St. Mary of the Angels: The Rest of the Hollywood Story

As most readers will be aware, there has been a very contentious battle going on for St. Mary of the Angels in Los Angeles, California. I did not print stories about this that appeared in the last month because, frankly, I did not deem them credible. A long post appeared on Virtue Online yesterday which offered a different perspective, and I feel it offers some very valuable information by referring directly to important documents from the current leadership of the Anglican Church of America (ACA) which give the lie to certain claims being made now by that same leadership. Unfortunately, as has happened in other continuing church communities, some leaders have decided that they don't dislike the Episcopal Church's (TEC) ecclesiology at all; they are just as ready to use the civil courts to sue parishes that want to go a different way and to alienate their property as TEC is. This was the genesis of the Anglican Use community of Our Lady of Hope in Kansas City by a different continuing jurisdiction, and it seems to be the case here in the ACA as well.

St. Mary of the Angels: The Rest of the Hollywood Story

OPINION

By Martha Eischen
www.virtueonline.org
June 25, 2012

"For God is not a God of confusion, but a God of peace." I Corinthians 14:33

Many wild accusations and pronouncements have been swirling around about St. Mary of the Angels, Hollywood, CA, and especially its rector, Fr Christopher Kelley. It has been anything but peaceful in Hollywood. The following sentence from "An Open Appeal to Bishop Marsh," by the Rev Lawrence B. Wheeler, Holy Cross, Honolulu, sums it up rather accurately:

"The people of St. Mary's, Hollywood are now suffering greatly from the wounds of division. The congregation has been polarized over the issue of their transition into the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter and Fr. Kelley's leadership in that direction."

An attorney involved in the case said, "It is a complicated legal situation."

Actually it's not at all complicated. Two very opposing parties actually came together for two very different reasons to support the chaotic upheaval of this well-heeled parish of true believers, led by a very humble, godly priest, to advance their disparate, but parallel, agendas. Each of the parties sought, by any means, to upset both the course of the parish into the Ordinariate and the path to ordination and continued leadership of the rector. Strange bedfellows they were. Personal ambition and the lust for possession of the good land.

The end, which is still unfolding, voices have spoken above the din of the claims. In the end, who has the authority to restore the flock, with its shepherd, thatshepherd that it may safely graze? In the end, does the continued existence of the Patrimony of the Primate, to which St Mary's clearly belonged, even matter? Did it affect the status of St Mary's today?

Hoping to capitalize on the court order of June 13, 2012, in which the judge of the Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles, made a statement that judicial interference in a dispute within a hierarchical religious organization was unconstitutional, Bishop Brian Marsh, as presiding bishop of the Anglican Church in America (ACA), seized the opportunity to make his categorical claim that "as the highest liturgical and religious authority in the ACA" he was advising the Los Angeles Police Department that "Fr Kelley is not the rector at St Mary's and he has had no authority under the ACA to perform or act in any way as a priest there or to be on the premises since April 2, 2012."

But the judge's statement gave Bishop Marsh no such permission. In fact, she simply turns back the questions to the two equal parties in the dispute. Judge Ann I. Jones, concluded the following:

This case clearly presents a dispute within a hierarchical religious organization as to whether the Church has followed its own procedures, i.e., whether the Patrimony of the Primate was properly dissolved or continues to exist. This court would be acting unconstitutionally were it to interject itself into that controversy... Moreover, even if it were not to decide that judicial interference in this matter is unconstitutional, the Court would still deny the Preliminary Injunction on equitable grounds. ACA's own personnel have repeatedly represented to parishes - after January 1, 2012 (the date on which Plaintiffs claim that the Patrimony dissolved),that, that they simply need to make a decision regarding their future jurisdiction, and that those parishes that wished to enter the Ordinariate would simply need to apply and that the parish's acceptance would be "no big deal." Sometime thereafter, as evidenced by this lawsuit, leaving the ACA became a very big deal and defendant's reasonable reliance to its detriment to proceed under the ACA's own stated processes estops the Plaintiffs from changing the rules at this juncture. He who seeks equity must do equity. That has not happened in this case.

From the trail of minutes and documents of the ACA itself, it is very clear, not at all complicated, that the ACA has no authority, jurisdiction or oversight in the ministry, fellowship, and decision-making of the Church of St Mary of the Angels, Hollywood...

There is much more, and I urge those who have an interest in this to read the full post at VOL and to keep the people of St. Mary's in prayer -- they have suffered too many times at the hands of career ecclesiastics.

Hat tip to Fr. Stephen Smuts.

Towson service will bring Christ the King Anglican parishioners into Catholic Church

Rector to be ordained Catholic at ceremony in Washington


Staff Reports
3:16 p.m. EDT, June 18, 2012

A Towson area church will make a faithful transition this weekend as its rector is ordained — and its congregation confirmed — into the Catholic Church.

Anglican priest Father Edward Meeks — of the Christ the King Anglican Parish in Towson — will be ordained a Catholic priest by Cardinal Donald Wuerl, Archbishop of Washington, on June 23, during a ceremony in Washington D.C.

The next day, Sunday, June 24, some 120 of Meek's parishioners are expected to be received into the Catholic Church during a Mass of Confirmation and Reception at Christ the King, located at 1102 Hart Road.

Meeks is part of the first ordination class in history for the new Catholic Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter.

Equivalent to a diocese, but national in scope, the U.S.-based ordinariate was created earlier this year by Pope Benedict XVI, specifically for Anglican groups and clergy seeking to become Catholic — while still retaining elements of their Anglican heritage...

Read the rest at the web site of the Baltimore Sun.

Statement from Louis Campese, Bishop Ordinary Pro-Diocese of the Holy Family

14 February, 2011

Laudetur Jesus Christus!

Until a few days ago, when the web site of the Anglican Church in America was severely pruned to eliminate virtually every positive reference to the Apostolic Constitution Anglicanorum Coetibus and the engagement of the Province in the discernment process toward acceptance of full visible unity with the Catholic Church, the following notice appeared under the title "House of Bishops Update":

At a meeting on 1 June 2010, the House of Bishops and the Executive Council of the Anglican Church in America approved a unified approach designed to provide full support for parishes and clergy who have indicated their desire to enter the proposed Ordinariate, once established, while simultaneously providing for the ongoing pastoral care of all members of the ACA. The meetings were conducted and concluded in the spirit of mutual harmony and Christian love.

