"That they may be one!"

The prayer of Jesus in John 17:21 is the TRUE MEANING of ecumenism.

And Pope Benedict XVI is the Pope of Christian Unity.

His visit to Westminster Abbey is just that.

Note that he is wearing the stole of Pope Leo XIII.  Do you know Apostolicae curae?

Well, you should read it.  :)

BREAKING!!! Rowan Williams to step down on December 2012!

BBC broke the news after the Archbishop's official website posted his official statement.

This is the official release in the Canterbury Archbishopric website:

Archbishop Rowan Williams has today announced his acceptance of the position of Master of Magdalene College, Cambridge with effect from January 2013. He will therefore be stepping down from the office of Archbishop of Canterbury at the end of December 2012.

Dr Williams’ intentions have been conveyed to The Queen, who is Supreme Governor of the Church of England and who formally appoints the Archbishop of Canterbury.

Dr Williams was appointed the one hundred and fourth Archbishop of Canterbury in 2002. He said today:

It has been an immense privilege to serve as Archbishop of Canterbury over the past decade, and moving on has not been an easy decision. During the time remaining there is much to do, and I ask your prayers and support in this period and beyond. I am abidingly grateful to all those friends and colleagues who have so generously supported Jane and myself in these years, and all the many diverse parishes and communities in the Church of England and the wider Anglican Communion that have brought vision, hope and excitement to my own ministry. I look forward, with that same support and inspiration, to continuing to serve the Church’s mission and witness as best I can in the years ahead.

Dr Williams will continue to carry out all the duties and responsibilities of the Archbishop of Canterbury, both for the Church of England and the Anglican Communion, until the end of the year.

The Crown Nominations Commission will consider in due course the selection of a successor.

***

His resignation came 6 days after meeting the Holy Father.

Did he tell the Holy Father about this? Hmmm....

Episcopalians sought to honor Pelagius

Oh and Pelagius is a heretic, by the way.

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R11-7
Contributions of Pelagius

Whereas the historical record of Pelagius’s contribution to our theological tradition is shrouded in the political ambition of his theological antagonists who sought to discredit what they felt was a threat to the empire, and their ecclesiastical dominance, [Ever heard of the term "It is a way for the all-male Vatican leadership who hides in their palaces to dominate us who work with the poor and the oppressed!  They are not as PASTORAL as us!" -  Yup, this is it.]  and whereas an understanding of his life and writings might bring more to bear on his good standing in our tradition, and whereas his restitution as a viable theological voice within our tradition might encourage a deeper understanding of sin, grace, free will, and the goodness of God’s creation, [Because Pelagius taught that man does not need Divine Grace to do good works.  Yup that'll enrich the dying Epsicopalian Church!]  and whereas in as much as the history of Pelagius represents to some the struggle for theological exploration that is our birthright as Anglicans, [like women ordination, homosexual "marriage"... keep on exploring.  You'll find more in hell.] Be it resolved, that this 105th Annual Council of the Diocese of Atlanta appoint a committee of discernment overseen by our Bishop, to consider these matters as a means to honor the contributions of Pelagius and reclaim his voice in our tradition And be it further resolved that this committee will report their conclusions at the next Annual Council.

Submitted by the Rev. Benno D. Pattison, Rector, the Church of the Epiphany

***

To our Episcopalian Brothers, there is Anglicanorum coetibus.

Try it.  It's waaaaayyy far better than this stupidity.

UK taking a second look at Anti-Catholic law

They finally noticed!

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London, England, Oct 14, 2011 / 08:11 pm (CNA).- The Catholic Church in the United Kingdom is giving a mixed reaction to plans to reform the centuries old law that prevents the British monarch from being Catholic or marrying a Catholic.

“The Act of Settlement amounts to iniquitous anti-Catholic discrimination,” said Peter Kearney, spokesman for the Catholic Bishops of Scotland. [At least they finally noticed!]

