As many as 100 U.S. Anglican priests and 2,000 laypeople could be the
first members of a U.S. personal ordinariate for former Anglicans who
want to enter into full communion with the Catholic Church, Cardinal
Donald W. Wuerl of Washington reported to his fellow bishops June 15.
Cardinal Wuerl was appointed by the Vatican last September to guide
the incorporation of Anglican groups into the Catholic Church in the
United States under "Anglicanorum coetibus," an apostolic constitution
issued by Pope Benedict XVI in November 2009.
At a news conference following his report, Cardinal Wuerl said he
"wouldn't be surprised" if the Vatican were to establish the U.S.
ordinariate by the end of the year. "I think it will be sooner rather
than later," he said.
Two Anglican congregations in Maryland -- St. Luke's in Bladensburg
and Mount Calvary in Baltimore -- have announced their intention to join
the new ordinariate once it is established.
Addressing the bishops at the close of the first day of their spring
general assembly near Seattle, the cardinal said St. Mary's Seminary in
Houston has developed and the Vatican has approved an intensive
nine-month program of priestly formation for Anglican clergy who wish to
become Catholic priests.
Father Jeffrey Steenson, the former Episcopal bishop of the Rio
Grande who became a Catholic in 2007 and now teaches at St. Mary's
Seminary, was instrumental in developing the program, which focuses on
"the areas of historic theological divergence" between the Catholic and
Anglican churches, Cardinal Wuerl said.
The only ordinariate created thus far under "Anglicanorum coetibus"
is the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham in England, which
includes 60 former Anglican clergy and some 1,000 laypeople.
Ordinariates are under consideration in Australia and Canada, as well as in the United States.
Outlining the process he has followed to ascertain interest in
formation of a U.S. ordinariate, Cardinal Wuerl said he received "a
significant number of letters, emails and calls" from interested
Anglicans after his appointment last September.
The cardinal heads a task force that also includes Bishop Robert J.
McManus of Worcester, Mass., and Bishop Kevin W. Vann of Fort Worth,
Texas.
Father Scott Hurd, a priest of the Archdiocese of Washington who
had been an Episcopal priest, serves as liaison to the U.S. Conference
of Catholic Bishops for implementation of "Anglicanorum coetibus."
Cardinal Wuerl said the task force reported earlier this year to both
the Vatican and the USCCB that the establishment of a U.S. ordinariate
"would in fact be workable."
The current task involves preparation of dossiers to be sent to the
Vatican on each of the Anglican priests who is seeking admission to the
priestly formation process, he said.
"This information will include the results of criminal background
checks, a psychological evaluation, a letter of resignation from their
Anglican entity" and letters from Cardinal Wuerl or the head of the
ordinariate once it is established, the Catholic bishop in which the
candidate resides and, if possible, his former Anglican authority, the
cardinal said.
Once that information has been submitted to the Vatican, the
candidate "will cease celebrating the Anglican Eucharist" and begin
leading his congregation in the catechetical preparation for them to
become Catholics, he said.
Cardinal Wuerl suggested that the U.S. bishops could assist in the
process by providing worship space to small communities in their
dioceses that are seeking to become Catholic; assigning a priest to
serve as liaison to such groups; making available the resources of
diocesan marriage tribunals to assist Anglicans, clergy and lay, whose
marriages need to be regularized; and offering the services of a local
director of religious education or other educator to assist in the
catechetical preparation of those seeking to become Catholics.
The questions directed at Cardinal Wuerl by his fellow bishops
indicated a certain level of anxiety about how the ordinariate will
operate in relation to their dioceses and how they might respond to
members of other denominations who are attracted to the ordinariate
idea.
Although the ordinariates are designed to be fully Catholic while
retaining elements of the Anglican heritage, Cardinal Wuerl acknowledged
that it is not entirely clear what those elements are and how they will
be maintained.
The cardinal also stressed that the reception of formerly Anglican
congregations into the Catholic Church through the provisions of
"Anglicanorum coetibus" is distinct from the Pastoral Provision
established by Pope John Paul II through which married Anglican clergy
could join the Catholic Church as individuals.