This short notice seemed to reflect what I, at the time, believed was a genuine and charitable unanimity on the acceptance of the notion that the House of Bishops would continue to act generously in accommodating the needs of those groups and individuals, both clerical and lay, who desired to transition to the anticipated Personal Ordinariate to be erected by the Catholic authorities in the United States of America. The idea that groups and individuals could remain canonically resident within their present circumstances whilst, at the same time, affiliating themselves with each other under the personal jurisdiction of the Primate of the Traditional Anglican Communion, all the while remaining welcome members of the Anglican Church in America, seemed to be a creative compromise welcome on the part of the entire House of Bishops. Bishop David Moyer, Archbishop Hepworth's "vicar" to organize the Patrimony of the Primate in the USA Province of the TAC, subsequently set about his mission, and I remained Bishop Ordinary of the Diocese of the Eastern United States, with further work to accomplish before any of my parishes, missions, or myself could contemplate a move into the Patrimony.

In the last month, having reached an amicable and unanimous arrangement with my own diocesan Standing Committee, which of course represented interests within the Diocese hostile to the Apostolic Constitution, I stepped aside, allowing those parishes which did not desire to pursue the Traditional Anglican Communion's foundational goal of full communion with the Catholic Church to begin to reorganize the Diocese in accordance with their own perceived pastoral needs, and, with the blessing of the Primate and the majority of the ACA House of Bishops, I assumed jurisdiction of the newly-created Pro-Diocese of the Holy Family, an entity established (temporarily) for the express purpose of gathering those parishes, missions, and other groups and individuals which had declared for the Ordinariate (or were in the process of doing so). The new Pro-Diocese was conceived of — and recognized (albeit briefly) — by all parties involved as being both under the umbrella of the Patrimony of the Primate and the ACA.

Now, the ACA House of Bishops, through several of its chancellors, has released a statement denying the Pro-Diocese of the Holy Family any place in the ACA and rejecting entirely the notion of the Primate's jurisdiction and the legal concept of his Patrimony, despite general agreement on this provision in the past.

I regard this statement as grievously unfortunate...

Read the rest of Bishop Campese's statement on the blog The Anglo-Catholic.

Six ACA bishops headed to Ordinariate

TAC Archbishop: Six bishops, 61 priests and 29 congregations will join up

A VOL EXCLUSIVE

By Mary Ann Mueller
Feb. 14, 2011

Archbishop John Hepworth, the Primate of the Australian-based Traditional Anglican Communion (TAC), and its American branch -- the Anglican Church in America (ACA) -- has announced that six ACA bishops are strongly considering joining the Anglican Ordinariate once it becomes established on this side of the Atlantic.

"We have six bishops and 61 ACA priests who have put in dossiers applying to be clergy of the Ordinariate, and 29 parishes have voted and indicated to Cardinal Donald Wuerl that they have voted from the ACA into the Ordinariate," said Hepworth.

The ACA House of Bishops has a census of 10 including Bishop Juan Garcia of Puerto Rico...

read the rest of the post at Virtue Online.

Anglican Church in America struggles with identity and commitment to unity with the Church of Rome

Mary Ann Mueller has written an article to discuss the recent posts from the Anglican Church in America and TAC Primate Archbishop John Hepworth's communique.

TAC Archbishop: "We are seeking unity with the Holy See. That is why we exist."

A VOL EXCLUSIVE

By Mary Ann Mueller, Special Correspondent
February 8, 2011

Things are not as they seem or as some of the leadership in the Anglican Church in America would like them to seem.

Over the weekend, the depth of the identity crisis facing the American branch of the Traditional Anglican Communion -- the Anglican Church in America -- filtered to Archbishop John Hepworth, the guiding force behind the TAC's overtures to the Vatican to attain full Eucharistic unity with the Holy See. The Australian-based TAC Primate has taken the bull by the horns by issuing a statement designed to clarify some of the misunderstanding swirling around the American church.

"I deeply regret the action that has been precipitated by the three bishops of the Traditional Anglican Communion in the United States," Archbishop Hepworth wrote in his Statement on the Situation in the Anglican Church in America.

"They find themselves unable to accept the Apostolic Constitution Anglicanorum Coetibus, and unable to support the unanimous decisions of the College of Bishops of the TAC to 'come into the fullness of Catholic Communion'," the Archbishop continues in his two-page missive written on TAC letterhead.

"This need not and should not be the case," he emphatically stated

The three ACA bishops Archbishop Hepworth is referring to are: Bishop Brian Marsh, Diocese of the Northeast; Bishop Stephen Strawn, Diocese of the Missouri Valley; and Bishop Daren Williams, Diocese of the West.

"Because the TAC is a homogenous global church which has this document (Anglicanorum Coetibus) at its heart," the Archbishop explained. The Traditional Anglican Church's policy is unity with the Holy See."

After their episcopal TAC/ACA consecrations, the three above named ACA bishops had a change of mind and a change of heart. They have decided not to follow through on their original promise to foster unity with the Catholic Church. Instead, they have actively sought to lead the ACA further away from complete unity with the Catholic Church and deeper into the on-going Anglican Continuum. They have also seemingly issued erroneous statements, through their respective chancellors, concerning their brother bishops -- Louis Falk and Louis Campese, and their continued episcopal status within the ACA.

Archbishop Hepworth is dismayed that the American church is in so much unnecessary turmoil right now. He feels he has been betrayed by his own bishops...

Read the rest of Mary Ann's story at Virtue Online.

Official Statement from Archbishop Hepworth

Traditional Anglican Communion

Office of the Primate

Archbishop John Hepworth

7th February 2011

Statement on the situation in the Anglican Church in America

I deeply regret the action that has been precipitated by the three bishops of the Traditional Anglican Communion in the United States. They find themselves unable to accept the Apostolic Constitution Anglicanorum Coetibus, and unable to support the unanimous decisions of the College of Bishops of the TAC to “come into the fullness of Catholic Communion”.

This need not and should not be the case.

I have been part of many phone conferences this year with the US bishops of the TAC. I have written to the three dissenting bishops urging them to accept the responsibility that their position entails. I have reminded them that it is not open to a bishop of the TAC to dissent on the major policy of the TAC and remain a member of the College of Bishops.

In a pastoral response to their difficulties, I have established with their consent a grouping of clergy, parishes and individual faithful who have made a firm intention to join the United States Ordinariate on its establishment. I have appointed Bishop David Moyer as my representative for this purpose, and have more recently appointed Bishop Louis Campese to the pastoral oversight of those coming from his Diocese into the Ordinariate.

