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There is a parish near me that has been waiting for the ordinariate to be implemented. They hope to cross over soon. I am very interested to see what happens, as I love my Anglican heritage, and also the worldwide historic nature of my Catholic church. This may impact me in a personal way.

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Yeah, this overture was made by the Pope a few years ago, to the CoE. I think a mere trickle of maybe 50 priests went over?

 

There will be a few Episcopal churches that will join, but Episcopalians are highly unlikely to move en masse (heh, pun intended) to Rome.

 

If they were, I'd be converting. I appreciate the Anglican heritage, and I'm not Roman at all in my spiritual identity.

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The homophobia, pederasty and lack of transparency will pollute the Episcopalian church. Swell. This is a fringe of a fringe movement. I have always thought of the Episcopal church as the last sane voice before I jumped ship on the whole mess.

 

 

No, it won't. See my post above. :001_smile:

 

A few trad. churches will swim the Tiber, but most are not going to be interested.

 

Even if ECUSA did go by the wayside, there's always the Quakers (a.k.a., Friends). They're pretty accepting and even-keeled.

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It's just one parish, right? I ask because I had first read it to be that the Episcopalian church (as a whole) was merging with the Roman Catholic church, and then I read it more closely.

 

So far, it's just one church. And as has been expressed here, there are some which won't even consider joining at this time. To those who are less than thrilled, I have nothing at all against the Episcopal Church, I'm just so happy to see that we are finally beginning the process of becoming one as we were always meant to be. :)

 

I went to a wedding at an Episcopal Church many years ago, and I remember thinking then how much of the service was the same as the Catholic Mass.

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There is a parish near me that has been waiting for the ordinariate to be implemented. They hope to cross over soon. I am very interested to see what happens, as I love my Anglican heritage, and also the worldwide historic nature of my Catholic church. This may impact me in a personal way.

 

Dumb question. Is the Episcopal Church similar to The Church of England (Prince William's church)? Is that Anglican? I really enjoyed the lovely service when Will and Kate were married.

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Dumb question. Is the Episcopal Church similar to The Church of England (Prince William's church)? Is that Anglican? I really enjoyed the lovely service when Will and Kate were married.

 

It was the Church of England but after the American revolution there was a split (obviously. :)) and most of the Anglican churches moved to the Episcopal church of Scotland for ordination.

 

The Episcopal church is now in communion with the CoE.

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The homophobia, pederasty and lack of transparency will pollute the Episcopalian church. Swell. This is a fringe of a fringe movement. I have always thought of the Episcopal church as the last sane voice before I jumped ship on the whole mess.

 

Really? We're in the middle of a worldwide conflict in the Anglican communion on issues of homesexuality and women being ordained and it's appropriate to go off on Catholicism?

 

I love the Anglican church but we're not so perfect that we can be contemptuous of other denominations.

Edited by WishboneDawn
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It's just one parish, right? I ask because I had first read it to be that the Episcopalian church (as a whole) was merging with the Roman Catholic church, and then I read it more closely.

 

Yup, just one. Waaay too much is being made of this. Best to get informed about what's going on with the worldwide Anglican communion before celebrating this or hailing it as some sign of things to come.

 

There's currently some conflict between conservative and liberal elements, mostly in regards to the ordination of women and homosexuals. Most of the conflict is between western churches and African churches but there's also some within western nations and as a result some parishes have left the communion and a few have gone the the RC. The vast majority of us however are committed to staying, to working out our issues and aren't going anywhere (except the occasional RC or EO mass because of current efforts to seduce us by WTM members :D).

 

There are some very fundamental issues that will ensure most Anglican and Episcopalians won't be going anywhere.

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The homophobia, pederasty and lack of transparency will pollute the Episcopalian church. Swell. This is a fringe of a fringe movement. I have always thought of the Episcopal church as the last sane voice before I jumped ship on the whole mess.

 

[since things don't transfer well over the net, I'm going to preface this with a statement that it is heartfelt and not sarcastic]

 

Oh, Elizabeth - I'm so sorry that the church you knew is being split up. When pedophile-a-rama finally hit the major news during Pope John Paul's papacy, I just... threw up. I mean, we'd been pretty hit or miss Catholics anyway, but that was just a step too far.

 

I'd been teaching kid all about the concept of hypocrisy (!) - about how saying nothing was tacit agreement - and there we were, standing in Church. I still remember the day. There was sun streaming in through the left side of the chapel (pretty colors! she says in her best Ralph voice), and we stood up to say the Nicene Creed. I got as far as "We believe in one..." and then - bubkus. I just sat down and cried. I stared at that beautiful Mary statue and cried and cried and cried.

 

Now, I know "holy catholic and apostolic" means "holy universal and from the apostles", but you know what? Peter was an apostle, and he was the first pope. And the current pope, as popular as he was, wasn't doing a d@mn thing to put all of those bastards in prison.

 

And I got up and left.

