Today's Feast of S John, restored to the Ordinariate Calendar after falling foul of the 'reformers', marks, of course, the beginning of the series of secret meetings (literally underground) which led to the start of the Ordinariate of our Lady of Walsingham. I send fraternal greetings to any member of that select (fewer than a hundred) and unique priestly group, who happens to be reading this. We few, we happy few, we band of brothers!
Nor do I forget the priests' wives who sustained and supported this process. Stong, sensible, orthodox, resolute women. Did ever priests' wives play such a decisive role before in the history of the Latin Church?
I honour all of you, Priests and Wives!
ReplyDeleteYes, up to the "reformation" (don't forget praeter legem customs have the force of law). Cf. in Iceland, the wife of the martyr-bishop and national hero, + Jon Arason
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Dear Father, I am intrigued to hear about the 'subterranean meetings' that led to the foundation of the Ordinariate. Has anyone written an accessible account of these doings? Many 'mainstream' RCs like myself know nothing of these matters, and would love to read about what went on in the Anglo-Catholic world at that time. There seem to be few links between us and the Anglo-Catholics, a group of people largely ignored during those ARCIC years, when the Church embarked on its abortive process of finding common ground with the heterodox Anglican Communion.
ReplyDeleteDear Father, I join with Scribe in asking for an account, at some length if necessary, of the efforts to reunite with Rome, ideally going back to the mishaps of the 1990s, if memory serves, about which I gather William Oddie wrote his book The Roman Option, but which most of us no doubt do not have.
ReplyDeleteWas it not the case that The Traditional Anglican Communion (which left the C of E in the early nineties unhappy at being in communion with inreasing heresy) was the first group to petition the Holy See for dogmatic union allied to respect for Anglican culture? Aidan Nichols' lecture on Anglican Uniatism and Sheridan Gilley's Lecture on Prayer Book Catholicism had previously prepared the ground for such a venture.
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