Hundreds of Anglicans become Catholic on Ash Wednesday

Thursday, March 10th, 2011

An estimated six hundred Anglicans and 20 Anglican clergy became Roman Catholic on Ash Wednesday.

These new Catholics will join the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham, a unique grouping created by Pope Benedict XVI for Anglicans left feeling isolated since the Church of England decided in 1992 to ordain women as priests.

Those joining the ordinariate will be allowed to keep some of their customs and liturgy and will be received into full communion with the Catholic Church on Easter Sunday.

The former Anglican priests can be ordained to the Catholic priesthood even if they are married.

“Of more than 22,000 ordained Church of England clergy in total, about two dozen would appear to have decided to join the ordinariate at this time,” said Howard Dobson, spokesman for the Archbishops’ Council.

The Rev. Simon Chinery, a curate or assistant priest at two Anglican churches in Plymouth, said “I deeply love the Church of England, it’s a hard decision to leave it behind,” he said Wednesday, adding that he would particularly miss the church’s rich musical heritage.

In leaving St Barnabas Church in Tunbride Wells, the Rev. Ed Tomlinson said,”I spent so many years battling to defend the faith from within the Church of England, which is crazy, and that’s taken all my energy away from visiting the sick, preaching the good news and helping people,” Tomlinson said in an interview with British Broadcasting Corp. radio.

Rev. John Corbyn of St. Mary Magdalene Church in Harlow, said his group may be part of a second wave to migrants.

“It’s not just one day and that’s it,” Corbyn said. “It’s not a closing down sale.”

Sources:
First appeared in Forbes. Reprinted with permission.
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