 

 

 

My mother was horrified. I told her I'd be back when I saw smoke. And got an apology. And people in jail. Maybe.

 

 

 

So, fast forward. We got the man whom I dubbed the "Evil Santa". I was not convinced. (everyone I knew loved him - funnily enough, they now can't stand him, but I digress...) There were no press releases. No apologies. I kept checking the Vatican's website. And then a strange thing happened. Deep in the heart of google, on little blogs and hometown newspapers, I started to read about priests going to jail. Now, one would think being de-frocked first would be better, but actually, it isn't: as long as you have the collar, the Vatican owns your @ss.

 

Funny thing about this Pope Benedict: he's not into pressers. The big Irish thing? It was in the works for 2 years before it hit the press. And so it goes, all around the world. The former "papal bulldog" is now off the leash and has slowly been talking to victims, ordering priests turned over to authorities (no matter the statute of limitations), instituting massive programs for youth safety that organizations worldwide are emulating, and has completely over-hauled the seminary system. All without fanfare. Because what's the point in doing it if you're doing it for a pat on the back?

 

Oh, and he apologized. Repeatedly. Acknowledging that there is no apology on the planet that will ever be good enough.

 

--

 

I grew up within the "cult of JPII". Never really liked the guy. Now I kinda know why: he had the whole world at his feet, and he looked the other way. Most of the world doesn't like Benedict. They think he's a Nazi. They say he's too smart for his own good, that he's a hard @ss. Yeah, well. He's smart enough to figure out that we can't stop AIDS with a bandaid (we have to get the guys to stop going to the prostitutes and then infecting their wives). We can't stop world poverty with food aid (we have to empower people). We can't survive as a species if we keep killing ourselves. We can't survive as a species if we don't procreate. We all came from somewhere, and none of us can prove where that is, so we might as well have faith. All of us.

 

 

In my head that had something to do with your post.

 

 

asta

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Really? We're in the middle of a worldwide conflict in the Anglican communion on issues of homesexuality and women being ordained and it's appropriate to go off on Catholicism?

 

I love the Anglican church but we're not so perfect that we can be contemptuous of other denominations.

 

But... I personally think it is a good thing that there is at least a conversation going on regarding homosexuality and women being ordained. Unlike in the RC Church, where the answer is just no.

 

FTR: I left the Roman Catholic Church for the Episcopalian Church because of some of the issues that divide the two. I *love* the RC Church, and only really ever felt at home there, and really, really miss it. But there were some major theological issues I couldn't pass up. I'd be very upset if all Episcopalian Churches merged with Roman Catholic Church.

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I'd be very upset if all Episcopalian Churches merged with Roman Catholic Church.

 

Not going to happen. They might accept our married ministers but I doubt then MANY female ministers in my (Anglican) diocese, never mind our female bishop, would be welcomed with open arms.

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Asta,

 

I just want to say that I appreciate your post. It's a lot to think about.

I guess, as a summary, one can say that "There is nothing new under the sun." The world is fallen. Chuck Colson said in one of his books, that as Christians, it is our duty to try to make our existence here as much like "heaven on earth" as possible. (That's obviously a paraphrase). I think that righteous judgement is part of our responsibility. We must protect the weak.

 

Thanks for your post.

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The Orthodox Church, which just kept on keeping on while that whole reformation-thingy played out over there in the West. No need to re-form the original form. ;)

Orthodox Church had their own little re-formation some 500 years earlier, so not quite the original but at least they kept the Sacraments and most of the Truth.

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Really? We're in the middle of a worldwide conflict in the Anglican communion on issues of homesexuality and women being ordained and it's appropriate to go off on Catholicism?

 

I love the Anglican church but we're not so perfect that we can be contemptuous of other denominations.

 

To clarify , raised Catholic. On mother's side, literally several generations of Episcopalian ministers. Thus I do have an insider view on both that forms the basis of my opinion.

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[since things don't transfer well over the net, I'm going to preface this with a statement that it is heartfelt and not sarcastic]

 

Oh, Elizabeth - I'm so sorry that the church you knew is being split up. When pedophile-a-rama finally hit the major news during Pope John Paul's papacy, I just... threw up. I mean, we'd been pretty hit or miss Catholics anyway, but that was just a step too far.

 

I'd been teaching kid all about the concept of hypocrisy (!) - about how saying nothing was tacit agreement - and there we were, standing in Church. I still remember the day. There was sun streaming in through the left side of the chapel (pretty colors! she says in her best Ralph voice), and we stood up to say the Nicene Creed. I got as far as "We believe in one..." and then - bubkus. I just sat down and cried. I stared at that beautiful Mary statue and cried and cried and cried.

 

Now, I know "holy catholic and apostolic" means "holy universal and from the apostles", but you know what? Peter was an apostle, and he was the first pope. And the current pope, as popular as he was, wasn't doing a d@mn thing to put all of those bastards in prison.

 

And I got up and left.

