28 January 2011, House of Bishops
Leadership changes are presently taking place in the Anglican Church in America. In a recent teleconference, Archbishop Louis Falk announced his intention to retire as President of the ACA House of Bishops. A new president will be elected at the ACA House of Bishops meeting in April. The new president will be drawn from one of the current diocesan bishops.
In addition, Bishop Louis Campese has stepped down as Bishop Ordinary of the ACA Diocese of the Eastern United States, effective January 27, 2011. A new bishop will be elected to serve the DEUS at some point in the near future.
The Anglican Church in America extends heartfelt thanks to both Archbishop Falk and Bishop Campese. These two leaders have given much time and effort to the building of God's church. For nearly forty years, these two clergymen have provided leadership to the Continuing Anglican jurisdictions.
The Anglican Church in America will continue as it is presently constituted with approximately 80% of the parishes/missions remaining within the Church. During this time of transition, episcopal oversight is being provided by Bishops Marsh, Strawn and Williams to parishes and missions of the DEUS until a new bishop is elected.
Having resigned from his office as Ordinary of the Diocese of the Eastern United States of the Anglican Church in America, Bishop Louis Campese is now to serve as Ordinary of a new transitional structure, under the umbrella of the existing Patrimony of the Primate, designed to facilitate the movement of faithful clerics and groups from the deeply divided diocese into the anticipated personal ordinariate to be erected in the United States of America under the terms of Anglicanorum Coetibus. The new jurisdiction is called the "Pro-Diocese of the Holy Family," and, in a recent interview, Bishop Campese, stressed its temporary nature. The Pro-Diocese will have only a lightweight administration, designed solely to accomplish the mission of Christian Unity to which the bishops of the ACA committed themselves over three years ago. |
My analysis
First of all, it is difficult to imagine what kind of stress will exist among these ACA-or former ACA? members. Only recently, Mr. Campbell, one of Bishop Campese's loyal helpers, was accusing their Primate, Archbishop John Hepworth, of apostasy; now, he is under the "umbrella" of the "Patrimony of the Primate." So be it. Perhaps he has made his peace with their Primate. It is also quite tiresome to hear their mantra about "unity." A few hudred, or even a few thousand, people converting from a small denomination to a huge denomination cannot create universal Christian unity. After they have left one church for another, losing much they will miss, the same old divisions will remain in place.
Now, we must ask, why does this new "Pro-Diocese of the Holy Family" even exist?
It exists because the overwhelming majority of ACA members, along with the other three Diocesan bishops (Bishops Marsh, Strawn and Williams) have flatly refused to accept the so-called "generous offer" of the pope in Anglicanorum Coetibus. Therefore, some kind of structure has to be created for the tiny number of ACA churches that are trying to get under some kind of ordinariate when, or if, they ever really become a reality in the United States. For the Forward in Faith/ United Kingdom (FiF/UK) people in England, it has been easier to leave Anglicanism (in this case, the Church of England rather than Continuing Anglicanism) in order to go to Rome. After all, that was the very group for whom the new Roman constitution was designed. The numbers in the United States from the ACA are so small, however, that they might never justify the establishment of an ordinariate, leaving people who want to be Roman Catholic with only one option for conversion: The honest approach.
For the formerly FiF/UK folks, the establishment of Roman Catholicism with Elizabethan English and a protective Ordinary to make liturgy safe for "thees and thous"-apparently the true essence of Anglicanism and its "patrimony" for such deep theological thinkers-has been granted. For the Americans it may not be worth the effort, from Rome's point of view. This means, either they stay put or go join Roman Catholic parishes in their own neighborhoods without the comfortable delusion that they can be Anglican and Roman at the same time. With that illusion taken away, they would find themselves disillusioned.
We get an inkling of this in the post that follows on the Anglo-Roman blog:
When these two men [i.e. Bps. Falk and Campese] were in Rome in the early 1990's, along with (then) Father John Hepworth, they spoke with the Secretary of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity. They explained who they were and what their intentions were. They were, at that time, counseled by the Vatican to do certain things to break down the barriers that separated Anglicans from the Holy See, and thereby lead to the full communion they were seeking. First, they were told to grow. The TAC has done exactly that over the years, and though not all of the Churches in the ACA are yet choosing to follow through with accepting the offer of Anglicanorum Coetibus, growth has occurred (I have seen it firsthand). Many of those in the TAC who are not yet ready, may still decide later on to seek entrance into the Ordinariates, and they will be welcomed with open arms.
