Reason 4,781 to be Catholic

"The Anglican experiment is over."

The Telegraph reported that the Bishop of Chichester, Rev. John Hind, is considering the Vatican's offer to join the Church.

This is monumental because Rev. Hind is a bishop of the Church of England - not a smaller group like the TAC.

Now Bishop Hind, the most senior traditionalist in the Church of England, has confirmed that he is willing to sacrifice his salary and palace residence to defect to the Catholic Church.

"This is a remarkable new step from the Vatican," he said. "At long last there are some choices for Catholics in the Church of England. I'd be happy to be reordained into the Catholic Church."

While the bishop stressed that this would depend on his previous ministry being recognised, he said that the divisions in the Anglican Communion could make it impossible to stay.

"How can the Church exist if bishops are not in full communion with each other," he said.

Conservative archbishops and bishops have broken ties with their liberal counterparts following the US Episcopal Church's consecration of Gene Robinson, the first openly gay bishop.

Bishop Broadhurst said that the Pope has made his offer in response to the pleas of Anglicans who despair at the disintegration of their Church.

"Anglicanism has become a joke because it has singularly failed to deal with any of its contentious issues," said the bishop, who is chairman of Forward in Faith, the Anglo-Catholic network that represents around 1,000 traditionalist priests.

"There is widespread dissent across the [Anglican] Communion. We are divided in major ways on major issues and the Communion has unravelled.

"I believed in the Church I joined, but it has been revealed to have no doctrine of its own.

"I personally think it has gone past the point of no return. The Anglican experiment is over."

It will be interesting to see how many members of the flock will be following their clergy. Gloria in excesis Deo!

Randall Balmer: Vatican's cynical and opportunistic overture

Because, of course, not everybody is thrilled with the Pope right now.

From Randall Balmer, an Episcopalian priest, in a blog post on the Washington Post's On Faith blog (with my Fr. Z-style emphases and comments):

Vatican's cynical and opportunistic overture

The Vatican's sudden overture to disaffected Anglicans strikes me as both cynical and opportunistic. Cynical in that the concession effectively to allow congregations to continue using Anglican hymns and liturgies seems to undermine decades of ecumenical discussions [because reunion is so anti-ecumenical]by suddenly removing these issues as impediments to union. [So...the pope removed " impediments to union", and thus undermined ecumenism, which has the goal of reunion? And this is a bad thing? Heck, that's not even logical.]

The move is opportunistic in that Rome is making the overture at what might be viewed as a moment of crisis or weakness in the Anglican Communion. [I think the better comparison might be catastrophe.] The Vatican apparently is seeking to harvest those disaffected by the ordination of women and gays and by support for same-sex unions. [Harvest, poach - why does everyone seem to miss that the Pope is responding to the request of hundreds of Anglicans?]

A cynical action calls for a cynical interpretation: Perhaps the Vatican is hoping to lure Anglican parishes - and their property - to compensate for its financial losses in the priestly pedophilia scandals. [Yeah...you knew it was coming. Gotta be a sinister ulterior motive.]

I have no doubt that some disaffected Anglicans will see this as an attractive offer. At the same time, I wasn't aware that Christians opposed to homosexuality or to women's ordination were underserved in the religious marketplace. [Hmm. Is it me or is he being downright snippy here?]

Apparently it's inconceivable ("Inconceivable!") that Catholics actually believe that everyone should be Catholic.

Which tells you something about the state of ecumenical relations over the last forty years or so. Our ecumenists must have been giving off the impression that Catholic ecumenism doesn't have the goal of getting everyone to be Catholic. Apparently they must have been giving off the impression that the goal of ecumenism is to write nice joint papers and smile at each other while dialoguing ad nauseaum.

Not that I'm against doing those things, mind you. The world needs more smiles. But that can't be the end goal - only the means of obtaining the end goal: all Christians united in the Catholic Church.

Alas, some people just don't get it. At least not right now. But I'm hopeful, that as more and more Episcopalians and other Anglicans get fed up with priests who claim to be both Christian and Muslim, a bishop who denies the Resurrection, and their presiding bishop denying that Jesus is the only way to salvation, it might become clear to people like Balmer.

At least, I certainly hope so.

Update: For more sour grapes on the On Faith blog, see Susan K. Smith:

When I heard the news about this move of the Vatican, and then read about it, I found myself wondering two things: What would Jesus say? And what would Mary, the mother of the Christ, say?