The U.K. Prime Minister, David Cameron, revealed this week that he has written to the 15 other Commonwealth states where Queen Elizabeth is head of state with a view to reforming the Act of Settlement, which has been in force since 1701.

“This rule is a historical anomaly - it does not, for example, bar those who marry spouses of other faiths - and we do not think it can continue to be justified,” wrote Cameron.

However, the proposal does not include lifting the ban on Catholics ascending to the throne. The reason offered for this is that, upon coronation, the British monarch automatically becomes the Supreme Governor of the Church of England.  [unless the monarch avails of the provision of Anglicanorum coetibus.]

“While a partial repeal is welcome, the continuing ban on a Catholic becoming head of state remains state-sponsored sectarianism,” Kearney told CNA Oct. 14.

Prime Minister Cameron is due to discuss his proposal with fellow Commonwealth leaders when they meet at a summit in Perth, Australia, later this month. Already the Prime Minister of Canada, Stephen Harper, has said he will support the reform.

The Act of Settlement was originally passed to prevent the descendants of the Catholic King James II from ascending the throne. He was deposed in the 1688 “Glorious Revolution” by supporters of the Protestant William and Mary. Mary was the eldest Protestant daughter of James II and was married to William of Orange, who later became William III.

In recent years, the Act has affected several members of the British royal family.

In 2001, Lord Nicholas Windsor, the youngest son of the Duke and Duchess of Kent, permanently forfeited his right to the royal succession by converting to Catholicism.  [But for Wales?!]

In 2008, Autumn Kelly, the Canadian fiancée of the Queen’s grandson Peter Philips, renounced her Catholicism in favor of Anglicanism, thus preserving her husband’s slim chances of becoming king. He is currently 11th in line to the throne.  [But for Wales?!]

The U.K. Prime Minister’s other proposals for reforming the monarchy include ending the current preference given to male heirs over their older sisters.

“We espouse gender equality in all other aspects of life and it is an anomaly that in the rules relating to the highest public office we continue to enshrine male superiority,” wrote Cameron.  [how about homosexual Prince of Wales?  Shall he be Queen regnant soon?  Bad joke.]

***

Because it is ok to be prejudiced against Catholics.

Hmmm....just in case the monarch converts to another religions like Catholicism, what happens?

Hmmm...Head of the Church of England and subject to the Pope?

First US Episcopalian parish received into the Catholic Church!

That is Cardinal Donald Wuerl of Washington anointing the Rev. Mark Lewis, the former rector of St. Luke’s Episcopal Parish in Bladensburg, Maryland during his Confirmation and members of his parish at the Crypt of the National Basilica of the Immaculate Conception.

He came in last symbolic of his role as shepherd of the community. "A good shepherd must be sure his flock gets through the gate" he said.

“We considered ourselves a Catholic parish to begin with,” said Lewis, the former pastor. “We aligned ourselves much more closely with Catholic theology than Protestant theology. If you really weren’t a student of religion, you would say nothing has really changed. What’s taking place is internal. Becoming Roman Catholic was a natural progression of our faith.”

One interesting note is that at the basilica, the parishioners stood to receive Holy Communion which is unusual for them since at St. Luke’s, they usually receive kneeling.

Yup, you are right Doc Ben. Sometimes, those who are not Catholics are MORE CATHOLICS than those who call themselves Catholics.

RH Catholics come into mind? How about Catholic priests who HATE parishioners kneeling for Communion and receiving only on the tongue?

SARS! Yeah, you wish. There's no more health scare, WHY NOT STOP COMMUNION IN THE HAND?!?!

But I digress. But still it was worth it, eh?

And if you ask the theologians at MST, SVST and Euntes...

Nah! You don't need that! You can be saved in any creed you want to believe in. As in ANY! As long as you love one another and save Mother Earth. Huwah!

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Read more about this wonderful news by clicking here.

Canadian Anglicans voted to come back home to Rome!

From Canterbury Tales:

A recent meeting of leaders in the Anglican Catholic Church of Canada (ACCC) voted to unite with the Roman Catholic Church through the Apostolic Constitution created by Pope Benedict XVI. 