This use of the Patrimony of the Primate was approved by all the bishops of the Anglican Church in America. It was agreed that those involved could stay in their own parishes, but under the episcopal jurisdiction of a bishop entering the Ordinariate. It is a strictly temporary device to allow those entering the Ordinariate, and those not yet entering, freedom to make their own plans without the canonical harassment that is now occurring.

I also note that ordinations in the TAC (in regions where Ordinariates are in formation) are only occurring at this time to satisfy urgent pastoral needs, and after reference to the Delegates of the Holy See where they have been appointed.

The facts of the TAC acceptance of the Apostolic Constitution in the United States are as follows:

• Six bishops have submitted dossiers (the formal step to seeking ordination in the Ordinariate)
  
• Sixty one clergy have made similar written submissions
  
• Twenty-nine parishes have voted to seek membership of the Ordinariate when it is formed.

Read the rest of Archbishop Hepworth's statement at the English Catholic blog.

Anglican Church in America Clarifies Position on Ordinariate: Rome Offer Rejected

February 5, 2011
By David W. Virtue

The Anglican Church in America (ACA), one of the largest of the Continuing Anglo Catholic bodies in the US, has issued a letter through its chancellors saying it will not join with its Archbishop, John Hepworth, and accept the Pope's offer of a personal ordinariate.

Bishop Brian Marsh, Diocese of the Northeast, told VOL that this clarifies their situation which has been in some limbo since the Pope's offer due to a number of parishes in the ACA wanting to accept the Anglicanorum Coetibus. "While this clarifies our position at the present time the future remains open. Our leader is still Archbishop John Hepworth but that could change if he should go to Rome."...

There is a desire to separate amicably from those parishes that wish to accept the pope's offer commented Marsh. The bishop believes that about 20% of the ACA will accept the ordinariate. "We do regard this as an opportunity for all Continuing Anglicans to come together, said Marsh. "We are in talks with other Continuing Anglican bodies."

The Chancellor of the ACA today issued a letter at the request of the bishops of the Church clarifying where the denomination stands.

"First, I would like to inform you that the Anglican Church in America shall remain as a continuing Anglican church. Notwithstanding what you may have heard, this church is not going to collapse or disappear. It will, by the Grace of God, continue its important and essential witness as part of God's holy church.

"Second, we would like to advise you as to the situation in the Diocese of the Eastern United States which has been the one diocese most gravely affected by what has happened. As all of you may know, the Bishop of this DEUS (Louis Campese) has elected to abandon his diocese when the diocese refused to go to the Roman Catholic Ordinariate.

"Of the twenty-five parishes and missions in the diocese, approximately ten parishes and missions have elected to remain with this church. These ten parishes and missions, effectively abandoned by Bishop Campese, will form the nucleus of a new diocese.

"While the majority of the parishes and missions chose to go with Bishop Campese, the majority of the laity has elected to remain with the diocese. Bishop Campese brought a number of missions into the diocese in the eighteen (18) months prior to leaving the diocese...

The chancellor also wrote that the Constitution and Canons of the ACA are still valid and binding.

"According to our canons, those Bishops, clergy and parishes who leave for another jurisdiction, such as a Roman Catholic Ordinariate or the so-called Patrimony of the Primate, have, at this time abandoned the communion of this church and the ACA.

To read the whole story, visit Virtue Online.

The full letter of the ACA Chancellor may be read on the ACA web site.

Hat tip to Richard Chonak.

-------------

In a commentary released on Virtue Online that raises as many questions as it does answers, the three Diocesan Bishops of the Anglican Church in America who do not foresee entering the ordinariate, write the following:

ACA Bishops argue for amicable and immediate separation between the Patrimony and the ACA

February 7, 2011

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

We bid you greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Recently, because of questionable and possibly irregular episcopal actions that have taken place in both Florida and California, we asked the chancellors of the Anglican Church in America to render an opinion regarding temporal and corporate issues related to the ACA, particularly as concerns the Patrimony of the Primate. The chancellors' decision, released in a letter dated February 5, 2011, has been widely disseminated. It appears on the ACA web pages.

The chancellors' letter contains pointed language; it represents a solid, legal opinion and should inform further discussions as we move forward. Opinions expressed in that document, whether temporal, corporate or ecclesiastical, are advisory in nature and should be regarded as such.

The chancellors' letter emphasizes the state of broken communion in which we presently find ourselves. The Patrimony of the Primate was initially established as a temporary entity to allow for the smooth transition to the Roman Catholic Ordinariate for those so inclined.

It was the expectation that the Patrimony would exercise no diocesan functions, but would respect the established diocesan structures within the ACA. Indeed, the Patrimony of the Primate was envisioned as an entity for those who wished to leave their existing diocese while waiting for the Ordinariate to be formed. Although it was our hope that we all might remain together under the umbrella of the ACA, that now seems impossible.

Those who wish to enter the Ordinariate have engaged in activities that suggest they have begun to operate as a separate jurisdiction. We understand that our brothers wish to move forward on the path they believe is right. We understand their sense of urgency and their commitment to the cause they believe is correct. We pray for them, just as we seek their prayers for us. But we must also recognize and respond to the situation as it presently exists.

An amicable and immediate separation between the Patrimony and the ACA is indeed necessary. It is necessary in order to reduce the tensions and reestablish collegial bonds. This separation will formalize what already exists in practice. Though we may find ourselves in different jurisdictions, it is vital that we part in a spirit of generosity and Christian love. Above all, we must recognize that we are children of God struggling to understand God's call to each of us.

We ask your continuing prayers as we serve as your Bishops, praying that the Holy Ghost may guide us as we make decisions that enable us to serve God's people in the particular places where we have been called.

+Brian
+Daren
+Stephen

Visit Virtue Online for any comments on this.