This helps to clear up some mysteries. For several years we have wondered why the TAC has been dishonest about its actual size. Lazy journalists have all too often simply copied and pasted the numbers as John Hepworth has alleged, never bothering to check facts. Therefore, the figure of 400,000 is oft repeated, or sometimes 700,000 (what's a few hundred thousand, give or take?), when in fact the grand total may have been, at one time, 50,000.
Furthermore, ever since this ordinariate business was announced, the TAC has been shrinking, both in the united States and to an even larger degree overseas. The ACA is holding together because three out of the four Diocesan bishops have said "no" to the Roman offer. Whereas the Anglo-Roman blog, and the pro-ordinariate party than runs it, are promising that Rome will accept them with open arms when they are "ready," the message, loud and clear, is "hell no, we won't go." The Anglo-Roman blog, run by people unwilling to accept that answer, tried to give it a spin: "though not all of the Churches in the ACA are yet choosing to follow through with accepting the offer of Anglicanorum Coetibus..." Not yet? Forgive the cliche', but what part of the word "no" do they not understand?
The TAC has not grown, but rather it has lost members, in fact in some countries it has lost whole dioceses. Feeling neglected for years, hampered and unable to grow because the TAC would not allow them to have dioceses with their own bishops, African churches have called on the Anglican Catholic Church and Archbishop Mark Haverland to help them. The churches in the Congo and Southern Africa, including the new Diocese of the Eastern Cape, are finally able to grow properly, to build churches and to ordain a workable number of men to the priesthood, because they have their own bishops and dioceses fully empowered for action, something Hepworth and company proved unwilling to supply to them.
And, before some misinformed person comments with the mistaken notion, "gee, the Continuers have more bishops than they need," the fact is, in Africa, they did not have bishops where they needed them. In those countries the Church can and should spread like wildfire simply by open preaching of the Gospel. In fact it has been growing through the efforts of its own locally grown Christians, but often without benefit of clergy. The TAC strategy was to ignore the need and the potential. Why? The evidence indicates that the work of God was allowed to suffer, the all important work of building the Church, for a reason mentioned on the "Anglo-Catholic" (or, Anglo-Roman) blog:
Thirdly, they were told [by Rome] not to elevate more men to the Episcopate than was absolutely necessary, and they have sought their utmost to do [sic] just that.
The problem is, in the Congo and in South Africa, elevation of men to the episcopate was indeed absolutely necessary. But, the evidence indicates that Hepworth was willing to let their needs go unmet in order to please the Roman officials. With my own ears I heard him brag, in the Summer of 2008, in Timonium Maryland, that he had put the African TAC priests in their place by telling them, "You are only one generation away from cannibalism and savagery." How nice.
The establishment of the "Pro-Diocese of the Holy Family" will keep the fires burning for a little while longer, and it will keep Bp. Louis Campese busy now that he has learned that his diocese will not follow him into acceptance of a possible future ordinariate. These pro-Roman TAC leaders could have spared themselves a lot of trouble if they had ever considered one burning question: Why would hundreds of people commit themselves to the principles of the Affirmation of St. Louis if what they really wanted was to become Roman Catholic?
Back when there was talk of some potential "inter-communion" most people were only too willing to accept the ecumenical implications of an orthodox Anglican body taking up where the official Canterbury communion had dropped the ball. But, as we have been saying all along, that is not what Anglicanorum Coetibus is; it is simply the newest sales pitch to try to gain converts to Rome from among the Anglicans. It would be simpler for those who wish to roam Romeward just to walk down to the corner, and join the Roman Catholic Church, even if they could no longer say "thees and thous."
