Wednesday, March 09, 2011

The national and local status of the Anglican Ordinariate

Many Anglicans world-wide, and Episcopalians in the United States have questioned the rationale and legitimacy of the decisions by those in power to allow women priests, homosexual civil unions/marriage, homosexual clergy, and the overall embrace of militant liberalism and secularism.

More than a few of the Anglican Communion's clergy and laity have taken advantage of Pope Benedict XVI invitation for Christian unity under the auspices of the Apostolic Constitution Anglicanorum Coetibus.

Under the provisions of the Anglican Ordinariate, the Anglicans/Episcopalians will retain their bishops, priests, Book of Common Prayer, as well as their liturgy.

The traditional Anglican liturgy is very similar to the Catholic Tridentine Latin Mass, except that it has a mix of Latin and Elizabethan English.

Nationally...

This past weekend, disaffected Anglicans and Episcopalians joined with Catholic clergy and laity from across the nation to gather at St. Therese Little Flower Catholic Church in Kansas City for a conference on Anglicanorum Coetibus, entitled “Becoming One.”
 
The gathering was hosted by Fr. Ernie Davis and the Our Lady of Hope Society, the Pastoral Provision priest and community of former Anglicans who celebrate the Anglican Use Mass every week at St. Therese Little Flower.
 
Like the many similar gatherings in recent and future months, the meeting was intended to begin to forge unity among the scattered Anglicans, Episcopalians, and Catholics destined for unity in the future U.S. Ordinariate. 
 
Featured speakers at the conference included Fr. Christopher Phillips of Our Lady of the Atonement in San Antonio, and Bishop David Moyer, Bishop in the American branch of the Traditional Anglican Communion and rector of Good Shepherd Church, Rosemont, PA.
 
In North Carolina...
 
Anglican priest, Fr. William Waun of Our Lady of Good Counsel parish in Jacksonville, NC (contact info here) is the only Anglican or Episcopalian cleric in the Carolinas to take advantage of Pope Benedict's invitation for Christian unity under the Personal Ordinariate for Anglicans.
 
As cited on The Anglo-Catholic's map of Feb, 12, 2011, there are almost 100 Anglican Communion parishes in the United States, Canada and Great Britain alone that have indicated a true desire to enter into full communion with Catholicism.
 
Those numbers do not take into account the 400,000 members of the Traditional Anglican Communion centered in Australia who are already well on their way to full communion.
 
Lutherans Next?
 
According to reports on Catholic Online, the 11,000 member Anglo-Lutheran Catholic Church seek to enter into full communion with Rome, also under the auspices of Anglicanorum Coetibus