POPE Benedict’s announcement of a new structure to enable groups of Anglicans to enter into full communion with the Catholic Church should not be seen as “any sort of step on the road to unity between the two Churches”.
Australian Catholic Bishops Confer-ence inter-religious relations commission chair Bishop Michael Putney said this was because the decision “involves a small group of people who’ve been alienated from the Anglican Church for some time”.
“This is certainly not some sort of a plot to draw Anglicans into the Catholic Church,” Bishop Putney said.
“It’s a small pastoral response to the needs of a group of people who want to change Churches.
“The decision doesn’t affect the much larger picture of ecumenism.
“Ecumenism is not concerned about getting Anglicans to become Catholics, but reaching agreement on matters about which the Churches differ.
“In other words, ecumenism is about the Churches working together to restore the unity they once had.”
Bishop Putney said there “had always been a practice of receiving into full communion individual Anglicans through the centuries, but this new provision will make it possible for groups or communities to enter full communion and remain together”.
Archbishop John Bathersby of Brisbane, currently co-chair of the International Anglican Roman Catholic Commission for Unity and Mission (IARCCUM), said he doubted the decision would interfere with ongoing discussions on unity between the Churches “which have now existed for a number of years”.
The archbishop in July and August last year was one of 75 ecumenical representatives invited to the once-a-decade Anglican Lambeth Conference held in Canterbury, England.
Archbishop Bathersby noted that the Pope’s decision “had been greeted with delight and surprise by a number of Anglicans who had already approached Rome before about this matter”.
“Some Anglican commentators do not believe that large numbers of Anglicans will wish to avail themselves of Rome’s invitation for a variety of reasons,” he said.
“Nevertheless despite what has happened this year the informal talks between the Anglican Communion and the Roman Catholic Church will continue in November as usual.”
Archbishop Bathersby and Bishop Putney made the comments after an announcement by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith on October 20 to allow for groups of Anglicans to enter the Catholic Church.
It concerned a forthcoming Apostolic Constitution approved by Pope Benedict XVI.
This constitution sets out a structure for “groups of Anglicans” to come into full communion with the Roman Catholic Church, while “preserving elements of distinctive Anglican spiritual and liturgical patrimony”.
Each ex-Anglican group will be governed by a Personal Ordinariate. It will work across dioceses in a similar manner to, for example, a military ordinariate.
The Pope’s move was announced in media conferences in Rome and London by CDF prefect Cardinal William Levada.
Cardinal Levada said it was a response to requests by Anglicans to the Pope for “full, visible unity in the one, holy, catholic and apostolic church”.
Bishop Putney said it was still “very, very early days in the process of bringing these Anglicans into full communion with the Catholic Church”.
“All that’s happened at this stage is an announcement has been made that this structure has been created and Anglicans will be able to enter into full communion with the Catholic Church under this structure,” he said.
“The actual Apostolic Constitution which will include canonical and practical details for the process has yet to be released.
“Basically everything’s in limbo until this sees the light of day.
“So even such basic details as when we might start to see these groups applying to join the Catholic Church is unknown.”
The Traditional Anglican Communion is a major international religious body which seems likely to have groups that would be interested in making the change.
The TAC estimates it has 400,000 members. Estimates of the Australian membership of TAC range from 2000 to 5000 parishioners.
TAC world leader Archbishop John Hepworth was reported as saying he “was totally thrilled” by the Pope’s decision.
The Anglican Catholic Church in Australia is a regional jurisdiction of the TAC in both Australia and New Zealand.
The ACCA website states the organisation has 25 congregations.
Bishop Putney was unsure whether the movement of Anglicans in Australia to the Catholic Church would be especially significant.
“The TAC is much stronger in England than in Australia,” he said.
“It’s certainly not clear at this point that people will take steps to change Churches when the opportunity arises.
“And whether there are sufficient Anglicans in Australia who would seek to be members of a ‘Personal Ordinariate’ remains to be seen.”
Primate of the Anglican Church of Australia and Archbishop of Brisbane Archbishop Phillip Aspinall said he did not think “(the) development will affect the Anglican Church of Australia very much at all”.
