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| Archbishop Nichols |
Archbishop Vincent Nichols, the head of the Catholic Church in England and
Wales, will reveal on Friday the Vatican's
plans to welcome the departing priests - including five bishops - who
are expected to be received into the Catholic Church early in the new year.
Hundreds of Anglican churchgoers will join them in the Ordinariate - a
structure introduced by Pope Benedict XVI to provide refuge for those
diaffected with the Church of England.
The number of worshippers who leave the Church is predicted to double as the
new arrangement finally begins to take shape.
The Rt Rev Andrew Burnham, the Bishop of Ebbsfleet, said clergy have become
dismayed at the liberal direction of the Church of England and the way
traditionalits have been treated.
"There's only a certain amount of time you can accept being described as
the National Front of the Church of England," he said.
"We're seen as out of date for not accepting women's ministry as equal,
but the debate concentrates on sociology rather than theology."
The bishop, who is one of the five converting to Catholicism, accused the
Church of repeatedly breaking its promises to make proper provision for
opponents of women's ordination.
Members of the General Synod, the Church's parliament, voted in July to
proceed with plans to create women bishops with minimal concessions to the
traditionalists.
The majority of Anglo-Catholics are waiting until 2012 to see whether the
church will pass the legislation which will allow women to be consecrated.
They are hoping the plans will fail at the final hurdle.
The Rt Rev Keith Newton, the Bishop of Richborough, who is also leaving the
Church of England said there was dismay at the way it had become
increasingly liberal.
"It has changed a great deal. There is no doctrinal certainty anymore. It
has become more relative. I'm sad about leaving as I owe a lot to the Church of England, but this
[the Ordinariate] is a joyful opportunity."
He said that some Anglo-Catholic clergy would join the Ordinariate
immediately, but others will wait to see how the new structure works.
Catholic bishops are holding talks in Leeds this week to discuss the most
complicated issues facing the new arrangement, such as how the defecting
clergy will be financially supported and whether they will be allowed to
continue worshipping in their churches.
The Rt Rev Malcolm McMahon, the Catholic Bishop of Nottingham, confirmed the
first priests would be received into the Catholic Church early in the new
year.
"The Ordinariate could grow with time," he said.
"It depends on the Church of England as to whether there will be more who
feel they can no longer stay in it.
"It is not in the Catholic Church's interests to break up the Church of
England."
However, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, complained last year
that the Pope's offer to disaffected Anglicans had put him in an "awkward
position".
He went further last month, saying he was "very taken aback that this
large step was put before us without any real consultation".
The invitation was made last October after secret meetings between Vatican
officials and Anglican bishops who were concerned at the liberal direction
of the Church of England.
The Ordinariate will create a new structure allowing clergy to leave the
Church of England while retaining some elements of their heritage.
SIC: TC/UK