The ACCC, part of the Continuing Anglican Movement, is made up of more than two dozen congregations. Its Eighth Provincial Synod and Thirteenth Diocesan Synod were held simultaneously at the Rosemary Heights Retreat Center in Surrey, British Columbia. 

The website VirtueOnline.org published a letter from Dean Shane B. Janzen detailing the event.

ALLELUIA!!!

Read more by visiting Canterbury Tales of Taylor Marshal.

More US Episcopalians moving to the Catholic Church

From Fox News

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The Rev. Mark Lewis now offers a prayer every Sunday morning that centuries ago would have been considered an homage to the enemy. It's a prayer for the bishop of Rome, the pope and all the Catholic bishops and priests.  [Are our dissident theologians even doing this?  Can't help myself.  Gotta squeeze that in.  Ha!]

Lewis chants, "For Benedict our Pope ... Let us prayer to the Lord."

And the congregation sings its answer, "Lord, have mercy."

The distinctly Roman Catholic offering is the outward sign of an inner spiritual journey. St. Luke's Church in Bladensburg, Md., will become later this year the first American Episcopal Parish to convert to Catholicism, Anglicanism's one-time nemesis. [And Bingo was his name-o!]

"What really drew us was the apostolic authority, the oneness of the faith of the people," Lewis said "That's what we really wanted, and I don't think you have that in Anglicanism."

Ironically, what is driving St. Luke's to Roman Catholicism is what split the church in the first place: the issue of authority.  [The very same issue that theologians in MST, SVST and Euntes are raising yet the Episcopalians are being drawn to.  Ironic, eh, Dr. Jose de Mesa?]

Nearly 500 years ago, Britain’s King Henry VIII broke with Rome in a dispute involving his wish to divorce his wife, Catherine of Aragon, and marry his young mistress, Anne Boleyn.  [It was not an issue of authority.  It was an issue of Henry wanting to produce an heir.  This is not a doctrinal or moral matter.  Marriage is the issue.  Henry wanted divorce which is against what Christ said.]

A showdown forced England's clergy to choose sides, with the king demanding to know if the British bishops and Cardinals were more loyal to him or to the Pope.  [Which is the same issue that the Communist Party in China are using against bishops and priests loyal to Rome.]

Lives and heads were literally lost in the ensuing theological and political clash. [Like Sts Thomas More and John Fisher, which ironically, the Church of England honors.] In its wake, The Church of England was born, with the sitting monarch as its head, a structure still in place today.

The American version, the Episcopal church, was the faith of many of the founding fathers, including President George Washington. [a high ranking Mason.]

Today, the Episcopal Church, with nearly 1.5 million members, is one of thousands of Christian denominations in the U.S. Its recent conflicts over the ordination of gays and women and the blessing of same-sex unions have caused some congregations to seek more conservative branches.  [Issues which liberals in Europe, in America and in some quarters here in the Philippines wanted.]

But that was not an option for St. Luke's. Lewis says he felt that the same problem would persist. There was no authority concerning who would have the final interpretation of scripture over the most controversial issues the church is facing.  [No final authority.  Issues which these dissident theologians in MST, SVST and Euntes raise.  They challenge the authority of the Pope so those who listen to them, well, will only follow their teaching.  They hate the authority of the Church so they can be the AUTHORITY.]


"Anglicanism is Anglicanism," Lewis said. "So it doesn't matter if you go to a more conservative group like the Anglican Church in North America or any of the others that are around. It's still the faith of this body here. (It) doesn’t necessarily mean it's the same in Nigeria or Sierra Leone or any other outlet."

In 2009, Pope Benedict XVI created a special Ordinariate, a path through which Anglicans could reconcile with Rome and come back to the Roman Catholic flock. In some circles it's been called the religious equivalent of sheep stealing.  [Did he grab them?  The lost sheep went back to the fold, instead.]

