THE Vatican has said no to the proposed ordination of four women and three men as Anglican Deacons at St Kilian’s Catholic Church.Catholic Diocese of Sandhurst Bishop Joseph Grech said there would have been wider ramifications if the ordination had gone ahead.
”After much discussion with Archbishop Giuseppe Lazzarotto and the Vatican, the ramifications were investigated,” he said.
(Archbishop Lazzarotto was appointed the apostolic nuncio to Australia in January last year).
“The Catholic Church’s doctrine on the ordination of deacons and priests is very well known,” Bishop Grech said. “There were certain issues within the doctrine that created problems. It’s the best thing for both churches.”
Bishop Grech said the church made sure it did all its homework before agreeing to allow the ordination to go ahead in Bendigo’s oldest catholic church and that he continued to have a great rapport with Anglican Diocese of Bendigo’s Bishop Andrew Curnow.
“This relationship is maintained on honesty and we’ll continue to work together in the future,” he said.
The ceremony was believed to have been the first time women would have been ordained as deacons in a Catholic church in Australia. St Paul’s Cathedral closed earlier this year due to safety concerns and left the Anglican Church without a suitable venue to hold ordinations.
Bishop Curnow said he was not aware of the exact reason for the decision but he understood there was an issue of four women being ordained in the church.
“I received a phone call about a week ago that a problem had arisen,” he said.
“It’s my understanding that the issue was with the Catholic hierarchy and not in Bendigo.
“We don’t have control over the Catholic policy and we’re at their behest.”
Bishop Curnow said he’d graciously accepted an offer for the ordination of three men and four women to be held at St Andrew’s Uniting Church on Sunday.
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