I am at a loss.

Oh, that's easy. :-)

Jesus would say, "Father, may they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me." (John 17:22b)

And the Blessed Virgin would say, "Do whatever he tells you." (John 2:5)

Update: More sour grapes from a retired Episcopalian bishop (who also denies the resurrection, incidentally):

Ecclesiastical kindergarten games

In the recent communication between the Pope, Benedict XVI, and the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, which will allow Anglicans to become Roman Catholics with an "Anglican Twist," we have a sad picture of how out-of-date and irrelevant institutional Christianity has become. Here we have two unimpressive Christian leaders, rooted deeply in yesterday, jockeying publicly to see who can be the most prejudiced about the role of women and the place of homosexual people in the life of the Christian Church.

Pray for this man. He needs it.

Mandatory reading for journalists: John 17

Seriously.

Because the "oh-the-Catholic-Church-is-just-a-bunch-of-women-haters-and-gay-bashers-and-that's-why-they-want-to-add-conservative-Anglicans-to-their-ranks" storyline is getting a bit wearisome. See, for example, the New York Times and The Christian Science Monitor, with the headline, "Will Vatican lure Africa's Anglican anti-gay bishops to Catholic church?"

Or this gem from the blog of the ostensibly Catholic magazine, America:

But, I worry, too, that some of these newcomers will also be nostalgists, anti-feminists, and anti-gay bigots. The ordaining of an openly gay bishop in New Hampshire is not something I would have advised, but after all these centuries of schism, I am not sure why that should have been the straw that broke the camel’s back.

Look, folks, the Catholic Church's mission isn't political - it's all about Matthew 28:19-20. It's all about bringing all Christians back into full communion with the Church. It's all about standing for the increasingly unpopular truth - because Jesus is "the Way, the Truth and the Light."

Got it?

Good. Now show some initiative and write an article or two about what a reunited Christianity could mean for the world. Your editor will think you're clever.

History in the making: The Anglican bridge

Ok, here's even more great coverage:

Creative Minority Report: Traditional Anglicans Come Home!

Te Deum Laudamus!

One more step towards unity

Pope Benedict XVI - being the completely awesome man of God that he is - has established a way to incorporate Anglicans into the Catholic Church. (Check out Fr. Z's and Damien Thompson's coverage, too, for more fascinating information.)

I have to imagine that C.S. Lewis, G.K. Chesterton, J.R.R. Tolkien and Hilaire Belloc are drinking a pint together in heaven in celebration of this one step closer to Christian unity.

Let us pray together this ancient hymn in celebration:

Te Deum

We praise thee, O God :
we acknowledge thee to be the Lord.
All the earth doth worship thee :
the Father everlasting.
To thee all Angels cry aloud :
the Heavens, and all the Powers therein.
To thee Cherubim and Seraphim :
continually do cry,
Holy, Holy, Holy :
Lord God of Sabaoth;
Heaven and earth are full of the Majesty :
of thy glory.
The glorious company of the Apostles : praise thee.
The goodly fellowship of the Prophets : praise thee.
The noble army of Martyrs : praise thee.
The holy Church throughout all the world :
doth acknowledge thee;
The Father : of an infinite Majesty;
Thine honourable, true : and only Son;
Also the Holy Ghost : the Comforter.
Thou art the King of Glory : O Christ.
Thou art the everlasting Son : of the Father.
When thou tookest upon thee to deliver man :
thou didst not abhor the Virgin's womb.
When thou hadst overcome the sharpness of death :
thou didst open the Kingdom of Heaven to all believers.
Thou sittest at the right hand of God : in the glory of the Father.
We believe that thou shalt come : to be our Judge.
We therefore pray thee, help thy servants :
whom thou hast redeemed with thy precious blood.
Make them to be numbered with thy Saints : in glory everlasting.
O Lord, save thy people :
and bless thine heritage.
Govern them : and lift them up for ever.
Day by day : we magnify thee;
And we worship thy Name : ever world without end.
Vouchsafe, O Lord : to keep us this day without sin.
O Lord, have mercy upon us : have mercy upon us.
O Lord, let thy mercy lighten upon us :
as our trust is in thee.
O Lord, in thee have I trusted :
let me never be confounded.