Hat tip to Mary Ann Mueller

----------------

The "irregular" episcopal action in California referred to above was the ordination of Deacon Andrew Bartus to the priesthood by Bishop David Moyer, who was placed in charge of the Patrimony of the Primate. Fr. Bartus writes on his blog Anglican Patrimony:

Speaking of hectic times, I wonder who else in church history can say they have been ordained and excommunicated in the same day? After the ordination, while in the sacristy, we saw this interview. And then the 'official' document posted on the ACA website. Clearly a power play by three junior bishops against their seven elder bishops, they've (presuming the other two agree with Bp Marsh and the chancellors) strangely declared that my ordination and our confirmations the day after are invalid, "null and void effective as of January 1, 2011." 1) Chancellors do not have the authority to make declarations of this sort, and 2) if those bishops adhere to the Branch Theory as they claim, then how are episcopal functions by any bishop in apostolic succession 'null and void'? And 3) can one backdate excommunications? Why January 1, 2011? I should also question the authority of the three bishops. Have those three deemed the seven others as apostate and therefore the three of them must really be the true totality of the ACA House of Bishops? And even though they agreed some months ago to not pursue intercommunion with the APA (read Bp Grundorf's latest Epistle) the APA has received some sort of offer from them anyway!

You may read the rest of Fr. Bartus' post at Anglican Patrimony.

By way of background, St. Mary of the Angels was one of the California congregations of the Episcopal Church which sought to enter the Catholic Church as an Anglican Use parish in the ancient days of the 1980s; unfortunately, the Californian Catholic bishops valued good relations with their Episcopalian counterparts over the desire of these Anglicans for unity with the Holy See. Now, with the advent of the personal Ordinariates, their dream of communion with the Apostolic See is nearing fruition. And now they must deal with interference from their Continuing Anglican bishops. To me it brings to mind the old nostrum that while it is certainly Catholic dogma that bishops are of the esse of the Church, they are not always good for the bene esse of the Church.

Bishop Campese to Head Provisional Structure

February 3, 2011
by Christian Campbell

Having resigned from his office as Ordinary of the Diocese of the Eastern United States of the Anglican Church in America, Bishop Louis Campese is now to serve as Ordinary of a new transitional structure, under the umbrella of the existing Patrimony of the Primate, designed to facilitate the movement of faithful clerics and groups from the deeply divided diocese into the anticipated personal ordinariate to be erected in the United States of America under the terms of Anglicanorum Coetibus.

The new jurisdiction is called the "Pro-Diocese of the Holy Family," and, in a recent interview, Bishop Campese, stressed its temporary nature. The Pro-Diocese will have only a lightweight administration, designed solely to accomplish the mission of Christian Unity to which the bishops of the ACA committed themselves over three years ago.

Bishop Campese has appointed a Council of Advice (a purely consultative, non-canonical body) to assist him. Its members are:

Fr. Edward Meeks, Rector of Christ the King Parish (Towson, Maryland)
Fr. Anthony Vidal, Vicar of St. Augustine of Canterbury (Baltimore Area)
Fr. Mark Siegel, Dean of the Cathedral of the Incarnation (Orlando, FL)
Fr. William Holiday, Curate, Cathedral of the Incarnation
Ms. Carla Hansen, Treasurer

In addition to its presently Anglican members, Bishop Campese has also appointed two Catholic members to the Council of Advice (both Contributors to The Anglo-Catholic):

Fr. Christopher Phillips, Pastor of Our Lady of the Atonement
Mr. Christian Campbell

from The Anglo-Catholic blog.

The Patrimony of the Primate

Fr. Chori Seraiah, writing at The Anglo-Catholic blog, relates the following news, which ties in with the report repeated here and elsewhere from the ACA's home page about Bishop Campese of the Diocese of the Eastern United States in the ACA having stepped down as Ordinary of that diocese.

I have been blessed both with being under Bishop Campese as my Ordinary (and Pastor), as well as being here in Des Moines and having Archbishop Falk right in my parish. These two men are now entering into the Patrimony of the Primate here in the United States because they believe the time is right. Bishop Campese has stepped aside as the Ordinary for the Diocese of the Eastern United States, and Archbishop Falk, although transferring to the Patrimony, remains the President of the ACA house of Bishops until April. The patrimony, while still within the jurisdiction of the ACA, is a sort of "holding tank" for the interim until the Ordinariate is actually established. These two men have done much of the work to get us this far, and have held true to the principles and foundational documents of the TAC, and should be fully appreciated for holding the to truth through all kinds of challenges and difficulties over the years. They stepped out in faith not knowing whether the fruit of their work would even be seen in their lifetimes...
Bishop Campese and his clergy are entering a special "group within the group" of the Patrimony of the Primate. He is now the Ordinary of the Pro-Diocese of the Holy Family within the Patrimony of the Primate. Although there may be other "groups within the group" of the Patrimony, Archbishop Falk and others are a entering in a more "plain vanilla" status. Either way, they are all coming together into this distinct structure so that their status is clear for the time being, and this also provides the remaining portion of the ACA to continue with its business without a concern for confusion as to the direction that is being taken by each member of their particular diocese. We are now in a "time between the times" where we await the fullness of the blessings of communion with the Barque of Peter. During this time many have spoken of the need for a "home of our own" for those of us who are seeking membership in the Ordinariate. The Patrimony of the Primate is just that structure. It is merely temporary so that we may be able to gather ourselves in a unified manner, and that we may be clearly counted for who we are. So, we continue to wait. It will not be long, however, with how things are currently developing and progressing...

Read the rest at The Anglo-Catholic blog.

News from the ACA

ACA Bishops to Step Down

28 January 2011, House of Bishops

Leadership changes are presently taking place in the Anglican Church in America. In a recent teleconference, Archbishop Louis Falk announced his intention to retire as President of the ACA House of Bishops. A new president will be elected at the ACA House of Bishops meeting in April. The new president will be drawn from one of the current diocesan bishops.

In addition, Bishop Louis Campese has stepped down as Bishop Ordinary of the ACA Diocese of the Eastern United States, effective January 27, 2011. A new bishop will be elected to serve the DEUS at some point in the near future.

The Anglican Church in America extends heartfelt thanks to both Archbishop Falk and Bishop Campese. These two leaders have given much time and effort to the building of God's church. For nearly forty years, these two clergymen have provided leadership to the Continuing Anglican jurisdictions.

The Anglican Church in America will continue as it is presently constituted with approximately 80% of the parishes/missions remaining within the Church. During this time of transition, episcopal oversight is being provided by Bishops Marsh, Strawn and Williams to parishes and missions of the DEUS until a new bishop is elected.

from the homepage of the Anglican Church in America

---

What this seems to say is 20% of the parishes/missions are not remaining within the Church, hence are likely ordinariate-bound. Given that Bishop Campese's cathedral parish is one of those which has taken a vote in favor of entering the ordinariate, and he has long been a supporter of the Traditional Anglican Communion's goal of union with the Apostolic See, his resignation, along with that of Archbishop Falk would seem to indicate their moving forward with the process.