Speaking as a former member of the TAC, I can say that the rose-coloured glasses fell off for me when I was no longer able to convince myself (and oh how I tried to convince myself!) that accepting "Anglicanorum Coetibus" was anything other than conversion. At that point I was once again confronted by all the old, insuperable obstacles that the prospect of conversion had raised in previous episodes of Roman fever - such as the acceptance of certain, at best, pious opinions as dogma on which the salvation of my soul depended - and the, for me, complete lack of credibility of the papacy after the spiritually disastrous reigns of John XXII and Paul VI whose fostering of "aggiornamento" has proven one of the chief factors in the undermining of Christianity not just in the Roman Church, but in all of western Christendom (and I can't honestly see how, on balance, either John Paul II or Benedict XVI have done much to slow down, let alone halt, the great Gadarene slide).
ReplyDeleteBack in my eaerlier years I recall a slogan, "What is they gave a war and nobody came?" Seems like I had a teeshirt
ReplyDeletewith such a profoundity on it. Now the slogan sahould be, "What is they gave an Ordinariate and Nobody came?"
Having followed Christian Campbell's soap opera since its inception, my heart goes out to him as the whole business falls like a house of cards. From the vainglorious boasting of a grand march across the New Bridge over the Tiber, now we see a tiny tentative remnant. Not even forty dots on a map of the USA, many of which are house chapels and private oratories.
It is impossible to avoid the impression that the Roman Catholic hierarchy in the USA is holding these people at arm's length abd looking for a way to ease out of the engagement.
Cardinal Wuerl (Abp of Washington DC, in charge of the matter in this country) is quoted today as saying,
"The goal is to determine whether there is a response substantial enough to warrant the establishment of an ordinariate here in the US" He tactfully adds, "We are a little ways off."
The Cardinal Archbishop seems to be a good and decent man, with pastoral skills and administrative expertise.
Surely he knows that the RCC-USA has enough problems of its own and does not need to bring this nest of squirrels on board.
LKW
The ACA Diocese of the West under Bp. Williams is bleeding parishes. They only have one parish left in Washington State...the rest have gone to the ACNA.
ReplyDeleteJust playing a sort of devils advocate here, the eventual ordinariate in the USA may include more than ACA parishes. While this small element of the ACA have been the most vocal about it, there are recent stories of various Anglican and even TEC clergy crossing the Tiber.
ReplyDeleteIt is possible that when and if an ordinariate is established here, it will include all disenfranchised Anglicans regardless of original jurisdiction. This could be good or bad for the ego's of a few ACA leaders as the ordinary could come from just about anywhere in that scenario.
At this point, I personally think that too many people have seen through this generous offer and decided not to convert. I do understand completely the RCC taking a wait and see approach, as the numbers are obviously not what they were said to be initially by the ACA.
I find it simply incredulous that any continuing Anglican would consider the ACNA. The local parish which has placed itself under Bishop Iker staged a little affair with the Roman diocese in which it was made only too painfully aware that the priest did not know how to do evening prayer, even out of the '79 book.
ReplyDeleteHow have the parishes and diocese of the APCK, UECNA and ACC failed that so many of us who want to remain classical prayer book Anglicans are unable to really look to them for leadership? For simple unity and an aggressive program of evangelism, church planting and growth? Are they so in love with Ritual Notes, the missals and playing papist that the Bible, 'the ancient bishops and Catholic fathers,' the creeds, the General Councils and finally The Book of Common Prayer simply not get through to them? Are they really that afraid of being 'Mere Anglican' that without the ornaments and ceremonies of the most corrupt period of the Roman Church they are incapable of feeling, of thinking, of knowing themselves as truly Catholic, if not more, than any bishop who ever occupied the see of Rome?
It is an extremely excellent thing that the Reverend Misters Hart and Wells are leading us back through the Thirty-Nine Articles, but there is so much more that we as Anglicans ought to know and believe, but which seems beyond what is to be found on the book shelves of the average bishop, priest or deacon in the continuum. The greats of the English Church beginning with Elizabeth I herself and running through John Jewel, Hooker, Andrewes, Laud, Herbert and their heirs culminating in the Anglican greats of the early twentieth century need to be read and re-read by all of us.
Oops - typo - that should be John XXIII
ReplyDeleteThe ACA did provide a local refuge for a few of us ex-Episcopalians when the scales fell from our eyes. The Accords of St. Louis is a beautiful document. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteThe Anglicanorum Coetibus fell out of the sky and blindsided us in a terrible way. There was no discussion, no trial balloon, or attempt at an explanation. Hepworth kept the ACA bishops in the dark and the bishops kept us in the dark. The ACA is falling apart. I wonder why!
