From Rome and London: "Together in Unity and Mission"

I usually don't wade into the religiopolitical sphere in this blog and that's a conscious decision. It's not that the various news and events of the Church's bureaucracy don't interest me. Far from it, actually. But I know that most of you aren't interested in such things -- even if you were, there are far better places to read about them -- and this blog was never intended to become a site for relaying news and giving pointed opinion on the wider Church. Rather, it's merely a blog about my time in Rome.

Yet, in some cases, including this one, I'll make an exception, so for those that remain uninterested in such topics, please excuse the following. However, the news from Rome today deserves, I think, notable mention in that it affects not merely the Catholic Church but also some of our Protestant brethren. We've heard a lot of talk in the Church over the last 40 years about the importance of and the benefits from ecumenism, but it's rare that we see the tangible fruits of that continued dialogue with other Christian faiths. Today's announcement is a reminder that, through faith, good will, and honest communication, it is not in vain that we hope the Body of Christ -- the entire Christian community -- may once again be one. From Reuters:

Pope Benedict on Tuesday took a major step to make it easier for disaffected Anglicans who feel their Church has become too liberal to convert to Roman Catholicism.

The move comes after years of discontent in some sectors of the 77-million-strong worldwide Anglican community over the ordination of women priests and homosexual bishops.

While both sides stressed the step would not affect dialogue between the two Churches, it was clear it was taken because of the growing number of Anglicans who want to leave their Church.

The Vatican said the Pope had approved a document known as an "Apostolic Constitution" to accept Anglicans who want to join Catholicism, either individually or in groups, while maintaining some of their own traditions.

It marks perhaps the clearest and boldest institutional step by the Vatican to welcome disaffected Anglicans into the fold since King Henry VIII broke with Rome and set himself up at the head of the new Church of England in 1534.

The new structure allows for the appointment of leaders, usually bishops who will come from the ranks of unmarried former Anglican priests, to oversee communities of former Anglicans who become Catholics and recognize the pope as their leader.

"In this way, the Apostolic Constitution seeks to balance on the one hand the concern to preserve the worthy Anglican liturgical and spiritual patrimony and, on the other hand, the concern that these groups and their clergy will be integrated into the Catholic Church," the Vatican said.

Yes, that's a lot of church speak. But seeing as how so many members of the Anglican Communion were upset with recent doctrinal developments in their local churches, today's announcement responds to the desire of many (including some in the Episcopal Church in the US and the international Traditional Anglican Communion) to find some way to enter into full unity with Rome while still retaining their liturgical heritage as Anglicans. The larger ramifications of this are still to come, but the structure is in place to provide a spiritual home to those Anglicans upset with the direction the Anglican churches are moving. From the Catholic standpoint, of course, it's a time to be joyous and thankful to God that some of our Christian brothers and sisters are looking to return home to Rome.

At the same time as the announcement in Rome, a joint statement was given in London by the (Anglican) Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, and the (Catholic) Archbishop of Wesminster, Vincent Nichols. Though Anglican-Catholic dialogue has been occurring for some 40 years and has even more recently been a high priority for both churches, it's safe to say such a joint press conference is not a common occurrence:

The announcement of this Apostolic Constitution brings to an end a period of uncertainty for such groups who have nurtured hopes of new ways of embracing unity with the Catholic Church. It will now be up to those who have made requests to the Holy See to respond to the Apostolic Constitution.

The Apostolic Constitution is further recognition of the substantial overlap in faith, doctrine and spirituality between the Catholic Church and the Anglican tradition. Without the dialogues of the past forty years, this recognition would not have been possible, nor would hopes for full visible unity have been nurtured. In this sense, this Apostolic Constitution is one consequence of ecumenical dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion.

The on-going official dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion provides the basis for our continuing cooperation.... With God's grace and prayer we are determined that our on-going mutual commitment and consultation on these and other matters should continue to be strengthened.... This close cooperation will continue as we grow together in unity and mission, in witness to the Gospel in our country, and in the Church at large.

In a letter to his fellow bishops of the Church of England, Williams went on to say that the move should not be construed as an act of "proselytism or aggression" against the Anglican Church on the part of Rome.

As I said, where we go from here remains to be seen. As Archbishops Williams and Nichols noted, the ball's now largely in the hands of those who wish to seek communion with Rome. But it's a sign of the Holy Spirit's continued work in the Church that the way to such communion is now open. Deo gratias!

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Today's news arouses the interest and passion of many of us who are studying to be ministers in the Church. At the risk of verging on ecclesial nerd-dom, it's exciting to see the various disciplines we're studying in action in such a current and impactful way! Speaking of studies, our classes have now begun, so I thought I'd pass along my current courses as I have in the past. It's a larger workload than last spring's was but nothing like what next spring's will be! My courses are:

-The Church of Christ (Ecclesiology)
-The Pauline Corpus (on the Pauline Scriptures)
-The History of the Catholic Church in the United States (in English!)
-Sacraments I: Baptism, Confirmation & Eucharist
-Law in the Mystery of the Church (Canon Law)
-The Shape and Theology of the Psalter

Should be a fun semester!