But he insisted he did not want any “rancour or bad feeling” between Anglicans
and those who go over to Rome under the unprecedented scheme.
The Ordinariate was proposed late in 2009 by the Vatican as a refuge for disaffected Anglicans worldwide who oppose developments such as women’s ordination.
It will allow them to enter into full communion with the Roman Catholic Church while retaining parts of their spiritual heritage, and will allow married former Anglican clergy to become priests without having to be celibate.
Three leading Anglo-Catholic bishops have already left the Church of England for the new structure and were ordained as Catholic priests at a high-profile ceremony at Westminster Cathedral on Saturday.
Up to 60 more priests along with dozens of parishioners from across England are expected to join the movement by Pentecost – June 12th.
In some of his first comments since being appointed “Ordinary” – the leader of
the world’s first Personal Ordinariate – Fr Newton said he hoped his group
could share properties with the Church of England in “specific places”.
“It obviously depends on the numbers who are going from that congregation. We
do not want any rancour or bad feeling,” he told a press conference at the
Catholic Church’s headquarters in London.
“I would hope that there is a possibility of some ordinariate groups sharing a
church which they have used before but we will have to look at these on an
individual basis.”
His suggestion is likely to be controversial because, while old churches in
England belonged to Rome before the Reformation, many Anglicans believe that
those who “cross the Tiber” have given up all right to use them.
In most
cases, the Catholic Church is expected to have to provide new buildings for
the Ordinariate to use.
The possibility of church-sharing in London, where many Anglo-Catholics live
and worship, has already been ruled out by the city’s powerful bishop, the
Rt Rev Richard Chartres.
He has said there is “no possibility” of transferring properties and pointed
out that an earlier church-sharing experiment, which took place after women
priests were allowed into the Church of England in 1992, produced “rancour”
rather than “warmer ecumenical relations”.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, has said that “working out
shared use of churches” will be a “challenge” of the new scheme.
Fr Newton was at pains to stress that the Ordinariate will not be a source of
division between followers of the two leading Christian denominations.
“We don't want to be burning bridges down, we want to be building them.
“I certainly do not look back on the Church of England with anger or
bitterness, this move is part of my on-going pilgrimage and I want to keep
doors open between those who are still in the Church of England and myself.
“Any way that the Ordinariate can foster unity must be God's work.”
Explaining his role as the head of the Ordinariate, Fr Newton said he would be
allowed to wear a pectoral cross, a bishop's ring and mitre and carry a
crozier.
“The nearest equivalent is an abbot in a monastery, he has jurisdiction over
those who live in the monastery.”
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