Ordinariate? Pastoral Provision?

Writes Fr Christopher Phillips:

 

Cardinal Wuerl has announced the date on which the Ordinariate will be established in this country. Now comes the inevitable parsing of every word and phrase, looking for nuanced clues in a way which would make Sherlock Holmes envious. Anglicanorum coetibus itself is able to bear such scrutiny because of its very nature as an Apostolic Constitution, but a report to members of a bishops’ conference cannot, nor should it.

Speculation about the continuation of the Pastoral Provision office under the able leadership of Bishop Vann, running parallel to the Ordinariate under the leadership (also able, we hope) of an Ordinary, has led to guessing as to the reason why this will be. Some commenters on this blog have concluded, after hearing Cardinal Wuerl, that the Ordinariate will be only for those clergy who enter with a group of laity; whereas the Pastoral Provision will be for those solitary clergy who come with no community. Respectfully, I would assert that is not the case. The divide is not to be determined by whether there is a parish or community entering with a cleric.

Anglicanorum coetibus makes it clear that Anglican patrimony is the definitive reason for an Ordinariate to come into being. Pope Benedict XVI stated that there is a three-fold objective when it comes to this patrimony: that it is to be preserved, that it is to be nurtured, and that it is to be shared with the wider Church. This is what should determine the path for an incoming Anglican clergyman. If a man is dedicated to the ideals outlined in the Apostolic Constitution, the Ordinariate is the place for him; if he is not especially interested in our Anglican patrimony, proceeding through the Pastoral Provision into diocesan ministry would be more appropriate.

One path is not better than the other. They simply are different, and are intended to accommodate people’s different spiritual journeys. The same it true for the laity – there are some who find that their best spiritual home is in the local diocesan parish, while others find strength and sustenance in a spirituality which reflects our patrimony.

Even at the beginning of the Pastoral Provision, these two paths were evident. A majority of the Pastoral Provision priests have carried on fruitful ministries in diocesan parishes and chaplaincies, with no reference whatsoever to the Anglican Use. Others of us felt called by God to establish parishes and communities in which we could do what the Ordinariates are now coming into existence to do.

Just because a priest has an Anglican background, doesn’t mean his place is necessarily in the Ordinariate – in fact, I remember a former Episcopal priest who had entered into full communion with the Church just before I did, who said (referring to the fact that we were bringing a separate liturgy with us), “They should give up those things, and become real Catholics.” I hope that attitude is a thing of the past, but it indicates that the Ordinariate wouldn’t be the best place for that particular priest.

The Holy Father is giving us an opportunity to use our liturgy, our devotional life, and our particularly Anglican approach to the Faith, as a tool for evangelism and a means of helping to bring about Christian unity. To fulfill that mandate, the Ordinariate needs clerical leadership which is committed to the vision outlined in Anglicanorum coetibus. It takes more than simply coming from an Anglican background. It requires a commitment to the raison d’être of the Ordinariate.

Two paths indeed. And the pastoral provision remains open, and must, for not everyone lives in the UK or USA - the only two geographical areas with Ordinariates.

 

Water into Wine

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Vanishing Christianity

OBL News:

Christians are one of the most persecuted groups in the world, a recent study by the human rights watchdog Open Doors said. Over hundred millions believers are reportedly suffering for their faith in Jesus Christ.

A fresh annual Open Doors report is titled “2011 Martyrs, a Book on Christians’ Persecution”. The most common offences listed in it include various examples of religious discrimination and some harsher crimes like arrests, torture and even murders.

Eritrea, Nigeria, India, Malaysia, the Maghreb states and the Middle East top the list of the most oppressive countries. Analysts cite the unstable political and economic situation, the rise of fundamentalism and extremism in these nations as the main cause for growing xenophobia.

The Russian Orthodox Church has been warning about the second age of Christian persecution for a long time…

Religious persecution takes place not only in countries with Christian minorities, but also in historically pro-Christian states, says the Chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate department for external church relations Metropolitan Hilarion.

“There are forces that want to wipe out 2000 years of Christian history from the European memory. It is impossible to find a single Christmas card in the UK, one of the most tolerant Western states. There are New Year cards, but it is considered to be somewhat intolerant to mention Christmas. There was a case when a British Airlines employee was prohibited to wear a cross. Christian symbols are banned in schools, allegedly not to hurt feelings of nonbeliers and atheists”…

The Russian Orthodox Church is denouncing secularization, as religious beliefs and practices are ousted from the social life of Europe and there are attempts to replace Christian moral values with new moral norms…

… Analysts believe that if xenophobia is not stopped right now, Christianity will only feature in history books in future. The 21st century will thus signify not only the end of Christian history, by the twilight of the whole of civilization.

 

Pope Kissing Imam Ad Pulled

CBS News::

The Benetton clothing company withdrew an ad Wednesday featuring Pope Benedict XVI kissing a top Egyptian imam on the lips after the Vatican denounced it as an unacceptable provocation.

Benetton had said its “Unhate” campaign launched Wednesday was aimed at fostering tolerance and “global love.”

The campaign’s fake photos feature a half-dozen purported political nemeses in lip-locked embraces, including President Barack Obama and Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, and North Korean leader Kim Jong Il and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak.

What Benetton Can Learn from Fast-Fashion Chain Forever 21
Missouri Bucks Benetton Over Ads

The photo of the pope kissing Sheik Ahmed el-Tayeb of Cairo’s al-Azhar institute, the pre-eminent theological school of Sunni Islam, had been on Benetton’s website all day but was pulled about an hour after the Vatican’s protest.

Al-Azhar suspended interfaith talks with the Vatican earlier this year after Benedict called for greater protections for Egypt’s minority Christians.

A Benetton spokesman confirmed to The Associated Press that the pope-imam ad was no longer part of the campaign.

It wasn’t clear if the ad had been published anywhere; on Wednesday images from the campaign were unfurled briefly in Milan, New York, Paris, Tel Aviv and Rome but were quickly taken away.

Vatican spokesman the Rev. Federico Lombardi called the ad an “unacceptable” manipulation of the pope’s likeness that offended the religious sentiments of the faithful.

“It shows a serious lack of respect for the pope,” Lombardi said in a statement that warned that the Vatican was studying measures to protect the pontiff’s image.

Shock ads have long been a part of Benetton’s publicity strategy…

Rest and a photo of the ad here.

It is disgusting.