The first principle of the Ordinariate is then about Christian unity. St. Basil the Great, the Church’s greatest ecumenist, literally expended his life on the work of building bridges between orthodox brethren who shared a common faith, but who had become separated from one another in a Church badly fragmented by heresy and controversy. He taught that the work of Christian unity requires deliberate and ceaseless effort...St. Basil often talked with yearning about the archaia agape, the ancient love of the apostolic community, so rarely seen in the Church of his day. This love, he taught, is a visible sign that the Holy Spirit is indeed present and active, and it is absolutely essential for the health of the Church.

- Msgr. Jeffrey Steenson, Homily on the Occasion of his Formal Institution as Ordinary

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Senior Anglican bishop reveals he is ready to convert to Roman Catholicism

By Jonathan Wynne-Jones

Published: 9:50PM BST 24 Oct 2009

Bishop Hind said he would be "happy" to be reordained as a Catholic priest and said that divisions in Anglicanism could make it impossible to stay in the church. He is the most senior Anglican to admit that he is prepared to accept the offer from the Pope, who shocked the Church of England last week when he paved the way for clergy to convert to Catholicism in large numbers. In a further blow to the Archbishop of Canterbury's hopes of preventing the Anglican Communion from disintegrating, other bishops have cast doubt over its survival. The Rt Rev John Broadhurst, the Bishop of Fulham, even claimed that "the Anglican experiment is over". He said it has been shown to be powerless to cope with the crises over gays and women bishops. In one of the most significant developments since the Reformation, the Pope last week announced that a new structure would be set up to allow disaffected Anglicans to enter full communion with Rome, while maintaining parts of their Protestant heritage.

Read the rest in The Telegraph.

Correction
Bishop Hind issued a correction to the above report:
An article has been published today in the Sunday Telegraph asserting that I have announced that I am about to become a Roman Catholic.
This is not the case...

Read the rest at the web site of the Diocese of Chichester

Correction?
Damien Thompson, wonders if Bishop Hind's "correction" isn't more of a cautionary, holding manouver. See his thoughts in Lambeth Palace's great fear: the loss of a diocesan bishop and his best priests" on the blog Holy Smoke.

Fr. Phillips comments on the media rush to interpret Bishop Hind's comments
The newspapers and email in-boxes were filled yesterday with the news that the Anglican Bishop of Chichester had decided to become a Catholic, and would accept the Holy Father's offer which will be outlined in the upcoming Apostolic Constitution. I had listened to the recording of Bishop Hind speaking at the Forward in Faith Assembly, and I didn't hear him say that. But then I thought, "Maybe I missed it." So I listened again. No luck the second time, either...
Read the rest at Atonement Online.
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