Thursday, February 18, 2010

Church of England bishop converts to Rome

Just weeks after stepping down from his post as the Assistant Bishop of Newcastle, Paul Richardson crossed over to Rome.

He has moved from the north-east to London and is now a regular worshipper at St George’s Cathedral in Southwark.

However he denied his conversion was influenced by the Church of England’s move towards ordaining women bishops, which many traditionalists say is pushing them out.

Mr Richardson said: “I was received into full communion with the Catholic church in January.

“It’s nothing to do with the ordination of women, it’s really a journey I’ve been on for some time. It’s just like coming home.”

Ordained in 1972, he spent much of his ministry overseas and served as the Bishop of Aipo Rongo in Papua New Guinea from 1987 until 1995 and Bishop of Wangaratta in Australia for the following two years. He was Assistant Bishop of Newcastle from 1998 until the end of last year.

Last summer, he claimed that the dramatic fall in church marriages and baptisms suggested that Britain is no longer a Christian nation, and predicted the end of the Church of England as the established religion within a generation.

He wrote in The Sunday Telegraph: "At this rate it is hard to see the church surviving for more than 30 years though few of its leaders are prepared to face that possibility.

"The church is being hit by a double whammy: on the one hand it confronts the challenge of institutional decline but on the other hand it has to face the rise of cultural and religious pluralism in Britain.

"Rather than try to cling on to their places in the House of Lords, they should take the initiative by withdrawing, which shows that they appreciate Christian Britain is dead."

His move comes as Anglo-Catholics in the Church of England prepare to decide whether to remain or cross over to Rome under the terms of the unprecedented offer made by the Vatican last year.

The “flying” bishops of Ebbsfleet and Richborough, who provide oversight for parishes who cannot accept women priests, have called for a day of prayer and discernment on Monday. Anglo-Catholics will pray alongside Catholics in churches across the country.

However Mr Richardson said he would not join any Ordinariate set up in England for former Anglicans.
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