Apostolicae Curae is not our problem- it’s theirs Part Two

By now it ought to be obvious that ecumenical dialogue between Rome and the Canterbury Communion has become a mere polite formality with no goal, no real purpose. The Church of England, the Episcopal Church, and other trendy Anglican churches have turned around to face the other way, taking the road to Porvoo and unity with Protestants. This is because no longer do they have serious talks about becoming one Church with the Orthodox, as they once did. And, no longer is “eventual reunion” with Rome a realistic idea- not even a dream. They chose women’s “ordination” as a higher priority than the reuniting of Catholic Christendom.

What does that have to do with Apostolicae Curae, the 1896 Bull of Leo XIII that declared Anglican Orders to be “absolutely null and utterly void” due to specific deficiencies? Probably only this: The conclusion has never been rescinded by Rome. To do so would be too dangerous. But, what about Anglican Orders? Do we of the various Continuing Anglican bodies recognize Anglican Orders? Yes, but not all of them. We will return to that later.

A SOLUTION FOR ROMAN CATHOLICS

Over the years many self-appointed apologists have argued in many Blogs and other venues against the validity of Anglican orders by using the reasons listed in Apostolicae Curae. This is both annoying and embarrassing. One can only roll his eyes, and ask, “but don’t you know that every point you just made has been answered already, in 1897, by the Archbishops of England?" The document Saepius Officio has already laid to rest the arguments of Apostolicae Curae.
If the practice of the Holy See was simply to make infallible pronouncements, as the uneducated wrongly suppose, the reasons for their statements would be clouded in mystery. But, they argue and give reason for every decision, using the occasion to teach. This practice seems commendable, because the human mind is not treated with contempt, and their faithful are, indeed, taught: the old “pray, pay and obey” line is a vicious slander. The Holy See is very careful to educate, to honor the mind and conscience of the faithful.

For this reason, Apostolicae Curae concluded after making a very strong argument. However, for those who take the time to read Saepius Officio, only one conclusion is both logical and reasonable: Apostolicae Curae contains a lot of non-sense. It makes its arguments from a combination of errors about history and about the Anglican practice of the time- the last part being quickly spotted by anyone who had a Book of Common Prayer, or who had witnessed Ordination (or Consecration) in an Anglican Church. The mistakes in Apostolicae Curae are not only wrong- they are embarrassingly wrong. In 1945 Dom Gregory Dix strengthened the Anglican position by his book The Question of Anglican Orders: Letters to a Laymen.
However, because of precedent, the Roman Catholic Church is stuck with a piece of “scholarship” that would earn any student a well-qualified “F.” And, that is not our problem- that is, it is not the problem of Traditionalist Anglicans. However, I can offer a solution. One can live with the truth about Pope Leo XIII’s Bull, and yet be a good Catholic who believes in Papal Infallibility, even the lowest, or third kind that is not spoken Ex Cathedra, and is based on something less than revelation (see Part One). But first, a few more things should be clarified.

The self-appointed apologists, mentioned above, would love it if the Anglican answer had been to argue with the Roman Catholic teaching on what priesthood is. Indeed, the earlier edition of The Catholic Encyclopedia made a passing attempt to give such an impression by saying that the Anglican response had been simply to assert that the nature of the priesthood was basically pastoral, and not sacramental. That was a good try, but simply not true, as we have seen in Saepius Officio. It is, rather, significant that the Anglican response is based upon the assumption that Rome and Anglicanism have the exact same beliefs about the priesthood (and that this is true is demonstrated in the document- not by citing the private opinions of Anglican deviants, but by citing the chief Formulary itself, the Preface to the Ordinal and prayers from that Ordinal, which was the Ordinal used for the disputed Parker Consecration). The Anglicans did, however, regard it as a deficiency in Apostolicae Curae that no mention was made at all of the pastoral work of the priesthood, or of teaching. However, they made it clear that they were not rejecting the wider meaning of priesthood. The problem for Roman Catholics from Saepius Officio is that the Anglican position was not to argue with the Roman Catholic theology of priesthood and of the Apostolic Succession of bishops, but to accept that theology as commonly held faith.

So, how does one accept the facts about Apostolicae Curae and remain a good Roman Catholic? The answer is very simple, so simple that it embarrasses me to point it out. The errors of Apostolicae Curae are not errors about faith and morals, but about history. And, the Magesterium of the Roman Catholic Church does not claim to be infallible about history, science, archeology, economics- or even about readi’, ritin’ and ‘rithmetic. The conclusion of Apostolicae Curae is wrong, because every argument that led to that conclusion is wrong. But, the theology of the Bull is not in error.

THE REAL PROBLEM OF ANGLICAN ORDERS

However, maybe the Holy Spirit was guiding the Holy See even in the mistaken history of that Bull. Not that its conclusion was right, but that it may be good for Roman Catholics today to beware the orders of most of the trendy, Western or westernized Anglican churches. As the ECUSA, the Church of England, the Church of Canada, New Zealand, etc. rush over the cliff of heresy like nice religious lemmings, the further away from that crowd the better- for all of us. At this time we should not consider the “ordinations” of the trendy Canterbury churches to be valid. The Intention of the sacrament of Orders has been corrupted ever since women were first “ordained.” And, things have only gotten worse, to a point now that seems to be beyond hope for recovery. It is no accident that we have a feast day for the Preservation of the American Episcopate. Therefore, Continuing Anglicans of the Saint Louis Affirmation churches ought to be very clear about such “orders” as those of the ECUSA, as it has morphed into what it is now- at this time those orders are null and utterly void.