No date has been finalised yet for the foundation
of the Australian Ordinariate, says Bishop Peter Elliott, the Bishops'
delegate for assisting lay Anglicans wanting to join the Church, reports
the Catholic Weekly.
"In Australia we are quietly
moving to that stage when we hope the Holy See will establish an
ordinariate," said Bishop Elliott, auxiliary Bishop of Melbourne.
It had been hoped the first personal ordinariate would be established by June.
Bishop Elliott said there would be centres in all major cities for
those interested - and that the interest was evident from all states at
recent ordinariate festivals held in Queensland and Western Australia.
"Formal applications for membership will be possible when the time frame is clearer."
Bishop Elliott said that in the UK, where hundreds of people were
expected to join the new ordinariate, the situation "is different to
Australia".
"There most people on the way to the ordinariate are members of the
Church of England, so the procedure of reconciliation is more closely
tied to relations with Catholic dioceses and parishes.
"Moreover, they have to leave behind their beautiful churches. They
have been told that they cannot bring these properties with them into
the ordinariate ... provision needs to be made for them within the
Catholic community.
"On the other hand, in Australia, people entering the ordinariate are
coming into Catholic unity from two sources: from the official Anglican
Church of Australia and from the Anglican Catholic Church in
Australia, an independent jurisdiction, the Traditional Anglican
Communion (TAC).
"It is hoped that some churches will be provided by the latter
community for the ordinariate along with other churches that will need
to be provided by the Catholic Church."