THE
P RTAL
December 2015
“One of the crucial things for the
mission of the Ordinariate is the
strengthening of the presbyterate.
Now the presbyters belong to Mgr
Keith; if any priest doesn’t think
he belongs to Mgr Keith we have a
problem. The way to do it is actually
to make sure that the Co-ordinating
Pastors organise Chapters and that
Chapters are not an optional extra.
It is crucial that every priest in the
Ordinariate supports his brother
priests and that no-one is too
pressured by other work to do so.
“At the end of the day, when our
priests are working for a local
Diocese or a chaplaincy, part of the
agreement must always be that our
Ordinariate days are sacrosanct.
These days are not optional and so are
non-negotiable because it reflects our responsibilities
to the Catholic Church which set up the Ordinariates.
The commitment is but three study days a year and
the Chrism Mass. If we don’t insist on that, and if we
have people who are lukewarm about these days or are
pressured by other work, then we are in trouble.
“Those groups that are on the danger list because of
the lack of priestly help, we should help by bringing
other people in. If you have three people who are
committed to the mission of the Ordinariate it’s worth
trying to nurture it.
“With regard to work outside the Ordinariate, we’re
not good at is saying ‘no’, even when it negatively
impacts on our groups. We have to help other Catholics
understand that our primary calling is the Mission of
the Ordinariate .
“Like many others, I do not want this report to sit on
the shelf and neither do we want it to be made impotent
because of the challenges. The newly appointed proto-
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Deans are now involved, with others,
in the implementation because of
their relationship with the Ordinar