The Rev. Scott Hurd, who's assisting Washington's Cardinal Donald Wuerl to create the new Anglican Ordinariate, disagrees with the implication, saying, "This initiative is a response to repeated and insistent requests from Anglican groups. So it's not a matter of stealing sheep. It's more a matter of opening the door for people who have been seeking to come in for some time." [Like what I stated.]

In the last few years, bitter legal battles over property have erupted in the American Episcopal church when conservative congregations sought to leave and be led by more orthodox Anglicans groups. But St. Luke's transition was essentially given a blessing by the Washington Diocese's Bishop John Bryson Chane.

"Christians move from one church to another with far greater frequency than in the past, sometimes as individuals, sometimes as groups," Chane said in a written statement. "I was glad to be able to meet the spiritual needs of the people and priest of St. Luke's in a way that respects the tradition and polity of both of our churches."

Under the terms of the agreement, St. Luke's congregation will have three years to either buy its current building or move elsewhere.

That especially pleases its 100 members, who are mostly West African immigrants like Gloria Deigh, from Sierra Leone.

Deigh is happy to convert, saying, "I like it. To me, it's like going home. That's where the original church was. We are all one."

Parishioner Randy King says for him the conversion brings needed certainty.

"We have a church that doesn't change. [Oh my.  MST, SVST and Euntes would call this "being stuck in the past."  "too medieval"...] We don't have to worry one day or the other what is going to be said from the pulpit."  [This is happening also in our Masses, right?  I think they'll be safe since they will be in the Ordinariate and not in any of the kumbaya parishes we have.]

Over the next few months, members of St. Luke's will attend catechism classes to learn more about the Catholic faith and the its doctrines. [This is such a blessing since we do not have this in our parishes nowadays, right?  If you do, please state your name and parish and the schedule of Catechism classes.] Then in October they will be formally confirmed into the Roman Catholic Church -- what Lewis calls the return of the prodigal son. [Beautiful analogy!]


"We drifted away and now we want to come home," he said, "and I am just thankful that we have the opportunity to do so."


***

These people see the need to be with the Catholic Church, the one true fold that Christ Himself founded and left in the care of the apostles under the leadership of Peter.

And yet you hear Modernist nuns and priests telling you that you do not have to be in the Church to be saved.

Just be a good person and your done.

Much like cooking instant noodles, eh?

"Learn from me from I am humble and gentle of heart." says Christ, all for nothing since if you believe the Modernists, you just be good and do not learn from Christ Himself.

Welcome back home brothers and sisters!

Tell the dissidents in our Church about your story, and bring them back home as well.

They been drifters for way too long.

Can you mind your own business

This makes me wonder...

What does an Episcopalian priest have anything to do with the liturgy of the Roman Catholic Church?


When does his opinion matter on anything about the Catholic Church when he is not even a Catholic or even shows any interest of becoming one?

That is Rev. Cody C. Unterseher is Priest Associate and former Theologian in Residence at Christ Episcopal Church, Bronxville, NY.


I think Unterseher should just go and swim the Tiber and come home just like most Anglicans are doing right now.

But what he is doing is scratching the back of another ranting liturgist named Anthony Ruff, OSB of that ho-hum liturgy blog Pray Tell.

In it he gives his opinion on the coming translation of the Roman Missal!

What's next for him, giving his two cents worth about the Dalai Lama and about reincarnation?

Talk about barber shop talk!

Anglican Evening Prayer!

From Doc Ben Vallejo of Anglican Use in the Philippines blog comes this wonderful news:

TheAnglican Evening Prayer has finally been approved to be held inside a Roman Catholic church or chapel thanks to the generosity of the Bishop of Cubao, Most Rev. Honesto Ongtioco!

You can read more about the Evening Prayer by heading over to his blog.

Brick by brick...step by step!

Going gaga over the Ordinariate!

The 3 former Anglican bishops will be ordained to the Catholic priesthood...and they have an online magazine!!!

