Ut Unum Sint

The Big News (maybe more than it should be) that has gotten the religious and anti-religious crowds all a-twitter is the recent announcement of the "personal ordinariate" which smooths the way for Anglicans to convert en masse to Catholicism.

Anti-Catholic and irreligious groups clearly Don't Get It (TM). So-called news stories and opinion pieces say things like:

• "[CM] Pope Benedict's latest bid to expand the conservative wing of the Roman Catholic Church" and
• "[DR] Progressive policies within churches often result in some of the faithful changing denominations, but this move is unprecedented, primarily because it relaxes some doctrines deeply held by Catholics."
  
• and even the AP: "designed to entice traditionalists opposed to women priests, openly gay clergy and the blessing of same-sex unions."

The last one is so openly hostile to Catholicism and traditional beliefs that it defies belief; the first two examples can be forgiven for being "opinion pieces", but Nicole Winfield of the AP isn't even pretending to be an "objective" journalist.

The Pope and the Vatican aren't "fishing in other people's ponds" as some have claimed. These Anglicans, especially the TAC, came knocking on the door for several years asking to be let in en mass. The Church's job was to find a way to make that happen.

The claim that the move "relaxes some doctrines deeply held by Catholics" is bogus. These people wouldn't know a doctrine if it bit them in the rear. Doctrine, dogmas, and disciplines of the Church are 3 very different things.

Most of these yahoo pundits have only ever encountered the Latin Rite (the largest) and so don't realize that the Universal (i.e. Catholic) Church has many expressions and traditions, but only 1 set of beliefs. Other rites allow married priests, etc. Nobody is getting a pass on transubstantiation, sacraments, male-only priesthood, Marian theology, salvific grace or any other "deeply held belief". These critics are mistaking the icing for the cake.

The clear and obvious fallacies stem from an understanding of religion as a political action, social movement, or mere preference. They view it from a mindset of a means to power. It is power they love, and only power they understand.

Jesus prayed that we might all be one. This just helps that happen after so many years of division. That is what ecumenism means: we don't "dialogue" until we come to a compromise, the Catholic Church just helps you understand what the Truth actually is, so that you can accept it.

For more practical insight into the real difficulties facing potential Anglican converts, go have a look over at Father Longenecker's blog, since he IS a married Anglican convert and Catholic priest.