THE P RTAL
May 2015
“We have had joint meetings of bishops nationally
for four or five years. They are bearing fruit, but we
are conscious of the fact that a woman has now been
consecrated bishop within the Church of England.
This is a new reality for us and serves to highlight the
challenges before us and the obstacles on the way to
full visible unity. It must be something which future
ARCIC discussions address. How do the Anglican
Communion and the Catholic Church understand the
sacramental sharing in the priesthood of Jesus Christ
as it is expressed in the ordained ministry within the
Church?
faithful to the will of Christ
“We believe that we are faithful to the will of Christ
by calling men to the Sacrament of Orders after the
fashion of Our Lord’s own calling of the apostles
and respectful of that tradition that has continued in
the Catholic and Orthodox Churches. The Catholic
understanding of sacramental priesthood is that what
we have received is a given which was always to be
respected and continued within the life of the Church.
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who have been part of the Church of England have
brought into the Catholic Church also influences the
way in which we relate to the Church of England.
Blessed John Henry Newman’s experience obviously
brought an insight to the heart of the Catholic Church
in our understanding of the Church of England.
This is part of the prophetic gift that Pope Benedict
mentioned.
a deeper appreciation
“At first I couldn’t fully understand how Pope
Benedict saw the Ordinariate as a prophetic gift. I
now think that he meant that the gift is the presence
of Ordinariate Catholics within the Catholic Church,
bringing a deeper appreciation and the experience
of Anglican Patrimony. We are still learning how to
appreciate the presence of that patrimony. It will
continue to influence the way in which we understand
the development of liturgy and our relations with the
Church of England.
“In ecumenical terms the Ordinariate can be a
great help. In our own ecumenical dialogue, we need
“The ARCIC dialogue has not yet looked at to involve the insights of the Ordinariate and I am
the theological understanding of priesthood as a pleased that Mgr Keith Newton is a member of the
sacrament. When we do, we should look at what is the Department of the Bishops’ Conference charged with
scope for ordination, for administering this sacrament furthering ecumenical dialogue.
and who are to be the recipients. We believe this is
not determined by the Church alone but by what the Anglican Patrimony
“As to Anglican Patrimony, I think you’re better
Church has received from the Lord.
qualified that I am. I am aware of work that Mgr
in the Lord’s own time
Andrew Burnham has been doing and the liturgical
“The ultimate goal of every Catholic Ecumenist is, books which are available. I realise that most of the
in the Lord’s own time and in his own way, through communities that I know continue to use the Roman
the Holy Spirit, full visible unity of the Church. The Missal, but I am also aware that there is an appreciation
journey is longer than we in the Catholic Church of the poetry and hymnology and the liturgical
imagined 50 years ago, but we need to be realistic.
tradition of Choral Evensong.
“The goal is the same in our international dialogues
with the Methodists and Lutherans, ecclesial
communions which do not have the same structures
that the Anglican Communion has in terms of
episcopal ministries. We know the reality within those
protestant churches and we need to keep before us that
goal, but be realistic about what we can agree together
in the shorter term and what we can ultimately achieve.
“You may remember that Cardinal Kasper was
invited to speak when the Church of England was
preparing legislation for the ordination of women as
bishops. That legislation was carried, but Cardinal
Kasper’s intervention and the fact that he was invited,
were significant. The dialogue continues, and now
needs to include the Ordinariate.
“In my own Archdiocese, the experience that those
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“It is difficult to quantify the whole experience of
having lived as members of the Church of England,
which is something that I have tried to touch