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Visit the online magazine by clicking here.


The Ordinariate also has its own blog:  http://ordinariateportal.wordpress.com/

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3 Anglican Bishops to Be Ordained Saturday

LONDON, JAN. 13, 2011 (Zenit.org).- The first responses to Benedict XVI's 2009 invitation to Anglicans in "Anglicanorum Coetibus" are beginning to take shape.

Today, former Anglican Bishops Andrew Burnham, John Broadhurst and Keith Newton became Catholic deacons, and on Saturday [today, January 15, Feast of St. Arnold Janssen founder of the SVD Family] they will be ordained Catholic priests.

The first "personal ordinariate" is being born, though its official birth awaits a decree from the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith and the Holy Father's naming of an ordinary.

The possibility of this ecclesiastical structure is outlined in "Anglicanorum Coetibus." It is designed for groups of Anglicans and Anglican pastors who wish to be received into full communion with the Catholic Church. It is expected that further ordinariates will be established around the world to respond to the desire of those Anglican communities who also seek full communion with the Catholic Church. [In the Philippines....nah!]

A free monthly online magazine is following the birth of this first ordinariate.

Titled The Portal, the magazine will be published on the first of each month, and is designed for those in the U.K. ordinariate, those Anglicans who are interested in the ordinariate, and all Catholic friends of the ordinariate. It is receiving financial support from The Catholic League and Cost of Conscience, and it defines itself as "an independent review in the service of the ordinariate."

The first issue is now available online.

The 12-page review features a profile of Deacons Burnham, Broadhurst and Newton, as well as an interview with Auxiliary Bishop Alan Hopes of Westminster, a former Anglican priest who became Catholic 17 years ago, and who has been charged with setting up the ordinariate. It announces that future issues -- "hopefully from February onwards" -- will include a reflection from the ordinary, whom the Pontiff has yet to name.

Contributors Jackie Ottaway and Ronald Crane -- described in the staff box as "Anglicans exploring the ordinariate" -- spoke with Bishop Hopes. He told them he expects between 50 and 60 priests and 30 and 40 groups to "move over." But, he added, "We are not in the numbers game."

Father Peter Geldard, Catholic chaplain of the University in Canterbury, will write a column for the Portal. He notes how he served as a priest in the Church of England for 23 years and worked with Cardinal Basil Hume, late archbishop of Westminster, to try to create a possibility for groups of Anglicans to be received into full communion with the Catholic Church. That possibility only became a reality with Benedict XVI's document, and Father Geldard, and those who shared his views, were received individually into the Catholic Church.

Drawing from his personal history in the process of Anglican-Catholic relations, he calls the beginning of the ordinariate the "most exciting ecumenical event to have ever occurred in my lifetime."

***

This is the TRUE aim of Ecumenism.

Not to make our Catholic beliefs and rituals, Protestant!

Get that St. Vincent School of Theology?

Get that Euntes?

Get that Maryhill School of Theology?

Now can we here something from the CBCP about this?

................................................................................


Those dots would go on and on and on because they simply DO NOT CARE!

Anglicanorum coetibus might incite violence against Catholics

Well, that was based on the assessment of the British ambassador to the Vatican after the release of Anglicanorum coetibus. And this was also based on the document uploaded by Wikileaks.

The report below is according to the Telegraph.

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The Pope's offer to Anglicans to convert to Catholicism risked inciting discrimination and even violence towards Catholics in Britain, according to leaked US diplomatic cables.

The confidential reports claimed that the British ambassador to the Vatican believed relations with the Holy See as being at "their worst crisis in 150 years".

It followed Pope Benedict XVI's special dispensation to disaffected Anglicans who are against the ordination of women priests to turn to the Catholic faith. He said they could convert in groups while retaining their own leadership and some of their rites in a body called an Ordinariate.

After a meeting between the Pope and the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, in November 2009 British ambassador Francis Campbell told a US diplomat that "Anglican-Vatican relations were facing their worst crisis in 150-years as a result of the pope's decision".

