THE
P RTAL
June 2017
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Episcopal Conferences but reserve the actual
oversight and direction of the implementation to
the Holy See itself.
“Or if a previous proposal for corporate
reunion incardinated the converting clergy into
local Dioceses, and if those priests were then
reassigned or assimilated into the local Diocese
so that they could not minister to their former
communities and foster the particular identity
of those communities, then a new approach
might involve creating a juridical structure which
would allow the incardination of priests and
the canonical membership of laity so that their
distinctiveness was not lost to assimilation into
the much larger sea of Catholic life.”
Benediction at Warwick Street, London
expression” — from the forces that would eliminate
Catholic diversity for flattening uniformity, and
cultural assimilation. The CDF’s guarantee means the
faithful of the Church, from now until Christ returns
in glory, understand that the Anglican patrimony (and
One tragic case is public knowledge enough that what in the Ordinariate is a truly restored English
Bishop Lopes could speak of it: the petition of the Catholic heritage that runs through the Anglican
Anglican Diocese of Amritsar, India, to enter full tradition all the way back to St Augustine at Kent) is
communion with the Catholic Church over 1977 to not just a treasure for the Personal Ordinariate, but is
1982. The CDF’s decree authorised full communion a treasure that belongs to “the whole Church.”
also established a “robust liturgical provision” for
them, drawn from the Book of Common Prayer and
Bishop Lopes said:
Roman sources. He added:
“The doctrinal office in the Church is therefore
inexorably linked to the pastoral office, to the
“Sadly, this is one of the cases which really did
nurturing of real people in the faith and its right
not work, as the implementation of this decision
expression in the sacramental life, and that unity
was left to the local Conference of Bishops in
of faith does permit a vibrant diversity in the
India and someone at that local level decided that
expression of that faith.”
this liturgical provision was not necessary and so
it was never implemented. Perhaps consequently,
You can read the full lecture given by Bishop Lopes
the clergy and faithful of that Anglican diocese
here: www.bit.ly/lopes-cdf
of Amritsar faded away and only two priests and
maybe 200 lay faithful were reconciled.”
Peter Jesserer Smith is a staff reporter for the
National Catholic Register - www.ncregister.com
where this article first appeared on 12th April
So, this is why the CDF during Benedict XVI’s
and is reproduced with their permission
papacy realised that it had to take full charge of the
project of corporate reunion once groups of Anglicans
and other Protestant ecclesial communities petitioned
Forms of words for Making a Bequest
for full communion.
in favour of the Personal Ordinariate
The CDF protects and
guarantees Catholicity
But rather importantly, as the bishop pointed out,
the CDF stands as the guarantee that the liturgical
traditions of the Personal Ordinariates are fully
Catholic in every sense of the word. No one can say
otherwise, or tell lifelong Catholics that the spiritual
patrimony of the Personal Ordinariates is not for
them, because the CDF stands behind it. Any Catholic
who wishes to adopt this spiritual patrimony knows its
Catholicity comes guaranteed by Rome.
The address makes clear that the CDF protects
the meaning of Catholic — as “unity in a diverse
of Our Lady of Walsingham in your Will
I GIVE to the Ordinariate of Our Lady
of Walsingham, 24 Golden Square, London
W1F 9JR, the sum of ______ pounds (£
) and
I DIRECT that the receipt of the Treasurer or other
proper officer of the Personal Ordinariate of Our
Lady of Walsingham shall be good and sufficient
discharge to my Executor.
or
I GIVE the residue of my estate to the
Ordinariate
of
Our
Lady
of
Walsingham, 24 Golden Square, London W1F
9JR, and I DIRECT that the receipt of the Treasurer
or other proper officer of the Personal Ordinariate
of Our Lady of Walsingham shall be good and
sufficient discharge to my Executor.