Ordinariate Watch: Anglicans Joining Catholic Church: Not Much Will Change

As the Jan. 1, 2012 date given for the creation of a Roman Catholic Ordinariate, or church body, for disaffected Anglicans draws near, some departing churches say they do not expect significant differences in their worship and practice.

An ordinariate is a geographical region similar to a diocese except that it is national in scope. They are headed by an “ordinary,” which can be a bishop or a priest.

Some congregations that have severed their ties with the Episcopal Church have petitioned the pope to become part of the Catholic Church, under the condition that they retain elements of Anglican tradition, also known as “Anglican Patrimony.”

Bishop Louise Campese of the Cathedral of the Incarnation in Orlando, Fla., who also serves as Bishop Ordinary for Pro-Diocese of the Holy Family, said that even though all changes had not been decided for his congregation, he believes there will not be extensive changes.

“There are going to be some changes, but not something foreign to the Anglican Patrimony,” said Campese, who added that he had “no more information than that at this time.”

Even before voting to join the Roman Catholic Church, Campese’s congregation considered itself Anglo-Catholic, which is a part of the Anglican Communion that has Catholic-like rituals and worship practices. To read more, click here.

In those churches in which the clergy already use the Roman Catholic catechism in istructing their parishioners and the Roman Catholic liturgy in celebrating the Mass, there may be few changes but one must ask are these churches really Anglican and will they preserve any kind of genuine Anglican heritage in the Roman Catholic Church? With the exception of being formally received in the Roman Catholic Church, they are Roman Catholic. A number of them have arguably never been truly Anglican. Roman Catholics and those influenced by their views regard the Anglican Church as a breakaway church from the Roman Catholic Church. On the other hand, Anglicans historically have a different view of the Anglican Church. They see it as ancient branch of Christianity that underwent a number of necessary reforms in the sixteenth century in order that the Anglican Church might be faithful to the teaching of the Scriptures and once more proclaim the true gospel of Jesus Christ. The Roman Catholic Church, on the other hand, remains unreformed, placing the teaching of Church tradition above the teaching of the Scriptures, and proclaiming a false gospel.