Unfortunately, the three remaining diocesans have not been particularly supportive of the Holy Father's vision as set forth in Anglicanorum coetibus. I expect that there will be more information on this announcement at the Anglo-Catholic blog later today and tomorrow. -- the editor

Hat tip to Mary Ann Mueller

Report from St. Mary of the Angels (CA)

The following report was sent by Deacon Andrew Bartus, Curate at St. Mary of the Angels, Hollywood.


In all, we had around seventy people or so at Saturday's meeting.

We had three sessions: 1) where Fr. Phillips explained his own story and reasons, 2) where Fr. Bower explained his story and reasons why the Continuum is not a permanent home, and 3) the mechanics of the upcoming Ordinariate...

How was it received?

While the main concerns from most people were about how the Ordinariate was going to work and handle different scenarios, there were points made by Fathers Phillips and Bower about the fact that the move into the Ordinariate is first and foremost about obeying Christ's command for unity. Father Bower reminded us that the TAC was created to die. It was designed to hold parishes together in preparation for just something like this. He also said that he and his parish are tired of being hyphenated Catholics; the schism must be undone...

Read the rest of Deacon Bartus' report, which includes a link to audio files of the talks, at the Anglo-Catholic blog.

Cathedral of the Incarnation Votes on Apostolic Constitution

December 5, 2010
by Christian Campbell


At one o'clock this afternoon of the Second Sunday in Advent, the Dean of the Cathedral of the Incarnation, Orlando, Florida, the Very Rev. Fr. Mark Siegel, the Rector's Warden, Mr. Christian Clay Columba Campbell, the Clerk of the Parish Corporation, Ms. Carla Hansen, and witness and parishioner, Mr. Joseph Koehler, certified the results of a congregational vote on a proposed Resolution that the Cathedral of the Incarnation accept the terms of the Apostolic Constitution Anglicanorum Coetibus and request admission, at the earliest possible moment, to the anticipated personal ordinariate to be erected in the United States of America. This Resolution followed upon the unanimous approval of a similar measure by the Cathedral Chapter in September of this year.

The congregation of the Cathedral of the Incarnation has voted overwhelmingly — 94% — in favor of the proposed Resolution, and, having achieved the two-thirds majority required under the parish bylaws, the Resolution is adopted...

Read the rest at the Anglo-Catholic blog.

American Anglicans ready to go when Ordinariate established

Mary Ann Mueller in San Antonio
VOL Special Correspondent
www.Virtueonline.org
November 18, 2010

SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS---American Anglicans, perhaps more than any others, are uniquely ready to hit the ground running when the Anglican Ordinariate is finally established in the United States. Although it is being rumored that the first Anglican Ordinariate is to be established in England the birthplace and seat of Anglicanism.

For more than 30 years, groups of American Anglicans have prayed, labored and sacrificed to come home to Rome and live out their Catholicity within the Bark of Peter. A crack in the door was opened when Pope John Paul II created the Pastoral Provision, which allowed for married Episcopal priests to convert to Roman Catholicism. Following more theological training, they could then be ordained Catholic priests and live out their lives and ministries in the Catholic Church.

More than 100 Anglican and Episcopal priests took the Pope up on his unique offer. Within three decades several vibrant Anglican Use Catholic parishes were established and continue to grow in numbers.

Last year, another Roman pontiff, Benedict XVI, kicked the Vatican doors wide open to Anglicans when he announced Anglicanorum Coetibus calling for the worldwide establishment of Anglican Ordinariates. This news not only sent shock waves throughout the heart of Anglican England, it brought forth a tide of Anglican priests and their bishops who are willing to be fully united with their Apostolic roots and be the bedrock foundation of a yet-to-be-established English ordinariate.

This is entirely new ground. All Anglican Ordinariates, no matter where they are established in the world --- England, the United States, Canada, Australia, Africa or elsewhere --- are being developed from scratch without a blueprint in hand except, perhaps, for the few and flourishing Anglican Use parishes in America.

"I have thought for a long time that we, in this country, are perhaps more ready than any other," Fr. Christopher Phillips, pastor of Our Lady of the Atonement Anglican Use Catholic Church, told a Becoming One gathering of American Anglicans Wednesday evening. "We have sizable parishes already in full communion with the Holy See."

Fr. Phillips was referring not only to Our Lady of the Atonement, but also Our Lady of Walsingham Anglican Use Catholic Church in Houston and St. Mary the Virgin Anglican Use Catholic Church in Arlington. All three Texas-based Anglican Use parishes have been in existence for more than a quarter of a century and have been thriving Catholic congregations within their respective Catholic dioceses. At the same time, they have successfully maintained their own unique Anglican patrimony.

The American Anglican Use parishes are already successfully living the vision that Pope Benedict has outlined in Anglicanorum Coetibus. They are showing through lived experience that a living Anglican patrimony is not only possible, but is very doable within the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church.

Fr. Phillips told his audience of Ordinariate-bound bishops, priests, religious and laity that the Anglican patrimony is something that is inherited from our Anglican ancestors. The richness of the Anglican Communion filters through the generations in its music, its liturgy, its chant, its Elizabethan English, its architecture, its vestments, its churchmanship, and its ethos.

"We know that 'patrimony' isn't static," Fr. Phillips said. "Unless a parish is dead, its patrimony continues to grow and develop. What we hand on to subsequent generations isn't exactly the same as what we received from our ancestors. Our past is building the future."

What the Anglican Use parishes of the Ordinariate are going to hand on to their Catholic brethren is a deep appreciation for decency and order, reverence, majesty, respect, and awe for the sacredness of ecclesial actions reflected through the Anglican music, liturgy, architecture, vestments, and churchmanship.

As the Anglican Ordinariates are developed, they will be launched into the deep of mostly uncharted waters. Only the American Ordinariate will have any sort of history or track record to give it some type of map to follow in its establishment. The wheel will not have to be re-invented to provide for the early stages of a developing Ordinariate, either in terms of financial backing or drawing people to the new jurisdiction.

"The Ordinariate in this country will be able to start on a firm financial footing," Fr. Phillips explained. "That's because we have financially secure parishes ready to join the Ordinariate and provide considerable resources."

These financial resources will be used to support the temporal and missionary work of the Ordinariate including funding new parish foundations, supporting missionary activity, and providing for the needs of the Ordinariate and its Ordinary, whomever he will be.

