The following is an article written by a Roman Catholic deacon from Chesapeake, VA, on what he believes is the coming conglomeration of all Christendom. The central focus is the apparently imminent merger of the Traditional Anglican Communion with the Roman Catholic church.
The article is illuminating for its grand ecumenical vision, and for the way it describes the Roman Catholic desire to subsume all self-professing Christians around the world under the authority of the Roman Pontiff.
It can be found at Catholic Online here.
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Here Come the Anglicans: Opening Chapter in the Coming Reunion of the Church
By Deacon Keith Fournier
1/29/2010
Catholic Online
Catholic Online
CHESAPEAKE, VA. (Catholic Online) – In a beautifully written, theologically astute, historically significant and warmly pastoral letter written to the faithful of the Traditional Anglican Communion, Archbishop John Hepworth invites them to enter into full communion by following the Apostolic Constitution and Norms offered by the Holy See. He concludes his letter (which we reprint in its entirety as a related story below) with this stirring summons:
“I believe with all my heart that this is a work of God and an act of great generosity by Pope Benedict. The Anglican tradition that we treasure will only survive, I believe, across the generations yet to come if it discovers the protection of apostolic authority. It is my cherished wish that each of us can stand at the altar with our fellow Christians and receive the same Eucharistic Christ. That is the ultimate test of unity. In the centuries since the church in the West became fractured there has been no offer such as the one that is now before us.”
When history records this moment, Archbishop John Hepworth of the Traditional Anglican Communion will be a vital part of the story. Men of prophetic stature are never perfect, they are humble and holy. They simply show a willingness to be perfected by the Lord whom they love. They allow the mistakes and difficulties of life to become the tutors of time. They respond in their brokenness to the invitation of history being written by the One who broke into history to transform it from within. Archbishop Hepworth has done that throughout this historic process.
I have followed the formal request of the Traditional Anglican Communion for full communion with the Catholic Church from the very beginning. I persisted in covering it after many news sources, including Catholic ones, dismissed the possibility that it would ever bring a positive response from Rome. We are dedicated to an authentically Catholic vision of ecumenism which recognizes the need for visible unity, with legitimate diversity, within the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church.
Well, the overture received more than a favorable response; it opened up the front door of the House. Such a welcome surprised many observers. Reading Archbishop Hepworth’s letter provides insights into why the Holy Father, inspired by the Holy Spirit, responded in such an historic manner. The original petition to Rome for full communion has never been released. It has now been made available by the Archbishop. We include the full text as a related article below this story. The petition was a work of the Holy Spirit, an example of humility and an act of love for the Lord and His One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church by these Christians of the Traditional Anglican Communion.
I have closely followed the movement of Anglican Clergy and lay faithful toward the safe harbor that is found in the Bark of Peter. We have grieved along with many of them as their own Christian community was torn asunder by the rejection of both orthodoxy and orthopraxy. It is my conviction that the influx of these Anglican Christians into the full communion of the Catholic Church is a gift to the Catholic Church. The depth of faith, life and worship found within the Catholic Church is sometimes not understood or even fully embraced by many of her own members. As a Deacon, I offer a series entitled “Catholic by Choice” geared toward instructing those who are often called “Cradle Catholics”. The term is inaccurate because no-one is born a Catholic. One is baptized into the Catholic Church and grows in that communion and its implications.
The Church is the Body of Christ, a communion. We live in the Church. The lifelong process of conversion unfolds as we partake of the graces which are mediated through her Sacraments, feed on the Holy Eucharist and receive the Living Word of God which has been entrusted to her. Contrary to some limited understandings of our age, Christianity is not about “Me and Jesus”. The Christian faith is about me and you - and the entire world - IN Jesus.
We now live our lives in a participation in the Trinitarian communion through our life in the communion of the Church. She is God’s great gift. The Church is not simply an organization, not “Some – Thing”, but “Some –One”, the Risen Body of Christ. We are called, in the Archbishops beautiful closing words in his letter to “make our home” within her.
