Three More Anglicans Complete Ordination into Catholic Church

Pope Benedict XVI during the Beatification of Blessed John Cardinal Newman

 

Three more former Anglican priests have been ordained into the Roman Catholic Church at the weekend.

The latest priests to turn their backs on the Anglican Communion and
join the specially established Catholic Ordinariate are Father David
Elliott, of Reading, Berks, Father Jonathan Redvers Harris, of the Isle
of Wight and Father Graham Smith, of Christchurch, Dorset.

Earlier
this month The Christian Post reported how seven former Church of
England clergy were ordained into the Ordinariate, as part of a series
of ordinations taking place over Pentecost.

The latest group of
former Anglican priests to complete their defection to the Catholic
Ordinariate did so at a ceremony at Portsmouth Cathedral in south
England, which saw about 250 congregants gather to celebrate the
ordinations.

A number of those joining the new Ordinariate have
said they were forced to take action following the Church of England’s
increasing acceptance of same-sex blessings and gay clergy. Others have
also cited the Church’s movement towards accepting women bishops as a
reason to defect to the Catholic Church.

According to the BBC, one
of the three, Father Elliott, resigned from his post as the Anglican
vicar of Holy Trinity in Reading in April. He moved to the Catholic
Church, taking 15 of his congregants with him.

Elliot has said he felt urged to take the action following Pope Benedict extending a “hand of friendship”.

The Catholic Ordinariate is a special body established by the pope as a place of refuge for Anglicans dissatisfied with their Church’s changing stance on certain issues.

In
excess of 900 laity have already moved to the Catholic Church and have
been waiting for their clergy to complete training for Catholic
priesthood at a seminary in West London.

As the former Anglican
clergy become ordained as Catholic priests, they will lead groups of
former Anglican laity to branch off from the core Catholic congregations
to worship as a separate Ordinariate group. The Vatican will soon publish a separate liturgy for these Ordinariate groups to follow.

According
to The Times in London, Keith Newton, who heads up the Ordinariate, has
explained that dozens more Church of England clergy are currently also
considering their positions within the Anglican Church.

Newton
told The Times, “Every week somebody writes or e-mails asking how they
can join the Ordinariate. They are often people I have never heard of
before.”

Explaining the risk facing those defecting to the
Catholic Church, Newton commented: “For clergy it is a practical risk,
meaning they abandon tied housing and a guaranteed stipend for a smaller
income and uncertainty.”

Newton, himself defected and became a
Roman Catholic priest in January this year. He and Andrew Burnham and
John Broadhurst – all former Anglican bishops – were welcomed into the
Roman Catholic Church during a ceremony at Westminster Cathedral in
London.

The three made the move because they were "distressed" by
the developments in the global Anglican Communion which they found to be
"incompatible" with Christian tradition.

The Vatican announced in
2009 that it would introduce a new church structure that would allow
former Anglicans to enter into "full communion" with the Catholic Church
while preserving their Anglican traditions.

Pope Benedict made
the provision in response to the numerous requests he received from
Anglicans who were unhappy with the ordination of women and noncelibate
gay bishops.

 

SOURCE:

http://www.christianpost.com/news/more-anglicans-ordained-into-catholic-ordinariate-51603/

61 FORMER ANGLICAN CLERGY PREPARES FOR ENTRANCE INTO THE CATHOLIC CHURCH

Our Lady of Walsingham

London, England, March 15 (CNA) .- About 900 prospective members of the new ordinariate, including 61 former Anglican clergy, prepared for their reception into the Catholic Church in England and Wales over the weekend.

They were among the more than 4,700 others who gathered for the Rite of Election in cathedrals across England and Wales over the weekend of March 12-13 to prepare to be received into the Church during Holy Week.

"I am greatly encouraged that these people will be received into the Catholic Church at Easter as members of the ordinariate," said Fr. Keith Newton, the ordinary heading Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham. "During the next few weeks they will continue their prayerful preparation for this significant step."

Pope Benedict XVI established the ordinariate, a special church structure, to allow Anglicans to join the Catholic Church while retaining some of their customs and liturgy.

Figures from the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales indicate that former Anglicans will have a significant presence among new converts.

In the Archdiocese of Westminster, a reported 62 of the 829 participants in the Rite of Election will join the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham. In the Archdiocese of Birmingham 100 of the 302 prospective Catholics will join the ordinariate, as will 167 of the 512 participants in the Archdiocese of Southwark.

In the Diocese of Brentwood, which includes Essex and East London, 240 of the 362 participants were bound for the ordinariate.

In southwest England's Diocese of Plymouth, those joining the ordinariate also made up the majority undergoing the Rite of Election: 60 out of 80.

They will join five former Anglican bishops who have already become Catholic, including Fr. Newton.

"The witness of so many people taking this life-changing step is so very encouraging," said Bishop Kieran Conry, chair of the Department for Evangelisation and Catechesis for the bishops' conference. "Each year people freely choose to come forward from all walks of life, bringing with them unique experiences and talents. The Catholic Community welcomes them with love, friendship and the assurance of prayer."

The bishop encouraged anyone considering entering the Catholic Church or exploring it further to contact their local Catholic church or to ask a Catholic friend for help.

Archbishop Wuerl named US contact for Anglican groups seeking to become Catholic

Archbishop Wuerl of Washington kisses the ring of Pope Benedict XVI as a sign of respect and obedience.

Washington D.C., September 23 (CNA/EWTN News) .- Archbishop of Washington Donald Wuerl will guide the incorporation of interested Anglican groups into the Catholic Church in the United States under the apostolic constitution "Anglicanorum Coetibus," a Vatican congregation has announced.

The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) has named the archbishop as its delegate in this position, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) reports. Archbishop Wuerl also heads the U.S. bishops' ad hoc committee that is assisting the CDF in implementing the apostolic constitution, which Pope Benedict XVI issued in November 2009.

"Anglicanorum Coetibus" is intended to provide for the establishment of personal ordinariates for Anglican groups who seek to enter into full communion with the Catholic Church as a group.

An ordinariate is a special type of jurisdiction under church law. It is a canonical structure similar to a diocese that covers the area of a bishops' conference. The Anglican ordinariate allows Anglicans to be part of the Catholic Church while maintaining aspects of their Anglican heritage and liturgy.

Other members of the ad hoc committee are Bishop Kevin Vann of Fort Worth, Texas and Bishop Robert McManus of Worcester, Massachusetts.

The committee is assisted by Fr. Scott Hurd. He was ordained an Episcopal priest in 1993, joined the Catholic Church in 1996, and was ordained a Catholic priest for the Archdiocese of Washington in 2000.

Fr. Hurd will assist Archbishop Wuerl and will be a liaison to the USCCB.

The two tasks of the ad hoc committee are to facilitate the implementation of "Anglicanorum Coetibus" in the U.S. and to assess the level of interest in an Anglican Ordinariate in the United States.

The USCCB says that interested Anglicans are asked to contact Archbishop Wuerl through the Archdiocese of Washington.