A Tendency Toward Rome

by James G. Wiles
July 11, 2008

When, after the failed assassination attempts against President Ronald Reagan and Pope John Paul II, the Soviet Union and its evil empire collapsed instead, some thought they saw a sign. Perhaps it should not go unremarked, therefore, that we are about to see a similar sign: the return of a significant portion of the Anglican Church into the fold of the Roman Catholic Church. Similar tendencies toward Rome are evident in the Orthodox Churches, the Chinese Patriotic Church in Communist China and the schismatic Pius X Society.
One thing driving this, of course, is the ecumenical dialogue which began 40 years ago under Pope Paul VI. Another is the fact that, thanks to our modern popes, the prestige of the papacy is at a level not seen in centuries. Still another is the contrast between the worldwide growth of the Catholic Church and the disintegration (not to say, disappearance) of many main-line Protestant communions, both here and in Europe. Only the evangelicals, the Catholics and the Orthodox are prospering...
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