In addition to parishes and schools already in place and fully functioning as Anglican Use churches, there are a host of Traditional Anglican Communion/Anglican Church in America congregations already formed into dioceses which are chomping at the bit to enter the Ordinariate along with their clergy and bishops. There will be no issues over property ownership, rights and management with these two groups.

"No other country will have the stable and financially secure beginning that we'll see right here in the beginning of the United States Ordinariate," Fr. Phillips noted.

The beginning of an American Ordinariate may still be some time off. However, each day brings new developments as the Vatican works on the implementation of the various national ordinariates.

Just days after Washington Archbishop Donald Wuerl was tapped by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith to help shepherd in the implementation of the American Ordinariate, it was announced that he would be elevated to the cardinalate. Currently, the Archbishop is in Rome preparing for that event. While Archbishop Wuerl is there, the Catholic cardinals are to have a special one-day meeting. Anglicanorum Coetibus is one of the topics on the cardinals' agenda for discussion.

Fr. Phillips explained that the erection of the Anglican Ordinariates would happen in the "fullness of time", even if it seems that Rome is taking a lot of time figuring out how to make Pope Benedict's promise to the Children of Canterbury come true.

"Impatient though we might be, there's never a wasted moment in God's time, " Fr. Phillips said. "The Ordinariate will be established in God's time."

The priest suggests that this time of prayerful waiting is the perfect time for those desiring to enter into the Ordinariate to pray and study and spiritually and practically prepare for their new future.

"This isn't wasted time," the priest noted. "God gives it to us for our good. It's up to us to use it productively, expectantly, and wisely."


---Mary Ann Mueller is a journalist living in Texas. She is a regular contributor to VirtueOnline

SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS: Anglicans headed to the Ordinariate are becoming one in spirit at Texas meeting

By Mary Ann Mueller in San Antonio
Special Correspondent
www.virtueonline.org
November 17, 2010

Perhaps in three hundred years, historians and journalists will look back on a mid-November 2010 meeting on the edge of a Texas desert and realize that it was the first time the various Anglican "cousins" of the emerging Anglican Ordinariate in America met and began forging the bonds that would weave them into a united ecclesial family under the patronage of Blessed John Henry Cardinal Newman and in full unity with the Vicar of Christ, the successor to the Throne of Peter.

A year ago, these vastly flung Anglican "cousins" heard the words of Pope Benedict XVI when he announced the establishment of the Anglican Ordinariate in his publication of Anglicanorum Coetibus, thus throwing open wide the doors of the Catholic Church to fully embrace those various Anglicans who want to reunite with the See of Peter while retaining their own unique Anglican patrimony and thereby helping to enrich the Catholic Church in the process.

"This is historic," proclaimed the Rev. Christopher Phillips, founding pastor of Our Lady of the Atonement Anglican Use Catholic Church. "A great change was set into motion - a change so tremendous that Anglican/Catholic relations will be seen in terms of 'before Anglicanorum Coetibus' and 'after Anglicanorum Coetibus'."

Just as Rome threw its doors open wide, Fr. Phillips has thrown open the doors on his church to welcome American bishops, archbishops, priests, deacons, abbots, religious, hermits and laity to his San Antonio church so that the various Anglican cousins could come together as one in united prayer, unified praise, and common Anglican fellowship.

More than 125, from all points on the map responded to Fr. Phillips open invitation to come together and begin forming a united family centered around their common desire to become one in the Catholic Church.

A wide spectrum of the Anglican alphabet soup was represented at the three-day "Becoming One" gathering in Texas. Anglicans from the Episcopal Church (TEC); the Traditional Anglican Communion (TAC); and Catholic Church (RC); the Anglican Church in America (ACA); the Federation of Anglican Churches in America (FACA) and a number of other Anglican jurisdictions came to the desert Southwest.

"The Pope wants Anglicans not acronyms," Fr. Phillips explained. "TAC, FIF-NA, ACA, ACNA, AU ... Anglicanorum Coetibus envisions none of those things continuing within an Ordinariate.

"With the implementation of the Holy Father's Apostolic Constitution, they will have served their purpose," the Texas priest continued, "and as necessary as they were to get us here, they will be needed no more."

He noted that Forward in Faith and the Traditional Anglican Communion were instrumental in helping the See of Peter recognize and respond to the spiritual yearning of Anglo-Catholics committed to reunifying with the Great Latin Church of the West and to help fulfill the Lord's heartfelt pastoral prayer that "they all may be one ..." Now a new era is dawning and the next stage of development has begun.

Not only has a new era dawned for Anglo-Catholics as they are welcomed into full Communion with the Church of Rome, a new day has also dawned in The Episcopal Church under the leadership of its current Presiding Bishop.

"...to those who reject the Ordinariate because they want to 'maintain a pure form of Anglicanism' - all I can say is 'good luck with that." commented Fr. Phillips. "We can all see how well this so-called 'pure Anglicanism' is working out."

Fr. Phillips said that he can foresee a day when The Episcopal Church will no longer be considered a Christian denomination because the Christian faith is being jettisoned as Biblical truths are redefined.

"We've heard from people who recoil at the idea of 'becoming Roman Catholics'," he said. "And isn't it ironic? Isn't it 'Rome' which is actually preserving and nurturing the Anglican patrimony."

The former Episcopal priest has personally struggled long and hard to leave the spiritually decaying Episcopal Church behind him and find his spiritual home and ministry in the Roman Catholic Church.

In one fell swoop -- within a breath and two heart beats -- the former Episcopal priest found himself stripped of his pulpit, unemployed, homeless and without insurance coverage for his growing young family. He left without a retirement pension when he admitted to his Episcopal bishop that he felt the call of God to fulfill his priesthood in the Catholic Church and enter into the Pastoral Provision process. His Episcopal bishop immediately stopped his salary, his insurance and his pension, took the keys to his church and rectory, and deposed him of his Episcopal priesthood.

"My family and I willing sacrificed everything we had - family, friends, home, salary, insurance, pension - all gone," he recalled.

Eventually, Fr. Phillips was ordained an early Pastoral Provision Catholic priest. He went on to found Our Lady of the Atonement Catholic Church - the strong mother church of the Anglican Use in the United States. From those humble beginnings, with 18 souls in his spiritual care, Fr. Phillips, under the direction and leadership of the Holy Spirit, went on to build a vibrant Anglican Use congregation, one soul at a time.

