Thursday, November 11, 2010

Aussie bishop joins exodus to Catholic Church

A RETIRED Australian Anglican bishop has joined an exodus of British bishops to the Catholic Church. 

David Silk, a former Bishop of Ballarat, has joined four other bishops who yesterday expressed their "dismay" and "distress" at the church's liberal direction and announced they would join the Roman Catholic Church.

In a statement yesterday, the British bishops said they believed that modern reforms, 
including women bishops, were "incompatible" with historic Anglicanism.

The Bishop of Fulham, John Broadhurst -- whose wife, Judy, and three of his four adult children will convert with him -- predicted lay Anglicans would flock to the Catholic Church in their thousands.

"There are lots of people interested. Some are actively looking at it," Bishop Broadhurst said.
"A lot of people are saying they will wait and see how it develops. I can understand that. If you are a clergyman in a parish with a wife and children, it is rather worrying. I suspect thousands, not hundreds, of laity will go, however."

Bishop David Robarts, chairman of Anglican traditionalist group Forward in Faith Australia, said disaffected Australian clergy were preparing to form a new Catholic ordinate as soon as Easter.

"It's unlikely there will be a huge number (of lay converts) to begin with, but once the process begins, it is open to continuing indefinitely," he said.

"We just don't know at the moment because people are yet to indicate whether they will come or not.

"It's probably going to be a slower process here."

As well as Bishop Silk and Bishop Broadhurst, the statement was signed by the Bishop of Ebbsfleet, Andrew Burnham, the Bishop of Richborough, Keith Newton, and the retired 
Bishop of Richborough, Edwin Barnes.

Australian Anglican Primate Phillip Aspinall could not be contacted for comment.

SIC: TA/AUS