From CNA:
Vatican City, Nov 18, 2010 / 02:28 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The head of the Church of England, Archbishop Rowan Williams of Canterbury met privately in Rome with Pope Benedict XVI on Nov. 18.
The meeting comes at an awkward time in relations between the Church of England and the Catholic Church.
On Nov. 8, five Anglican bishops announced they were resigning their posts to enter the Catholic Church under special terms outlined last year by Pope Benedict.
One of the five, Bishop John Broadhurst of Fulham, told the London Times, that he believed thousands, not hundreds, of laity would follow them into the Catholic Church.
Archbishop Williams had already been scheduled to visit Rome to take part in 50th anniversary celebrations of the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity.
However, his meeting with the Pope recalled one held in Rome almost exactly one year ago — after the Pope had released his plans to create “personal ordinariates” for Anglicans seeking to come over to Rome.
Details of this latest meeting have not been released. Archbishop Williams did address the conversions in an interview with Vatican Radio Nov. 18.
He said he was “deeply skeptical” about the “larger claims” of a massive exodus of Anglicans to Rome.
Vatican City, Nov 18, 2010 / 02:28 pm (I wonder. It will probably come in a couple waves. There will be the initial wave. Down the line, when the Anglicans actually approve ordination of women as bishops there will be more. Some will trickle out because of blow-back for having thought about going to Rome.
In the meantime, Benedict XVI is the Pope of Christian Unity.
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“The meeting comes at an awkward time in relations between the Church of England and the Catholic Church.”
Probably not as awkward as when King Henry VIII had St. John Fisher’s head chopped off.
Perhaps Williams is there to “take the deal.”
Who would be better to run the new ordinariate in England?
Time to swim the Tiber, Dr. Williams.
I did read the article, I saw that he “wasn’t swimming,” yet.
On this side of the Atlantic, more than 125 people interested in the Ordinariates, 80 or so of them Anglican clerics, are currently meeting at Our Lady of the Atonement in San Antonio, the flagship parish of the Anglican Use.
Fr. Phillips, the founding pastor of Atonement, spoke last night on how his “trickle” of 17 people meeting in a store front has grown to a parish with Sunday attendance of a thousand and a thriving parochial school. His speech to the conference is at the link below. It’s truly inspiring.
http://www.theanglocatholic.com/2010/11/becoming-one-after-dinner-talk-on-tuesday/
The Pope is saying to the Archbishop: “This is where you’re going wrong buddy, this women/priest/bishop thing.”
The number of anglicans poping is small, but that is not important. What is important is the foundation that is now being laid for the future
The phrase, “wishing I could have been a fly on that wall”, comes to mind in reading this. Either nothing of real importance was discussed and it was all smiles and diplomatic platitudes or else at some point HH said something like, “How much longer must your suffering go on…come home my brother…we will slaughter a fatted calf, celebrate and rejoice!” Well, I pray so anyway…
TJerome-hey, that’s a good one!
Yes, I would have liked to have been a ‘fly on the wall’ during that meeting!