CHURCH OF IRELAND PARISHES SEEK TO BECOME ROMAN CATHOLIC
"A
federation of Christians is inconceivable in which
each member retains his own opinions and private
judgment in matters of faith.
Pope Pius XI.
From Independent Catholic
News via Michael
Kelly,
Deputy
Editor The Irish Catholic: "Three
Church of Ireland parishes have asked to be
received into full communion with the Catholic
Church The Irish Catholic newspaper reports this
week.
The
parishes, in counties Down, Tyrone and Laois are
members of the 'traditional rite' within the Church
of Ireland.
The Irish Catholic newspaper, has learnt that the
members of these parishes, along with traditional
Anglicans from twelve other countries, have signed a
letter to the Vatican seeking "full, corporate,
sacramental union" with the Catholic Church under the
authority of the Pope. The dramatic move would see
the entire parish communities received in to the
Catholic Church.
While only a few hundred Anglicans in Ireland will be
affected, the move, if approved by the Vatican, would
see 400,000 Anglicans worldwide admitted into the
Catholic Church, the paper reports.
The traditional rite of the Church of Ireland emerged
in 1991 after the House of Bishops of the Church of
Ireland decided to start ordaining women.
Traditionalist Anglicans decried the move as a
"defiance of both Scripture and Tradition."
A spokesman for the traditional rite confirmed that
the members of the traditional rite of the Church of
Ireland did hope to be received into "full communion
with the See of Rome".
A decision was made at a plenary meeting of the
Traditional Anglican Communion (TAC), the umbrella
organisation for traditional Anglicans, to petition
Rome for such a move earlier this month.
According to a statement from the TAC "the bishops
and vicars-general unanimously agreed to the text of
a letter to the See of Rome seeking full, corporate,
sacramental union.
"The letter was signed solemnly by all the College
and entrusted to the Primate and two bishops chosen
by the College to be presented to the Holy See," the
statement added.
A spokesman said "the letter was cordially received
at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
"The Primate of the TAC has agreed that no member of
the College will give interviews until the Holy See
has considered the letter and responded," he said.
It is rare for entire Anglican communities to seek
corporate communion with the Catholic Church whereby
every member of the parish becomes Catholic and the
parish effectively becomes part of the Catholic
Church. There have been a number of high-profile
individual conversions. Most recently, Anita
Henderson, wife of the Church of Ireland Bishop of
Killala was received in to the Catholic Church in a
private ceremony in Ballina, Co Mayo.
In the US, the so-called 'pastoral provision' allows
Catholic bishops to establish 'Anglican Use Catholic
parishes', which use a liturgy adapted from
Anglicanism. However, the parishes are in full
communion with the Holy See and accept all Catholic
teachings.
