A fulfilled request

“In recent times the Holy Spirit has moved groups of Anglicans to petition repeatedly and insistently to be received into full Catholic communion individually as well as corporately. The Apostolic See has responded favorably to such petitions”. Indeed, the Pope “mandated by the Lord Jesus to guarantee the unity of the episcopate and to preside over and safeguard the universal communion of all the Churches, could not fail to make available the means necessary to bring this holy desire to realization”. This long paragraph opens the Apostolic Constitution “Anglicanorum Coetibus”. The document – announced past October 20 by Cardinal William Levada, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and issued November 9 – provides a “response” to the many requests coming from Anglican groups and individuals from across the world to “enter in full and visible communion with the Catholic Church”.The inspiration. In the initial paragraphs the Constitution explains what led the Holy Father to draw it up. “Every division among the baptized in Jesus Christ wounds that which the Church is and that for which the Church exists; in fact, “such division openly contradicts the will of Christ, scandalizes the world, and damages that most holy cause, the preaching the Gospel to every creature”. “It is the Holy Spirit, the principle of unity, which establishes the Church as a communion”, the document states. This is “not only an invisible spiritual communion, but is also visible”. In the light of these ecclesiological principles, this Apostolic Constitution “provides the general normative structure for regulating the institution and life of Personal Ordinariates for those Anglican faithful who desire to enter into the full communion of the Catholic Church in a corporate manner”.The rules. Personal Ordinariates “are erected by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith within the confines of the territorial boundaries of a particular Conference of Bishops in consultation with that same Conference. Within the territory of a particular Conference of Bishops, one or more Ordinariates may be erected as needed. The Catechism of the Catholic Church is the authoritative expression of the Catholic faith professed by members of the Ordinariate”. The Ordinariate has the faculty to celebrate liturgical celebrations (the Holy Eucharist and the other Sacraments) “according to the liturgical books proper to the Anglican tradition, which have been approved by the Holy See, so as 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”.The clergy. To this regard the Constitution states, “Those who ministered as Anglican deacons, priests, or bishops, and who fulfill the requisites established by canon law and are not impeded by irregularities or other impediments may be accepted by the Ordinary as candidates for Holy Orders in the Catholic Church”. As relates to married Anglican ministers, the Constitution states that the Ordinary “will admit only celibate men to the order of presbyter”, although he may “petition the Roman Pontiff” “for the admission of married men to the order of presbyter on a case by case basis, according to objective criteria approved by the Holy See”. The Complementary Norms for the Apostolic Constitution state that married men will be admitted to the Holy Orders “only after a process of discernment based on objective criteria and the needs of the Ordinariate”, with an important remark: “Those who have been previously ordained in the Catholic Church and subsequently have become Anglicans, may not exercise sacred ministry in the Ordinariate. Anglican clergy who are in irregular marriage situations may not be accepted for Holy Orders in the Ordinariate”.