Catholics are humbled by the stories of former Anglicans who were faced
with a decision and stepped out in faith to join the Catholic Church,
said US Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of Galveston-Houston.
By Teresita Johnson
CNS – “The Catholic Church understands and appreciates the sacrifices made by former Anglican clergy and laity who have made the journey as individuals or as communities to full communion with the Catholic Church,” he said on June 12.
“Truly, Rome is home and a place of abiding in our pilgrimage to the father,” noted the cardinal in a keynote address at the 2009 Anglican Use Conference in Houston.
The June 11-13 gathering explored the pastoral provision that the Vatican approved in 1980 allowing retention of some elements of Anglican identity in liturgy when a number of Anglicans from the same congregation or the same area enter full Catholic communion. That provision was included when the Vatican granted permission for special US procedures to admit into the Catholic priesthood former Episcopal priests who have become Catholic.
In 1976, after the Episcopal Church – the US member of the Anglican Communion – decided to ordain women to the priesthood, some former Episcopal priests and laity sought full communion with the Catholic Church. In 2003, the Episcopal Church’s decision to ordain an openly gay man prompted other Episcopalians to join the Catholic Church.
In his address Cardinal DiNardo said that the gift of Catholic unity is sometimes taken for granted by those in the Catholic Church, but this cohesiveness is not lost on those seeking communion.
The cardinal observed the eventual reconciliation of church communities was anticipated by the Second Vatican Council, but he acknowledged that Christian unity “may not be realised in our own time.” In the meantime, the church is “necessarily dependent on the personal and individual model to further the vision of Catholic unity,” he explained.
“The pastoral provision has made it possible for Anglicans to know the blessing of full communion but it is important that you simply do not walk away from your old relationships, especially those that may have been damaged by the tragic conflicts of contemporary Anglicanism,” the cardinal said.
The 2009 conference was hosted by Our Lady of Walsingham Catholic Church in Houston, one of only eight Anglican-use communities in the US.
Besides Houston there are Anglican-use Catholic parishes in San Antonio and Arlington, Texas, and in Columbia, South Carolina. In addition, there are Anglican-use congregations sharing the facilities of regular Catholic parishes in Boston, Corpus Christi, Texas, and Scranton, Pennsylvania.
About 150 people from 14 states and two foreign countries made the trek to Houston to attend the conference. Activities and lectures were held on the grounds of Our Lady of Walsingham and also at St Mary Seminary.
In his remarks Father James Ramsey, Our Lady of Walsingham’s pastor, talked about the historical and ecumenical significance of the Anglican-use provision.
“It was the first time since the Reformation 500 years ago that the Roman Catholic Church made it possible for a Reformation tradition to return to the Catholic Church and bring its tradition with it,” he said.
While traditional Anglicans will find something familiar, Father Ramsey said, Catholics accustomed to the Latin-rite Mass will notice some differences in Mass celebrated in an Anglican-use church.
“I think they would notice a dignity, a reverence, a respect, a certain grace, transcendence, a sense of the holy and of the sacred,” he said. “Those would be starters that were always a part of our Anglican tradition.” He said the Anglican-use Mass follows the same order as the Latin-rite Mass. Old English is used throughout, and most of the Mass, including the readings, is sung. In addition, there is a generous amount of incense and use of a communion rail. Also, the priest faces the altar.
Father Eric Bergman, a former Episcopal priest who is pastor at the Anglican-use church in Scranton, joined the Catholic Church in 2005, when it became evident, he said, that he and other Episcopalians were becoming an oddity in his denomination.
He credits the Catholic Church’s unwavering stance on the dignity of human life and its view on the sanctity of the marriage bond as major factors in his decision to become a Catholic.
Under the pastoral provision, he and his wife and children and his parishioners all entered the Catholic Church at the same time.
About 120 Episcopal and Anglican priests have become Catholic priests since 1980. Most are married and working in Latin-rite parishes.