(Thumbnail image: The Daily Nation)
The Vatican announced Tuesday that it planned use Canon Law to create a special facet of the Church for Anglican convertors. It would allow Anglican priests and their parishioners to convert en mass. Some Anglican traditions would be preserved, like marriage privileges for priests.
The move was directed towards traditional worshipers who have been disenchanted with the Anglican Church. Many are against ordaining female and openly gay bishops and blessing same-sex marriages but don’t want to fully lose their theological identity.
We’re looking at perspectives from The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Times of London, CTV, The Christian Science Monitor and The Daily Telegraph.
In an opinion piece for The Times of London, Timothy Bradshaw says that act is not a move toward unity between the Catholic and Anglican churches, as Rome would have people think.
“Pope Benedict's sudden move is bound to have a negative impact on ecumenical dialogue between the two communions…Anything that weakens the Church of England, at a time of real embattlement with radically secularist agendas now under way, must ultimately be a bad thing for the nation from a Christian perspective.”
A Roman Catholic chaplain from Ontario, Canada disagrees and while being interviewed by Canada’s CTV says that while many in the Church were surprised, the dialogue about unity between the two religions is not new.
“There’s really been a long ongoing dialogue between Catholics and Anglicans. There’s been a real push since the Second Vatican Council to bring about a full, visible union between all the different Christian communities. And the one between the Anglicans and the Roman Catholics is actually one of the strongest ones we have.”
Guest columnist David Gibson for The New York Times points to the hypocrisy of the move by conservative Catholics who have historically called liberal members of the Church “Cafeteria Catholics” because they pick certain aspects of Catholicism to practice.
“After the news that the Vatican is effectively carving out a special church-within-a-church to shelter traditionalist Anglicans…one has to wonder if the cafeteria line isn’t forming to the right.”
The New York Times’ Laurie Goldstein looks at England, which will see the greatest impact.
“Experts on the Anglican Church say that they expect to see the most movement in England, where there are large numbers of conservative, traditionalist Anglicans, who’ve been disaffected by recent moves their church has made, in particular to ordain women bishops. In the United States there’s less anticipated movement because traditionalists here have already formed their own parallel, breakaway structures.”
The Christian Science Monitor moves the focus away from England to Africa, where the move won’t gain much traction.
“Early indications from African bishops are that most Anglicans, despite their fierce opposition to homosexuality, will be saying 'thanks but no thanks' to Rome's new offer, largely because of the autonomy that they enjoy within the Anglican Church.”
The Wall Street Journal coverage questions how the Pope will square Catholic teachings with a group as big as Anglicanism. A professor of Canon Law asks what this means for future generations of Catholic priests.
“The Vatican has at times provided dispensations to non-Catholic married priests on an individual basis. Still, relaxing rules on priestly celibacy for a group as large as the Anglican Communion is more dramatic.”
So what does this mean for the future of the Catholic priesthood and the Anglican Church in England and Africa?
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