A unique passage

It will be “a unique moment”. In a press release Archbishop Vincent Nichols, president of the English Bishops’ Conference, announced that on Saturday January 15 he will ordain to the priesthood in Westminster Cathedral John Broadhurst, Andrew Burnham e Keith Newton, the three former Anglican bishops who asked to enter in communion with the Catholic Church, availing themselves of the possibility offered by Pope Benedict XVI with the Apostolic Constitution “Anglicanorum coetibus”. To them and to those who will follow their wake, archbishop Nichols addressed his warm welcome: “We recognise the journey they are making with its painful departures and its uncertainties”, he said, extending his gratitude to the Anglican Communion and to Archbishop Rowan Williams. “We are deeply grateful for the depth of the relationship which exists here between the Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion. This firm, positive and on-going relationship is the context for Saturday’s important initiative… This is the noble spirit of true ecumenism between the followers of Christ”. A few days ago the English Bishops’ Conference issued a release providing detailed information on the Ordinariate. An excerpt follows.Introduction. On or before 15 January 2011, it is expected that the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith will publish a Decree which will formally establish a “Personal Ordinariate” in England and Wales (from here on referred to as “the Ordinariate”) for groups of Anglican faithful and their clergy who wish to enter into full communion with the Catholic Church. The establishment of this Ordinariate will be the first fruit of the Apostolic Constitution Anglicanorum coetibus, issued by Pope Benedict XVI on 4 November 2009. In time, it is expected that further Ordinariates will be established in other parts of the world. Will members of the Ordinariate still be Anglicans? No. Members of the Ordinariate will be Catholics. Their decision is to leave the Anglican Communion and come into the Catholic Church, in full communion with the Pope. The central purpose of Anglicanorum coetibus is “to maintain the liturgical, spiritual and pastoral traditions of the Anglican Communion within the Catholic Church, as a precious gift nourishing the faith of the members of the Ordinariate and as a treasure to be shared”. Do all Anglicans who wish to become Catholics now have to be members of the Ordinariate? No. Any individual former Anglican who wishes to be received into full communion with the Catholic Church, may do so without becoming a registered member of the Ordinariate. What is the “Ordinariate” then? The Ordinariate will be a specific ecclesiastical jurisdiction which is similar to a diocese and will be led by its own “Ordinary” (see below) who will be a bishop or priest. However, unlike a diocese its membership will be on a “personal” rather than a “territorial” basis; that is, no matter where a member of the Ordinariate lives within England and Wales they will, in the first instance, be under the ordinary ecclesial jurisdiction of the Ordinariate and not the diocese where they are resident. Who will be the Ordinary of the Ordinariate? The Ordinary of the Ordinariate must be a bishop or a priest and he will be appointed directly by Pope Benedict XVI. All subsequent Ordinaries will be appointed by the Roman Pontiff from a terna (list of three names) presented by the Governing Council of the Ordinariate. A married former Anglican bishop or priest who has been subsequently ordained as a Catholic priest cannot however be ordained as a Catholic bishop whilst their spouse is still living.Will the Ordinariate have parishes and deaneries? The Ordinariate will have parishes within the dioceses where it has groups of members but they will be “personal” parishes and not “territorial” like a diocesan parish. What churches will the Ordinariate use? Because the previous places of worship used by the clergy and groups who will form the Ordinariate were in the ownership of the Church of England, it is unlikely that it will be possible for them to continue to be used by the Ordinariate members . In most cases therefore, Ordinariate congregations will probably use their local diocesan Catholic church for the celebration of Mass and other liturgies.Will any Catholic be able to attend a Mass celebrated within an Ordinariate parish or by an Ordinariate priest? Yes. Any Catholic, whether a member of the Ordinariate or a member of a diocese, will be able to attend Mass, receive Holy Communion and participate in the liturgies of an Ordinariate parish or celebrated by an Ordinariate priest. However, they would not be registered members of the Ordinariate and would remain under the ordinary jurisdiction of the diocesan bishop where they are resident.