Back when, we knew that something was going on within the CDF for Anglicans who desired closer unity with Peter, but we didn’t know what. There was a sense that the Holy Father must really want something important to happen for them and the CDF was locked down as tight as a drum. And they moved with, for Rome, lightning speed to get the Ordinariate set up in England.
Benedict XVI, Pope of Christian Unity, really wanted it to happen.
Since then, the Anglican Ordinariate seems to be moving forward well, though I had heard that they were struggling with money. The sun also rises at dawn.
Now I read that Benedict XVI, Pope of Christian Unity who really wanted to welcome Anglicans into Communion with Rome, has done something that ought to send a signal to the bishops conferences both in England and Wales and in the United States, where there is also a new Ordinariate.
This is a press release from the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham.
PERSONAL ORDINARIATE OF OUR LADY OF WALSINGHAM
1 MAY 2012FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
POPE DONATES $250,000 TO ORDINARIATE
Pope Benedict XVI has donated $250,000 to support the work of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham. The gift will help establish the Ordinariate as a vibrant part of the Catholic Church in England and Wales.
The news from Rome came to Monsignor Keith Newton, the Ordinary of the Personal Ordinariate, and read “The Holy Father has benevolently permitted a donation of $250,000”.
Responding to the gift, Mgr Newton said, “I am very grateful to the Holy Father for his generosity and support. This gift is a great help and encouragement as we continue to grow and develop our distinctive ecclesial life, whilst seeking to contribute to the wider work of evangelisation in England and Wales”.
The Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham was established in January 2011 to enable Anglicans to enter into the full communion of the Catholic Church whilst retaining essential elements of their heritage and tradition. It comprises around 1200 lay faithful and 60 clergy spread across the United Kingdom.
The Apostolic Nuncio, His Excellency Archbishop Antonio Mennini, was instrumental in securing the Holy Father’s assistance. On the announcement of the gift the Archbishop said, “The Holy Father’s gift of $250,000 is a clear sign of his personal commitment to the work of Christian Unity and the special place the Ordinariate holds in his heart. I pray for the continuing success and development of the Ordinariate”.
Speaking of the need for further fundraising the Nuncio said, “I urge all those who share our Holy Father’s vision to lend their spiritual and material support to the Ordinariate, especially in these early days”.
Mgr Newton, in response to the remarks of Archbishop Mennini said, “The support and encouragement given to us by the Apostolic Nuncio has been very significant. We were very pleased to welcome him as the Principal Celebrant of our Chrism Mass: a clear sign of our deep desire to remain closely united the Holy Father”.
The Ordinariate welcomed over 250 new members this Easter. Bishop Alan Hopes will ordain deacons for the Ordinariate in Westminster Cathedral on 26 May 2012 at 10.00 a.m., and two men in their twenties were ordained to the Sacred Priesthood in London earlier this month.
Benedict XVI gets to describe the parameters of Christian Unity.
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God bless the Holy Father! What a gesture! May the Ordinariate flourish, and may England return to the fullness of the Faith!
By “The Pope donated…”, does that mean the Holy Father allocated Vatican funds, or that he himself gave $250G out of his personal funds…? I can’t imagine that Benedict himself would have that kind of money, unless I’m really missing something. I don’t care either way, I’m just curious, and think it’s great that wherever the money came from, he saw fit to see it given.
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Irenaeus, Pope Benedict is a best-selling author. I’m sure he could scratch together some cash if he needed to. Not to mention folks of his generation are known for their thriftiness.
Let us hope this wonderful gesture will encourage (or at least shame) the English bishops, who have been very negative in their attitude to the funding (and the success) of the Ordinariate.
I would guess that funding comes from the annual Peter’s Pence collections.
Peter’s Pence goes to specific causes that it’s pre-allocated for, usually. I guess they could have made the Ordinariate one of those, but it probably is the pope’s personal account. I think the Pope as temporal leader has certain monies allocated to him from the Vatican City temporal government budget, and of course PBXVI probably does have his own money from professoring and writing and saving, his parents’ estate, selling his old house, etc.
Praise God, and this is great news. The priests do suffer and the Church in England and Wales is very poor, contrary to the views of many. Regardless of where the money comes from, this is an essential need here in England. God bless this great Pope.
Good help for England’s Catholics.
The virtue of humility has to have governed the giving of the gift – another way Pope Benedict teaches by example the ways of the heart and his for the Church.
suburbanbanshee, you are probably correct in general terms, and very well are correct here, but if the Holy See’s fiscal machinations are anything like the US gov’t, there is probably some “contingency” money held back for unforecasted needs such as this. $250K is a drop in the fiscal budget bucket for even the poorest U.S. state.
Of note, $250K is less than 0.1 percent of the Holy See/Vatican City budget, per the CIA, which treats the Holy See and Vatican City as a single entity for informational purposes. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/vt.html
The Ordinariates deserve full support from any and all sources. Their growth is essential for the Catholic Faith in the Anglo-Saxon-Celtic world. The Ordinariates will win souls for The Faith who otherwise will be lost.