"Episcopalians and Anglicans of various stripes came to see what it was all about and many of them chose to join with us." Fr. Phillips remembers the early days of Our Lady of the Atonement. "Lapsed Catholics found a place where they could rediscover their faith and were restored to the Sacraments. People who had no particular religious background found a small and welcoming community of believers and so made their way into the Catholic Church."

Now hundreds attend Sunday services. An attached classical education academy teaches more than 550 students in the Four Rs - 'Reading, 'Riting, 'Rithmetic, and Religion. The Atonement Academy is growing faster than they can build classrooms. Every available space is being used with more buildings are on the drawing board.

Just as Our Lady of the Atonement grew out of very humble beginnings, Fr. Phillips envisions a time in the Anglican Ordinariate that his success story will be replicated time and again as the Ordinariate grows one soul at a time and one congregation at a time.

On Tuesday evening he said he was thrilled to see so many of his Anglican "cousins" show up at Our Lady of the Atonement with a single-mindedness to come together and become one in faith, and practice and as a unified Catholic spiritual family.

"Our job is to become one with each other," Our Lady of the Atonement's pastor noted, while looking to the day when the unity among us will find its fulfillment in the unity of Christ's One, Holy, Catholic, Apostolic and Roman Church."


---Mary Ann Mueller is a journalist living in Texas. She is a regular contributor to VirtueOnline

Archbishop Hepworth Announces "Patrimony of the Primate" as Refuge for Some Members of ACA

October 4, 2010
by Christian Campbell

Though the following statement has not been formally communicated to at least one member of the ACA House of Bishops, it is published here for the record...

* * *

From the Primate of the Traditional Anglican Communion,
Archbishop John Hepworth.

For much of this year, I have taken part in a phone conference each week
with the bishops of the Anglican Church in America, the United States part
of the Traditional Anglican Communion. In a pastoral and collegial manner,
we have sought to reach an understanding of the implication of the Apostolic
Constitution "On the gathering of the Anglicans", and of issues concerning
its implementation...

It is my judgement that this is the appropriate time to establish the
Patrimony of the Primate in the United States. With the consent of
Archbishop Falk, I appoint Bishop David Moyer as my delegate for this
purpose. All enquiries and applications are to be made to Bishop Moyer.
With the unanimous consent of the House of Bishops of the ACA, all those
entering the Patrimony will retain their present position within the ACA
until the establishment of the Ordinariate in the United States.

Bishop Moyer has the documentation for clergy seeking entry to the
Ordinariate that was provided to the Traditional Anglican Communion bishops
and Secretary to the College of Bishops on our recent meeting with the
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

I have informed Cardinal Levada of this development, which enables those
members of our Communion seeking entry to the Ordinariate in the United
States to make corporate preparations.

Read the entire posting at The Anglo-Catholic blog.

Please also see this post from October 6th on Bishop Moyer, who was involved in a car accident last week with his wife Rita and grandson Luke. Unfortunately, the couple in the other car which had lost control and hit them head on died in the crash.

ACA Parish of the Holy Nativity, Payson, AZ seeks entry into Anglican Ordinariate

September 29, 2010
by Fr. Christopher Phillips

The Church of the Holy Nativity has signified its intention to enter the Ordinariate as soon as it is erected in the United States. One by one, the groups are gathering!

Read the letter from the the rector of Holy Nativity on the blog The Anglo-Catholic.

A Unanimous Statement by the ACA House of Bishops

A Unanimous Statement by the ACA House of Bishops after a full morning together of questions and answers with regard to everyone's true intention.

Some of us are prepared to seek entry into an American Ordinariate the moment it exists. Some are not yet ready at this time. None has decided never to seek entry. Those not ready to do so at this time are determined to remain within the TAC/ACA and continue their ministry until the time a final decision can be made.

The House of Bishops of the ACA has not taken any steps in the direction of any other form or plan of union, but will follow scrupulously the process required by the Canons of the ACA and the Concordat of the TAC in that regard.

The above statement was posted on the blog The Anglo-Catholic. It has not yet appeared on the web site of the Anglican Church in America.

Letter sent by Archbishop Hepworth to US TAC Bishops meeting in Belleville, IL.

Traditional Anglican Communion
Office of the Primate – Archbishop John Hepworth

28th September 2010

By Facsimile:

Bishop Williams
Bishop Strawn
Bishop Marsh

Cc: Archbishop Falk, Lay Canon Woodman, TAC COB.

Dear Fathers,

I write in reference to the letters that you have published recently concerning the Apostolic Constitution Anglicanorum Coetibus and its implications. I am also conscious of the various statements that you have published on Diocesan Websites and elsewhere on the same matter.

Since you have published your comments prior to any discussion in College, I am making my response also public.

I have discussed with Archbishop Falk the possibility of action being taken concerning your published statements on unity and your actions in seeking what one of you has described as a “merger” with another Continuing Church in the United States, the Anglican Province of America. I am aware that Bishop Grundorf has publically rejected the Apostolic Constitution, as has Archbishop Haverland.

The power to intervene in disciplinary matters concerning members of the College of Bishops of the Traditional Anglican Communion is enunciated in section 6.3 of the Concordat, which each of us is sworn to uphold in the Consecration Oath made by bishops-elect. It specifically enables the College to deal with “any credible allegation of dereliction of consecration vows in the life or teaching of one of its members”.

When William Cardinal Levada wrote to each of us last December stating that the Apostolic Constitution was “the definitive response of the Holy See…to your original request”. The Cardinal went on to note “I am only too aware of the delicate process of discernment that will no doubt be embarked upon by many of our Anglican brothers and sisters, and no less of the many practical issues that will need to be faced”.

The College of Bishops has been committed to seeking unity with the Holy See since the inception of the Traditional Anglican Communion. I accompanied my predecessor, Archbishop Falk, in conversations in the Vatican a short time after the TAC was promulgated. I have been at every meeting of the College, and at every meeting the policy of seeking full, corporate reunion with the Catholic Church has been reinforced. Details of these decisions have been regularly highlighted in the publications of the TAC. I say this because you are the three most recently consecrated bishops of the TAC.

At the Portsmouth meeting of the College in 2007, this policy took a more concrete form in two ways. A formal petition seeking unity in clear terms was unanimously approved, and after several days in which concerns could be raised (but none were) was signed by each bishop on the altar in the midst of the Holy Sacrifice and committed to me and two of our fellow bishops for conveyance to Rome. Secondly, exercising the powers noted in the Concordat that ”the final authority to determine questions of Catholic Faith and Apostolic Order (which authority resides by virtue of the nature of the episcopal office in the College of Bishops)…” the College with equal unanimity stated that “We accept that the most complete and authentic expression and application of the catholic faith in this moment of time is found in the Catechism of the Catholic Church and its Compendium, which we have signed together with this Letter as attesting to the faith we aspire to teach and hold.” These two matters are binding on members of the College.

