{"id":25023,"date":"2009-10-28T09:40:06","date_gmt":"2009-10-28T13:40:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/2009\/10\/msgr-stetson-speaks-about-the\/"},"modified":"2009-10-28T09:40:06","modified_gmt":"2009-10-28T13:40:06","slug":"msgr-stetson-speaks-about-the","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/2009\/10\/msgr-stetson-speaks-about-the\/","title":{"rendered":"Msgr. Stetson speaks about the Personal Ordinariate"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n\"Wm<\/a><\/p>\n

Zenit<\/a> ran an interview the other about the recent
\ndevelopment of possibilities of full communion of the Anglicans with Rome. The
\ndetails of how this gesture of the Church has yet to be revealed by the
\nMagisterium. Here is part of Karna Sawanson’s interview with Monsignor
\nWilliam Stetson<\/i>, secretary to the Ecclesiastical Delegate of the Congregation
\nfor the Doctrine of the Faith for the Pastoral Provision for former Episcopal
\npriests. This part of the interview has to do with “personal ordinariates,” the
\necclesial structure proposed for living in the context of Anglican ways.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

ZENIT:
\nWhat is the aim of establishing the personal ordinariates? Why was the pastoral
\nprovision not sufficient?<\/p>\n

Msgr. Stetson<\/b>: The pastoral provision is merely an
\nadministrative process for preparing married, former Episcopal priests to be
\nordained as Catholic priests at the request of diocesan bishops. The new
\nordinariate will provide a canonical structure<\/b> similar to a diocese for the
\npastoral care of lay faithful who convert from the Episcopal church<\/i>. <\/p>\n

ZENIT:
\nThis canonical structure seems to respond directly to a petition made two years
\nago by the Traditional Anglican Communion, which has about 400,000 members
\nworldwide. Do you see many or most of these members entering into communion
\nwith the Catholic Church through the personal ordinariate?<\/p>\n

\"CanterburyCathedral.jpg\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Msgr. Stetson<\/b>: The
\nTraditional Anglican Communion is in reality a confederation of so-called
\ndioceses located in many different countries; it is made up of priests and lay
\npeople and bishops. The Traditional Anglican Communion as such has never been
\npart <\/b>of the Anglican Communion under the Archbishop of Canterbur<\/i>y. What will
\nhappen to the dioceses in particular countries will depend on the decisions
\nreached by the Catholic hierarchy in the respective countries together with the
\nCongregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Their numbers are greater in Africa
\nand Asia.<\/p>\n

ZENIT: What will the process look like for Anglicans, especially
\npriests and bishops, entering the Church through the ordinariate?<\/p>\n

Msgr.
\nStetson<\/b>: The Apostolic Constitution allowing for the creation of ordinariates
\nin each country has not yet been issued. For this reason we do not know the
\nnature of the process. I would anticipate that it will be similar to that used
\nfor the last 27 years by the Pastoral Provision here in the United States<\/i>, and
\nits counterpart in England (that did not, however, provide for parishes and liturgy,
\nas in the United States.)<\/p>\n

ZENIT: The Vatican announcement provided for the
\npossibility of an Anglican ordinariate having seminarians, who are to be
\nprepared alongside Catholic seminarians, “though the ordinariate may
\nestablish a house of formation to address the particular needs of formation in
\nthe Anglican patrimony.” Would this include the possibility of marriage
\nfor these Anglican seminarians?<\/p>\n

Msgr. Stetson<\/b>: The specifics have not yet been
\nmade known on this question. At the very least I would assume that the
\nseminarians would have to be both married and studying in an Anglican seminary
\nat the time they sought to enter into full communion, and then continue
\nstudying for the priesthood in a Catholic seminary. They would have to be
\ndispensed from the norm of celibacy on a case-by-case basis by the Holy See.
\nFuture seminarians would have to be celibate.<\/p>\n

ZENIT: What other traditions will
\nthe Anglicans retain when they enter the Catholic Church by way of the personal
\nordinariate?<\/p>\n

\"St<\/a><\/p>\n

Msgr. Stetson<\/b>: Small parishes that allow for greater cohesion
\ntogether. A rich tradition of liturgical expression (language, music,
\nvestments, space, etc.) in English, dating back to the 16th century. This would
\nalso include a great tradition of the use of sacred Scripture in preaching,
\nlove for the Fathers of the Church and theological expression beyond that of
\nRoman Catholic scholasticism<\/b>.<\/p>\n

ZENIT: Why is the Vatican able to offer this
\nconcession only to Anglicans, and not Lutherans, Presbyterians, etc., who would
\nlike to enter the Church?<\/p>\n

Msgr. Stetson<\/b>: Anglicans have always enjoyed a
\nspecial place in Roman Catholic attitudes toward the rupture of Christian unity
\nin the West after the 16th century. The Church of England sought to retain many
\nelements of the Catholic Church while at the same time being Protestant<\/i>. The
\nChurch of England maintained a greater unity within itself and thus could be
\ndealt with as a single entity in conversations with Rome.<\/o:p><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Zenit ran an interview the other about the recent development of possibilities of full communion of the Anglicans with Rome. The details of how this gesture of the Church has yet to be revealed by the Magisterium. Here is part of Karna Sawanson’s interview with Monsignor William Stetson, secretary to the Ecclesiastical Delegate of the … Continue reading Msgr. Stetson speaks about the Personal Ordinariate<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[57],"tags":[1905,1908],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25023"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25023"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25023\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25023"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25023"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25023"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}