He also described the meeting between the two men as "at times awkward".

The claims were among the latest tranche of cables to be published by whistleblowing site WikiLeaks.

Mr Campbell, a Catholic, made his comments during a conversation with Julieta Valls Noyes, the American deputy chief of mission to the Holy See.

He was speaking to her at a dinner held in the Archbishop's honour attended by senior Vatican officials following his meeting with the Pope.

A cable sent shortly afterwards relayed his remarks.

Mr Campbell also said: "The crisis is worrisome for England's small, mostly Irish-origin, Catholic minority. There is still latent anti-Catholicism in some parts of England and it may not take much to set it off."

He warned: "The outcome could be discrimination or in isolated cases, even violence, against this minority."

The cable continued: "The Vatican decision seems to have been aimed primarily at Anglicans in the US and Australia, with little thought given to how it would affect the centre of Anglicanism, England, or the archbishop of Canterbury. [You think?] Benedict XVI, Campbell said, had put Williams in an impossible situation. [Well, Williams is doing the impossible...NOTHING.] If Williams reacted more forcefully, he would destroy decades of work on ecumenical dialogue; by not reacting more harshly, he has lost support among angry Anglicans."

The cables are among a number of dispatches from America's Vatican embassy which have been released by the website WikiLeaks.

They also disclosed that the Vatican was angry that officials had been called from Rome to testify before an Irish commission investigating child abuse by priests and had refused to allow them to go. [You think?]

The reports also claimed the Pope was responsible for the Vatican's resistance to Turkey joining the EU and wanted a reference to Europe's "Christian roots" included in the EU constitution.  [I am getting tired at this....YOU THINK?!]

***

Even if the pope did not issue Anglicanorum coetibus, life of being a Catholic is hard these days.

Do you agree?

Well, personally, I live in the Philippines, a Catholic country, but I work with a boss who boasts of being educated by Jesuits, but who hates going to Mass and would rather golf on Sundays, and would openly criticize the moral authority of the Church. And worst of all, he would claim that our image of who God is, the makings of theologians who have nothing to do with their lives.

As a Catholic and a Knight of Columbus who's personal motto as a knight is "Credo, ego sum.", how do you expect I am feeling right now?

With a media soooo up against the neck of the Church, you think faithful Catholics are not facing a form of harassment and violence these days?

And no thanks to bishop, priests and nuns who dress like Catholics but are like termite who works to tear the Church up from the inside...

Geez, what a rant filled Monday!

Traditional Anglican leader expects 150 clergy to become Catholic

EWTN News posted the news about the deluge of Traditional Anglicans who will cross the Tiber to take advantage of the Apostolic Constitution, Anglicanorum coetibus, and how Primate John Hepworth expects 150 Anglican clergymen to join the Ordinariate.  Their departure was caused by the Anglican Communion's decision to ordain women even if Christ Himself did not do so!  And add to that the Anglican Communion's decision to ordain an openly gay bishop.

This is the true ecumenism folks!  Pope Benedict IS the Pope of Christian Unity!

And I wonder why the CBCP is silent about this.  Last I heard was that an old liturgist, who sells books and conducts Liturgical Research, wanted us to be more Lutheran in liturgy than Catholic in the way the Mass should be celebrated.  Hey, he called Martin Luther, a heretic, "the great reformer"!

But as I see it, the Anglicans want to be Catholic in Faith but Anglican in liturgy and life.

This is the way to go!

Ordinariate for Australia by Easter!

Zenit has just reported that the Ordinariate for Australian Episcopalians wanting to take advantage of the provision of Anglicanorum coetibus could be created by Easter 2011.

Bishops of England and Wales announced that  an ordinariate would be established there as early as January

Read more about this breaking news here.

Welcome home brothers and sisters!

And Mabuhay, Pope Benedict XVI, the Pope of Christian Unity.

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PS:  I am wondering if there are any moves from the Pinoy bishops related to this.  Hmmmm...