 

 

 

My mother was horrified. I told her I'd be back when I saw smoke. And got an apology. And people in jail. Maybe.

 

 

 

So, fast forward. We got the man whom I dubbed the "Evil Santa". I was not convinced. (everyone I knew loved him - funnily enough, they now can't stand him, but I digress...) There were no press releases. No apologies. I kept checking the Vatican's website. And then a strange thing happened. Deep in the heart of google, on little blogs and hometown newspapers, I started to read about priests going to jail. Now, one would think being de-frocked first would be better, but actually, it isn't: as long as you have the collar, the Vatican owns your @ss.

 

Funny thing about this Pope Benedict: he's not into pressers. The big Irish thing? It was in the works for 2 years before it hit the press. And so it goes, all around the world. The former "papal bulldog" is now off the leash and has slowly been talking to victims, ordering priests turned over to authorities (no matter the statute of limitations), instituting massive programs for youth safety that organizations worldwide are emulating, and has completely over-hauled the seminary system. All without fanfare. Because what's the point in doing it if you're doing it for a pat on the back?

 

Oh, and he apologized. Repeatedly. Acknowledging that there is no apology on the planet that will ever be good enough.

 

--

 

I grew up within the "cult of JPII". Never really liked the guy. Now I kinda know why: he had the whole world at his feet, and he looked the other way. Most of the world doesn't like Benedict. They think he's a Nazi. They say he's too smart for his own good, that he's a hard @ss. Yeah, well. He's smart enough to figure out that we can't stop AIDS with a bandaid (we have to get the guys to stop going to the prostitutes and then infecting their wives). We can't stop world poverty with food aid (we have to empower people). We can't survive as a species if we keep killing ourselves. We can't survive as a species if we don't procreate. We all came from somewhere, and none of us can prove where that is, so we might as well have faith. All of us.

 

 

In my head that had something to do with your post.

 

 

asta

 

I agree. This pope has a spine and is a man of great courage . I appreciate your thoughtful and soul-baring post. You are what the Church should be.

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Orthodox Church had their own little re-formation some 500 years earlier, so not quite the original but at least they kept the Sacraments and most of the Truth.

 

We could debate that one all day long (as both sides say the other left)...but the difference is, even the RC admits to being the one to make changes. Therefore, the EO DID stay the same (we didn't add anything to the Creed, we didn't change the Baptism/Chrismation/Eucharist being done at once and served to infants, etc).

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Asta,

 

I just want to say that I appreciate your post. It's a lot to think about.

I guess, as a summary, one can say that "There is nothing new under the sun." The world is fallen. Chuck Colson said in one of his books, that as Christians, it is our duty to try to make our existence here as much like "heaven on earth" as possible. (That's obviously a paraphrase). I think that righteous judgement is part of our responsibility. We must protect the weak.

 

Thanks for your post.

 

Charles Colson, when in a position of power, abused his position, committed felonies, undermined the Constitution and helped put the United States through hell. His actions were as far away from creating a "heaven on earth" as possible. For me that history doesn't get washed away by his claim of being born again.

 

Bill

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We could debate that one all day long (as both sides say the other left)...but the difference is, even the RC admits to being the one to make changes. Therefore, the EO DID stay the same (we didn't add anything to the Creed, we didn't change the Baptism/Chrismation/Eucharist being done at once and served to infants, etc).

 

Or, one could just sit back and recognize that the Holy Spirit worked all of this out eons before any of us were born... and that we all just have a different role to play for the plan to come to fruition.

 

 

a

 

 

(who had a rather large shakabuku moment this week)

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Charles Colson, when in a position of power, abused his position, committed felonies, undermined the Constitution and helped put the United States through hell. His actions were as far away from creating a "heaven on earth" as possible. For me that history doesn't get washed away by his claim of being born again.

 

Bill

 

Blech.

 

I'd never heard of him. I just looked him up. I'm all for reforming oneself, but I don't buy the heaven on earth thing from someone who was essentially a US version (born again!) of Adolf Eichmann. Ya gotta have a center.

 

As Minnie Driver's character says in Grosse Pointe Blank: "There are things you do not do."

 

 

a

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Re: the pope- I don't understand the hatred of him, I think he's amazing. Utterly amazing.

 

I agree. And I feel the same about Blessed John Paul. I'm at a loss for how to respond to anything in this thread. If either of them were political figures instead of religious ones, some of these posts probably wouldn't be acceptable. It seems the Catholic Church is fair game for anything. And it's not only people outside the faith, as many of us within do a pretty good job too.

 

 

.

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I would hope so! It would be weird if he was! :001_smile:

 

 

a

 

Well, to some people, he's a Big Deal. Especially, weirdly enough, to many non-Catholics. I have a few Baptist friends, who are always going on about the Pope and how he's the anti-Christ and all that. It's kind of funny how they feel so strongly about him, that they end up giving him a great deal of relevance by virtue of all the energy and emotion they spend hating him.

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