Fr. Hart,
ReplyDeleteI confess I've been out of the loop as regards the business with Hepworth. I know that he and the folks at That Other Blog had a falling out, and That Other Blog had a schism which resulted in the creation of That Other Other Blog, but the fine details are mysterious to me. Can you point me to a succinct explanation of what has happened?
Canon Tallis,
There you go again* with that horrible myth that the ACC and her sister jurisdictions are suppressing and neglecting poor, pitiful Anglicans who really just want their 1928 Prayer Book and no frills, and that there is something inherently wrong with Ritual Notes or the Missals. It simply isn't so. Let the folks who want their straight up BCP services have it, let the missal folks have their service, and quit trying to pit the two liturgical camps against each other. Extreme proponents of either system lack a certain charity which is toxic to greater unity. I myself am perfectly content in either expression of our service. This rhetoric of yours is incredibly unhelpful to our common cause, especially when it comes from someone hiding comfortably behind a pseudonym.
* Use of that seems appropriate on the day before Reagan's centennial, I suppose.
From the Chancelor's of the ACA, via Virtue Online: "It should be stated clearly that there is no provision in the Constitution and Canons of the Anglican Church in America for an entity such as the Patrimony of the Primate. The Patrimony of the Primate is not part of the ACA."
ReplyDeleteCampese "abandoned" DEUS after the balance of power shifted on the Standing Committee and he was pressured to go, taking diocesan $$$$ with him. With no available Ordinariate, he needed something, anything, to go to. So, why not just make something up and continue to blow smoke? The ACA Patrimony of the Primate is a fiction. Can you say "vagante?"
Once again the fabric of the man is blowing in the wind. May God have mercy on all those who have participated in this sorry mess.
I hope orthodox Anglicans think and pray a lot before joining the Ordinariate, and know what they'd be getting themselves into. Even in the UK it looks like there is a Continuing Anglican Church; that, I'm guessing, would be much more of a REAL refuge. The more I learn about Rome, the more it looks like it's rapidly going down the same road as the US Episcopal church, and not likely to be very welcoming to traditionalists.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous:
ReplyDeleteI am no fan of the pro-ordinariate approach. Nonetheless, if you are going to make accusations about financial mismanagement or other concepts that take us beyond theological debate into allegations of fraud, you need 1) some evidence to point to, and 2) to come out from behind your anonymous shield.
You may be completely on target for all I know; but, for now I must caution the readers that I cannot substantiate it.
Allegation of financial mismanagement is a serious matter. But it is my information that Bp Campese always had one of his own parishioners elected or appointed diocesan treasurer. It would also be interesting know know if that treasury was returned to the Diocese and if any sort of finanical accounting was made. NBot accusin' nobody of nothin' but inquiring minds want to know.
ReplyDeleteI am the anonymous writer of the 9:24 pm post, but not the 7:21 pm post. Sorry.
ReplyDeleteLKW
Good Canon Tallis:
ReplyDeleteI am an ACC Churchman who is completely at home in a high church Anglo-Catholic parish, including the all the smells and bells without which many classical Anglicans would be quite happy (including that wretched Angelus we chant at the end of the service). That said, I have strong loyalties to classical Anglicanism, and feel our communion would be impoverished without a strong contingent of prayer book catholics who are (*gasp*!) biblically literate. Thanks for standing up for our tradition. I too pray for Rome to come to Her senses.
S. Augustine
ACC Churchman
Church of the Guardian Angels, FL
Canon Tallis and 'S. Augustine' make a serious point when they ask if the more ‘exotic shades’ of Continuing Anglicanism in any way hinders those who are seeking refuge either from the Canterbury Communion or from the likes of the ACA? If some former ACA parishes have now joined the theologically compromised ACNA rather than the ACC et al then that does raise some serious questions. Why? Is it the Missal / Ritual Notes ‘style’ of Anglo-catholicism that they find off putting? Would they find a Prayer Book catholicism / mere Anglicanism more familiar or appealing? Are there any clergy / people who have recently journeyed from other Anglican entities to the Continuum who could shed light on this?
ReplyDeleteCanterbury Anglican