The Catholicism of Henry VIII

It is doubtful that Henry Tudor thought he was changing the faith of his realm when he wrested control of the English Church from its natural obedience to the Holy See. In his will, he provided for two Masses to be said daily for his repose; only one of that will's provisions that wouldn't be carried out, as the regents of his son Edward began the purge of Catholicism from the English Church before his body was cold!
We have five articles in Anglican Embers dealing with the first centuries of Anglicanism, and the struggle for Catholic faith in England, which, despite the hierarchical separation that was made permanent after Elizabeth I's accession, was never complete as long as there were members of the faithful who clung to their faith.
The first of these was published in volume 1, number 12 (Advent 2006), and bears the same title as this post. Especially for those who haven't spent much time looking at the history, these may prove to be helpful.
Find the article at: http://www.anglicanuse.org/AE_1_12_Cavanaugh-Catholic-HenryVIII.pdf

Anglican Use Community Welcomed To New Home On All Souls Day

Father Ernie Davis, leader of Kansas City’s Our Lady of Hope Anglican Use Roman Catholic community, celebrates Mass on All Soul’s Day at the community’s new home, Our Lady of Sorrows Parish next to Crown Center.

By Kevin Kelly, Catholic Key Associate Editor

KANSAS CITY — It was a stunning question to open a homily, and one that had more than one answer.

“What in the world are we doing here?” Father Ernie Davis asked his congregation of Catholics who in 2008 came into full communion with Rome as one former Anglican community.

Yes, they were celebrating Mass for the first time in their new home, Our Lady of Sorrows Parish, adjacent to Crown Center.

Yes, though still small in number, they still dream big and of one day becoming a full parish in the Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter, an organizational structure established by Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI for united Catholics from the Anglican, Episcopalian and Methodist traditions to celebrate unity while retaining their adapted prayers and liturgy.

But what a day for all this to happen. All Souls’ Day. Anathema to the European and English Reformations of five centuries ago.

“Praying for the dead? Mass for the departed?” Father Davis told his congregation. “This was done away with 500 years ago. It was the first thing that was erased in the English Reformation. We would have been thrown in jail,” he said...

Read the rest at The Catholic Key.

Our Family is Growing

Fr. Phillips at the Anglo-Catholic blog writes:

"I received an email today from the Most Reverend Irl A. Gladfelter, Metropolitan of the Anglo-Lutheran Catholic Church, with the very good news that the clergy and parishes of the ALCC will be entering the Ordinariate with us. The following is a synopsis of what led to this marvellous development, which was sent to me by Most Rev. Edward J. Steele, the ALCC Bishop of Florida, and who is one of our regular commenters."

On May 13, 2009, The Anglo-Lutheran Catholic Church (ALCC) mailed a letter to Walter Cardinal Kasper, President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, stating the ALCC “desires to undo the mistakes of Father Martin Luther, and return to the One, Holy, and True Catholic Church established by our Lord Jesus Christ through the Blessed Saint Peter.” That letter was in turn forwarded to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) for consideration, and the CDF in June 2009 sent the ALCC a reply acknowledging receipt of the petition, with the assurance the request for full membership was being given serious attention...

Surprisingly, in October 2010 the ALCC received a letter from Archbishop Luis Ladaria, Secretary of the CDF, informing the ALCC that an Episcopal Delegate, Donald Cardinal Wuerl, had been appointed in the United States to assist the CDF with the implementation of Anglicanorum coetibus (Cardinal Wuerl was still an Archbishop at the time however). The letter further stated, “As we proceed toward the erection of Ordinariates we would invite you, therefore, to make contact directly with Archbishop Wuerl at the following address…” Humbly, the ALCC responded with a resounding “YES”, mailing a letter to Cardinal Wuerl in compliance with the correspondence received from the CDF, requesting to be a part of this wonderful reunification within the Body of Christ...

Read the full account at the Anglo-Catholic blog.

Booksigning after Mass in Kansas City

Stephanie Mann will visit the 11:15 Anglican Use Mass at St. Therese Little Flower on Sunday, September 5 at 11:15 a.m. She is the author of the highly acclaimed Supremacy and Survival – How Catholics Endured the English Reformation. There will be an opportunity to meet the author after Mass and copies of her book will be available for purchase.

For more information, contact Fr. Ernie Davis.

Hat tip to Mary Ann Mueller.

From author Stephanie Mann's website: BREAKING NEWS! My interview with Doug Keck, taped in January of this year, will air on EWTN Bookmark Sunday, August 29, 2010. Click here for more information and here to watch or listen live!

Special Report: Five Myths about the Pope’s Anglican Ordinariates

Taylor Marshall does his best to dispel five myths about the forthcoming Personal Ordinariates that have arisen in traditional media and the blogosphere.

The New York Times, the London Times and almost every known newspaper has printed articles about this new announcement. The blogs are ablaze. However, there is a lot of misinformation churning around out there. I have collected five common misconceptions about the Holy See’s announcement. Each myth merits an informed and measured response.
Myth #1 The Pope is sheep-stealing...
Myth #2 Rome is preparing the world for a general married priesthood...
Myth #3 Rome has reconciled itself to the Protestant Reformation...
Myth #4 The Anglican Personal Ordinariates will be like Opus Dei (or they will be like the Eastern Catholic Churches)...
Myth #5 We already know everything about the Anglican personal ordinariates...

To read Taylor's explanations, read the full post on Catholic Online.