Quite a feud among journalists has developed over the question of whether Pope Benedict is working to welcome Anglo-Catholics en masse to Mama Church or is actually discouraging that.
Damian Thompson, who insists the Pope is encouraging Anglo-Caths to convert, is on one side. The Independent, Ruth Gledhill, and The Tablet is on the other. And it’s getting personal.
Yes, it’s quite fun to watch. Get your popcorn.
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UPDATE: Mr. Thompson trumpets an Anglican Use development here.
And there is more discussion here.
Newbie, it looks to me like Thompson is overreading the Anglican Use comments of last weekend. The Archbihop simply told the gathering that "continuing" Anglicans have hopes of being including under the existing Pastroal Provision scheme that has been in place for two decades. Nothing "structural" is being discussed here that I can see. These continuers can now come over now just as coverts from TEC have been able to do for the last 25 years. Rome may get several new Anglican Use parishes of fromer TACers out of this news, but it is not a large scale change. This is not big news, IMHO.
ReplyDeleteIt is no secret that Damian Thompson has two agendas, first, bashing the English Catholic Bishops for their supposed modernity and disloyalty and secondly, but quite some way down,bashing Anglicans who remain Anglicans after he has deemed it time them to move over. Bashing both at the same time would seem to be a particular treat, do not take him seriously, most do not.
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