As the Risen Body of Christ we continue the redemptive mission of Jesus Christ our Head. We invite all men and women to come home. The Church, in the inspired words of the Apostolic Constitution which synthesize the teaching of the Second Vatican Council, is “an instrument of communion with God and of unity among all people.” It was never the Lord’s plan that His Body be divided.
Disunity,in the words of the Second Vatican Council which Archbishop Hepworth quotes, “openly contradicts the will of Christ, scandalizes the world, and damages that most holy cause, the preaching of the Gospel to every creature." It is the Lord’s plan that His Church be healed and come back into visible unity. These Anglican Christians have recognized this plan and responded with humility. They call us all to reflect upon our own understanding of our life within the One Church and the duty which our membership entails.
The Anglican Catholics will be a leaven that leavens the whole loaf of the Catholic Church. They will call us to be more faithful to our identity as Catholic Christians. They will help us rediscover the legitimate diversity within the bedrock unity we have in fidelity to the Magisterium, the teaching office, of the Catholic Church. We certainly must embrace orthodoxy (right teaching) and orthopraxy (right practice). However, we are a Church with many beautiful liturgical expressions and there is room for distinctives.
Many Catholics do not even know of the existence of differing liturgies within the One Catholic Church. As a Deacon, I have the privilege of serving at “Mass” (both Novus Ordo and extraordinary form) of the Western Rite. I also have permission to serve the beautiful “Divine Liturgy” of the Eastern or "Byzantine" Church. I have found in my diaconal ministry that many Catholics do not even know there are “Eastern” or “Byzantine” Catholics. They often do not know of our full recognition of the Orthodox Church or the movement toward the healing between Eastern and Western Christianity currently underway.
The Archbishops’ letter gives an insight into the meaning of the word Catholic for his readers, “I might add, lest there be any confusion, that I use the word Catholic Church as the formal entity headed by the Bishop of Rome, and which consists of a number of Rites, some in the East and some in the West, of which the Roman Rite is the most populous. In common conversation, of course, it is called the Roman Catholic Church in many parts of the world.”
The Apostolic Constitution for Anglicans seeking full communion and the norms which accompany it form a juridic structure which will integrate our brethren into full and visible unity with the One Catholic Church. It will also dramatically affect the ecclesial landscape of our Church going forward. This is the beginning of a new missionary age and the coming reunion of the Church. Breathing with both lungs, East and West, she will lead us into the future.
In the midst of the darkness of this hour the Catholic Church has done what she has done for over two millennia; shine the light of the Truth. The Church is not some optional organizational “extra” which we fashioned; she is the Body of Christ, the new world, the seed of the Kingdom to come, the place where all men and women can find their fulfillment and the path to authentic peace. She is God’s Plan for the whole human race. The prayer of the Son of God “May They Be One” (John 17) echoes. The Anglicans are coming and we should all say “Welcome Home”. This is the first chapter in the coming reunion of Christ’s One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church.
I usually do not participate in the seemingly endless New Years Day efforts to “predict” the future. However, this year, when Deal Hudson and my friends at Inside Catholic invited me to be a part of their “Predictions for 2010 by the InsideCatholic Staff and Friends” I decided to accept. Here is what I wrote:
“The promulgation of Anglicanorum Coetibus by Pope Benedict XVI is prophetic. The early fathers called the Church the "world reconciled": She is God's plan for the whole human race. The Pope of Christian unity has opened the door for the coming full communion of the Church. 2010 will be a year of amazing progress toward that end. Benedict has offered a Catholic vision for legitimate diversity within authentic orthodoxy and orthopraxy. The entry of these convinced Anglican Christians into full communion will contribute to the authentic renewal of the Catholic Church. It will hasten the accelerating move toward communion between the Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church. This work of the Holy Spirit will change the church -- and the world into which she is called -- in a way in which we have not seen in our lifetime.
We do not need a "conservative revolution" in the United States or in the West. We need a "Christian Revolution." It is from the Church that Western civilization was birthed. It is from the Church -- with her vision for the human person, the family, freedom, and a just society -- that the West will be re-birthed. Stay tuned.”