The Petition of the TAC also makes a very clear statement about the nature of the Church, which each of you have contradicted in your public statements this year: “We accept that the Church founded by Jesus Christ subsists most perfectly in the churches in communion with the See of Peter, to whom (after the repeated protestation of his love for Jesus) and to whose successors, our Divine Master gave the duty of feeding the lambs and the sheep of his flock.”

With even more significance to your published statements, the Petition also makes very clear the faith of the bishops of the TAC concerning the source of authority in the Church: “We accept the ministry of the Bishop of Rome, the successor of Peter, which is a ministry of teaching and discerning the faith and a “perpetual and visible principle and foundation of unity” and understand this ministry is essential to the Church founded by Jesus Christ. We accept that this ministry, in the words of the late John Paul II in Ut Unum Sint, is to “ensure the unity of all the Churches”.

Whatever the doubts and difficulties of a bishop, he is bound to teach the faith received from the Apostles and proclaimed by the Church in every age. It is to the Church that a bishop looks for the source of his teaching, not to his own doubts and fears.

In the three years since the submission of our petition, most of us have made sure that our clergy and people have become familiar with the Catechism. It has been a careful process of teaching and leadership. In the TAC, as in the Catholic Church and the Churches of Holy Orthodoxy, truth is not reached by democratic means. It is not reached by the recreation of some golden moment of history. Our Petition also states that: “We understand that, as bishops separated from communion with the Bishop of Rome, we are among those for whom Jesus prayed before his death “that they may be completely one”, and that we teach and define matters of faith and morals in a way that is, while still under the influence of Divine Grace, of necessity more tenuously connected to the teaching voice of catholic bishops throughout the world.”

Very clearly, you have renounced this understanding of your fellow bishops, and no longer teach with the same voice as them. Equally clearly, you have not taught and led the people committed to your care with that one voice of a united College. Each of us has started from the same position as that which you have confronted. Tragically, I am forced to the conclusion that some have led their people, others have followed them.

May I make some observations about the way forward?

Communion with any other ecclesial body requires the consent of the College of Bishops. Any act of Communion without the consent of the College betrays the College and puts its own unity at peril.

There is no urgent pressure on individuals to join an Ordinariate. Individual discernment and a response in conscience undergird the corporate reunion that is at the heart of Anglicanorum Coetibus. There is no such luxury permitted to bishops, who have the sacred obligation by virtue of their office itself to teach in such a way that clergy and people form a true conscience. A bishop who cannot teach what the College has defined (and what is the universal teaching of the East and the West) has only one option, and that is to stand aside until he can teach in accord with the Church.

The Traditional Anglican Communion is not a Protestant ecclesial body. In a television interview in Canada several years ago, I said that the most difficult thing that each of us would face in the pathway to unity would be shedding ourselves of the question “What do I think?” and instead asking, “What does the Church teach?” We are not a body that allows each member to approach the Scripture alone and discern a private truth. We understand that the Church is a Divine Gift in which God is present to His People – Teaching, Sanctifying and Creating. We partake of Divine Truth – we do not create it.

As you meet with the other American bishops this week, you must know that you have the prayers and the hopes of your Communion around the world bestowed upon you. You carry the dreams and the destiny of Anglican and Catholic people.

Anglicanorum Coetibus is the first mutual attempt to heal the unity fractured between Rome and Canterbury over four centuries ago. You also bear the burden of history.

With my blessing,

John Hepworth, Primate

as found on the Anglo-Catholic blog

Cathedral of the Incarnation Welcomes Appointment of Pastoral Delegate and Declares Intent to Pursue Unity

Cathedral of the Incarnation Welcomes Appointment of Pastoral Delegate and Declares Intent to Pursue Unity under the Terms of Anglicanorum Coetibus

Cathedral of the Incarnation
Diocese of the Eastern United States
Anglican Church in America
Orlando, Florida

September 8, 2010
The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

With profound gratitude and filial respect to the Successor of St. Peter, the Chapter of the Cathedral of the Incarnation warmly receives the Apostolic Constitution, Anglicanorum Coetibus, of His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI.

Having prayerfully considered the aforementioned papal legislation...the Cathedral Chapter now unanimously resolves:

1. that the Bishop of the Diocese of the Eastern United States, the Dean of the Cathedral, and Officers of the Chapter be authorized to communicate directly with the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) or its authorized liaison for the territory of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) on behalf of the Cathedral of the Incarnation to the end that the Cathedral parish eventually be received in its integrity into the full communion of the Catholic Church through an Anglican Personal Ordinariate as envisioned by Anglicanorum Coetibus...
Read the rest on the blog The Anglo-Catholic.

A Healthy Dose of Reality and the Promise of the Future

July 4, 2010
by Christian Campbell

On balance, the 2010 annual Synod of the Diocese of the Eastern United States (ACA/TAC) was a positive development for those committed to the pursuit of full communion with the Catholic Church under the terms of the recent Apostolic Constitution. [More on that later.] But it was also a healthy dose of reality for each of the delegates — pro, con, or undecided. To put it politely, a serious lack of forthrightness on the part of the House of Bishops of the Anglican Church in America has led to considerable confusion, suspicion, and fear — not only on the part of those opposed to reunion with the Catholic Church, but also among those who favor the ordinariate scheme. The bishops (as a college) seem to have been more than willing to (purport to) commit their flocks to a momentous doctrinal and ecumenical course of action, but they have subsequently shown themselves absolutely unprepared — and seemingly unwilling — to do the difficult work of shepherds (which office they claim to hold). The ambivalent, ambiguous — and even misleading — statements about the "talks with the Roman Catholic Church" which still emanate from the House of Bishops, coupled with a refusal to openly defend or adhere to the doctrine solemnly professed at Portsmouth, have wreaked havoc within the jurisdiction and all but destroyed the possibility of a genuine ecclesial movement toward reunion with the Holy See.

Of the four ACA diocesan bishops in the USA, only one, Bishop Louis Campese (DEUS), has taken a public stand for the Apostolic Constitution...

Read the rest of Christian's report on the ACA's DEUS Synod at The Anglo-Catholic blog.