Anglicans must choose between Protestantism and tradition, says Vatican
By Anna Arco
6 May 2008
The Vatican has said that the time has come for the Anglican Church to choose between Protestantism and the ancient churches of Rome and Orthodoxy.
Speaking on the day that the Archbishop of Canterbury met Benedict XVI in Rome, Cardinal Walter Kasper, the president of the Pontifical Council of Christian Unity, said it was time for Anglicanism to "clarify its identity".
He told the Catholic Herald: "Ultimately, it is a question of the identity of the Anglican Church. Where does it belong?
"Does it belong more to the churches of the first millennium -Catholic and Orthodox - or does it belong more to the Protestant churches of the 16th century? At the moment it is somewhere in between, but it must clarify its identity now and that will not be possible without certain difficult decisions."
He said he hoped that the Lambeth conference, an event which brings the worldwide Anglican Communion together every 10 years, would be the deciding moment for Anglicanism.
Cardinal Kasper, who has been asked to speak at the Lambeth Conference by the Archbishop of Canterbury, said: "We hope that certain fundamental questions will be clarified at the conference so that dialogue will be possible.
"We shall work and pray that it is possible, but I think that it is not sustainable to keep pushing decision-making back because it only extends the crisis."
His comments will be interpreted as an attempt by Rome to put pressure on the Church of England not to proceed with the ordination women bishops or to sanction gay partnerships, both serious obstacles to unity.
They have come at an extremely sensitive time for the Anglican Communion, as cracks between different factions in the church are beginning to show ahead of the conference in July.
Dr Rowan Williams faces rebellion from conservative and liberal Anglicans over homosexuality and women bishops.
The Rt Rev Gene Robinson, the Anglican bishop of New Hampshire, whose attempts to enter into a civil union with his gay partner have angered conservative Anglicans, plans to attend the public events of the conference despite the fact that he has not been invited by Dr Williams.
On the other side of the spectrum, rebel conservative bishops, headed by Archbishop Peter Akinola of Nigeria, dismayed by the Archbishop of Canterbury's refusal to condemn homosexuality outright, plan a rival conference in the Holy Land in June.
Ecumenical dialogue between Rome and the Anglican Communion ground to a halt in 2006. Cardinal Kasper said at the time that a decision by the Church of England to consecrate women bishops would lead to "a serious and long lasting chill".
But last month the Church of England's Legislative Drafting Group published a report preparing the ground for women bishops, who are already ordained in several Anglican provinces.
Anglicans must choose
Anglicans must choose
Devotion to the souls in Purgatory contains in itself all the works of mercy, which supernaturalized by a spirit of faith, should merit us Heaven. de Sales
I do not wish to debate and I recognize that the splits are a part of the problem (moving further from unity) but may I just clarify that not all Anglicans belong to the Episcopal Church or are in communion with Canterbury because of the invalidities of those teachings.
The issues within the Canterbury-based Anglican Communion (Episcopal Church) are precisely why so many have left the Canterbury-based Anglican Communion for the Traditional (Continuing) Anglican Communion. The Traditional Anglican Communion is orthodox and solidly traditional in its teaching and practice and has petitioned Rome for inter-communion. This matter is being seriously considered and I hope someday is accepted.
The issues within the Canterbury-based Anglican Communion (Episcopal Church) are precisely why so many have left the Canterbury-based Anglican Communion for the Traditional (Continuing) Anglican Communion. The Traditional Anglican Communion is orthodox and solidly traditional in its teaching and practice and has petitioned Rome for inter-communion. This matter is being seriously considered and I hope someday is accepted.
I hope so too, but the rift between Catholicism and Anglicanism is deep and theologically profound. If Anglicans want in, and if in sufficient numbers, then its quite possible some form Rite or Personal Prelature can be established for them. Personally i would love to see the Old Sarum Mass, the outlines of which can till be seen in the Anglican Service, revived in its Latin form.
But there are things the Catholic Church cannot compromise on, the Primacy of the Pontificate, the Substance of the Eucharist, the character of Holy Orders, Catholic Moral doctrine, Marian devotion, the indivisibility of the Universal Church.. those are the major ones, but there are others. There lies the stumbling blocks.
But there are things the Catholic Church cannot compromise on, the Primacy of the Pontificate, the Substance of the Eucharist, the character of Holy Orders, Catholic Moral doctrine, Marian devotion, the indivisibility of the Universal Church.. those are the major ones, but there are others. There lies the stumbling blocks.
Last edited by KarlB on Thu Nov 13, 2008 2:24 pm, edited 1 time in total.
pax lux,
karl
Remember that thou hast made me of clay; and wilt thou turn me to dust again? Job10:9
karl
Remember that thou hast made me of clay; and wilt thou turn me to dust again? Job10:9
DESCRIPTION
The webmaster of this site was a former Anglican layman who started his search for the truth when the Episcopalian church ordained an openly gay bishop in 2003. On the website he covers the issues that he faced in his own spiritual journey to the Catholic Faith. He tackles the major points of contention between Catholics and non-Catholics from a layman's point of view.
http://www.ucalgary.ca/~bmaundy/Main/home.html
Green light at:
Catholic Culture
The webmaster of this site was a former Anglican layman who started his search for the truth when the Episcopalian church ordained an openly gay bishop in 2003. On the website he covers the issues that he faced in his own spiritual journey to the Catholic Faith. He tackles the major points of contention between Catholics and non-Catholics from a layman's point of view.
http://www.ucalgary.ca/~bmaundy/Main/home.html
Green light at:
Catholic Culture
Devotion to the souls in Purgatory contains in itself all the works of mercy, which supernaturalized by a spirit of faith, should merit us Heaven. de Sales
I was only trying to point out that there are vast fundamental differences between Traditional Anglicans and the Episcopal Church. And for the record, I left the Episcopal Church in 1990 to escape the heresy. At that time I joined the Traditional Anglican Communion via the Angilcian Church in America (http://www.acahome.org/). I am now working on converting to Roman Catholic.
