THE P RTAL
March 2011 Page 10
Ordinariate Group News
Fr Mark Woodruff , Acting Priest Director of The Catholic League writes :
We are seeing what the Ordinariate means for Anglicans – but what of Catholics ? I suspect most are unconcerned or unaware ; many will be amenable or supportive . Yet criticism persists . My hope is it will allay suspicions and soon show that it will enrich us all . Meanwhile , it has been interesting to compare recent criticisms with those dismissed in the early 1990s .
Anti-women ?
“ They are anti-women .” But , by confusing ministry with clerical ordination , few Christian churches have begun to explore the scope of the lay apostolate . I hope that , out of the close involvement and leadership of the laity in Anglican organisational , pastoral , evangelistic and liturgical life , the Ordinariates can reveal new dimensions to the active participation of lay people in the Catholic context , particularly that of women .
Disloyal to their own Church ?
“ They are disloyal to their own Church . They will bring their party divisions with them .” But Catholic Anglicans have not wanted to undermine their Church , but call it more deeply into the mystery of the Church as a whole . I hope the Ordinariates will add to Catholic awareness of Christians looking beyond the particular - and even separation - to the universal , a reality that has been hard won .
Only interested in liturgy ?
“ They are only interested in liturgy .” I hope the Ordinariates will make the most of how their liturgical culture was formed – pastoral presence , a captivating presentation of the Gospel , theological teaching through hymns and sermons of substance , an adoring glimpse of the Kingdom in music and worship . Surely these instincts are Catholic and the Ordinariate will add to the Church ’ s resources for the re-evangelisation of culture .
Who do they think they are ?
“ Who do they think they are , telling us about Englishness ?” Our Anglican and Catholic bishops are aware that their churches are not rivals , but speak to different parts of society . I hope the Ordinariate - with its Anglican sense of relationship with civil society , its rootedness in language and culture , and its long experience of Catholic Apologetics - will contribute something between what fellow Catholics and other Christians bring to the discourse between faith and society , of which the Pope spoke so powerfully in Westminster Hall .
“ They will set back ecumenical relations .” It depends on whether you just want relations , or unity on Christ ’ s , not earthly terms . In the daring imagination behind Anglicanorum Coetibus , for a fluid world one size no longer necessarily fits all .
Set back ecumenical relations ?
In England we have dioceses , religious orders , the Ukrainian exarchate , the Bishopric to the Forces and ethnic chaplaincy networks . In North America , India , Ukraine and the Middle East parallel jurisdictions are part of the norm . Canon Law also envisages special structures , where otherwise it may be difficult for people to fit in with the normal forms of the Catholic Church .
Ecumenical awareness
Thus in the Ordinariates the Catholic Church is showing that its imaginative embrace of diversity , even complexity , is the measure of how universal it is . It ought to be that there is nothing that is truly distinctive of Anglicanism or other traditions for which , in the unity of the apostolic faith , space with integrity cannot be made within the Universal Church that subsists in the Catholic Church . I hope the Ordinariates will be true to a profound ecumenical awareness .
A granny-flat for Anglo-Catholic fantasy ?
“ It ’ s a granny-flat for the Anglo-Catholic fantasy . And a dummy run for the Lefebvrists .” But it implements some remarkable developments in the way the Roman Catholic Church will operate .
( A ) Each Ordinariate has a mandatory governing council , responsible with the Ordinary for key decisions and involving clergy and lay people .
( B ) These synodal bodies , not the Nuncio , will recommend the names of successive Ordinaries . And
( C ) there is ongoing provision for the ordination of married men to the priesthood on a case by case basis . Whether these are patterns to be followed by the Latin Church more generally , we can only wonder . But as the Ordinariates become a facet of our Catholic identity , I hope they inspire confidence that the long wisdom of other traditions can be embraced in a way that is also true to the Catholic Church .