In an interview with The Portal - a new publication devoted to
the ordinariate of Anglican communities received into the Catholic
Church - an official of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
emphasized that the goal of ecumenical dialogue is the restoration of
full communion between non-Catholic Christians and the Pope.
“The ordinariate is very important to the Holy Father,” said Father
Hermann Geissler, the Austrian priest who leads the Congregation’s
doctrinal office.
“The ordinariate promotes unity and is a powerful
instrument for unity, it will help Christians to be evangelists.” Noting
that “we must cooperate and grow together,” the priest said that the
Church will be enriched by the Anglican patrimony of music.
“The goal of the ecumenical movement is complete visible union with one
Christ and with Peter in one Church,” Father Geissler emphasized.
The Portal also reported that the Congregation for the Doctrine
of the Faith has begun to receive requests from Lutherans to establish a
similar canonical structure that would allow them to enter the Catholic
Church while retaining aspects of the Lutheran heritage.
“The Holy
Father will do all he can to bring other Christians into unity,” Father
Geissler commented.