children, has applied to be ordained a Catholic priest under the terms of the 1980 “Pastoral Provision” allowing Episcopal ministers to be ordained as Catholic priests while remaining married. During the fall meeting of the U.S. bishops in Baltimore, Sheehan told NCR that Steenson, assuming his request receives Vatican approval, will eventually be incardinated into his Santa Fe archdiocese. Archbishop John Myers of Newark, current head of the Pastoral Provision, said that given Steenson’s background as a patristics scholar, he would probably end up teaching in a Catholic seminary or university.
Under the terms of the Pastoral Provision, married Episcopal ministers who become Catholic priests are barred from having “the ordinary care of souls” in a parish, so most work as hospital chaplains, campus ministers, or seminary instructors, usually while assisting part-time in a parish.
Steenson’s application for ordination has to be approved by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, currently headed by American Cardinal William Levada. Myers said in mid-November that he doesn’t expect any difficulty, though the congregation could not act upon the request until Steenson was formally received into the church.
Sources told NCR that Steenson’s application joins as many as eight to ten others currently awaiting Vatican action under the terms of the Pastoral Provision.
Our great loss, Rome’s great gain. 🙁
In fact, our diocese has had 4 priests acting as pastors, only one in an Anglican Use parish. The other three held the title of “Priest-in-Charge”, but function as pastors. At this time, one of them is chancellor of the diocese, so I suppose he doesn’t have “the ordinary care of souls”, but something larger.
Interesting that the article refers to “Episcopal ministers” but to “Catholic priests“; I suppose in their view only RCs and Orthodox can be “priests.”
As the article is in the National [b]Catholic[/b] Reporter, I would presume so.
“Bishop Jeffrey Steenson…was received into the Catholic church by Cardinal Bernard Law”
Sad to have Cardinal Law involved. If Law lived outside the Vatican, he might well face extradition to the United States on criminal charges relating clerical sexual abuses in his former archdiocese. Fortunately for Law, Sta. Maria Maggiore is Vatican territory.
“Sources told NCR that Steenson’s application joins as many as eight to ten others currently awaiting Vatican action under the terms of the Pastoral Provision”
More to come. Does Abp. Williams care?
Somewhat ironic though that Jeffrey was received in a way that forced him to rely on the sacraments not being affected by the inadequacies of the officiant…..
When will the MSM recognize that “Episcopalian” is the noun, “Episcopal” is the adjective. That “…Jeffrey Steenson of the [b] Episcopalian [/b] Diocese of the Rio Grande” should read “[b] Episcopal [/b] Diocese of the Rio Grande.”
Maybe this should be on “Get Religion.”
Same time that the Department of Defense stops using “impact” as a verb or ecusa stops using “live into” whenever they can’t figure out what more coherent verbal construct would apply. George Orwell was a prophet in more ways than one.
Like # 2 above I was struck by the inaccuracy of the statement that married Catholic clergy of Anglican origin do not have parish pastoral responsibilities. Here in the UK they do, the only restriction being that they are appointed administrators rather than parish priests (= pastors). The difference is minimal. One reason for higher numbers in chaplaincy, eg hospitals, is that those institutions pay realistic salaries which can support a wife and children.
What disappoints me very much it is that just like Bishop Herzog Bishop Steenson did not lead his Diocese out of TEC first before he exited to Rome.
[i] Comment edited by elf.[/i]
The Cardinal Law haters should know that the Mass. AG conducted an investigation and found that he did not commit a single crime. In fact, the Mass. AG, following the mass hysteria of 2002, wanted to put him away in prison for life, but found that he had no basis for doing so. Cardinal Law is an honorable man who made some bad judgments – judgments for the most part based on medical evaluations at the time. Even though the American people as whole think he is a criminal, the American people are wrong.
Let’s do a thought experiment. Warning: this will only work if you are able to put yourself in the frame of mind of someone who is fully pro-life.
How many senior Epicopalians applauded Roe versus Wade? Most of them? My recollection is not perfect of that time, but it is to the effect that the Christian reaction at the time was anathemas from Romans and applause from just about everybody else. OK, how many of these senior Episcopalians came to realize as they learned more about the actual medicine and biology involved that Roe was an abomination?
This is not a matter of coming to regret a bad method of dealing with sinners although recognizing the sin. This is a matter of having countenanced the actual sin in the first place, because some doctors and lawyers, many with financial interests in the sin, said to.
Perhaps a bit of charity towards Bernard Cardinal Law is in order.
Does he have to take a vow of celibacy from now on? Just wondering.
When Mr. Steenson is “Father” again, he will not take a vow of celibacy, since he is already married. However, like the Orthodox and Eastern Catholics, if something happens to his wife after his ordination, he cannot re-marry.
The National Catholic Reporter is not actually mainstream Catholic, either, but a left-leaning journal with contributors that include Sr. Joan Chittister. Yes, the Catholic Church doesn’t consider Anglican Orders to be valid, therefore I would have expected the NCR to call them Episcopal priests.
Celibacy and continence are different. The vow of celibacy that secular clergy take is a promise not to marry. Expectant Father Steenson will have his wife’s full support in not marrying, I am sure.
Most religious clergy take a different vow, so that if they fall into impurity they also incur sacrilege.
Ed, you accurately point to the real scandal of the Catholic Church in the United States: the bishops listened (past tense?) to lawyers and financiers rather than the Faith and their hurting people.
I agree with Violent Papist, Ed and Words Matter that a little charity is due Cardinal Law. Not everyone is a Cardinal Law hater. I recently had the previledge of dining with him in an outdoor cafe in Rome. It was hard to a get a word in edgewise because of all the American tourists from Boston warmingly greeting him.
Words Matter: Sometimes the flagrantly dissident, often heretical NCReporter gets it right. I prefer the much more orthodox NCRegister, thank you!