Comments on: What are the steps to convert to Catholicism from Anglicanism and how long does the process take? http://bustedhalo.com/questionbox/what-are-the-steps-to-convert-to-catholicism-from-anglicanism-and-how-long-does-the-process-take an online magazine for spiritual seekers Sun, 27 May 2012 02:50:39 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Max Lindenman http://bustedhalo.com/questionbox/what-are-the-steps-to-convert-to-catholicism-from-anglicanism-and-how-long-does-the-process-take/comment-page-1#comment-6647 Max Lindenman Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:27:56 +0000 http://www.bustedhalo.com/beta2008/wp/?p=587#comment-6647 Two close friends of mine, an Episcopalian priest and his wife, are being ejected from their parish and their Church because they had spoken out against against the Church's increasing rejection of Scriptural authority. Naturally, I've been plugging the home team for all she's worth. "Come on, guys! Cross the Tiber why don't'cha? Newman did it, Manning did it! Even Oscar Wilde slipped in under the wire at the last minute. What on earth is stopping you?" I pointed out that converting -- or reverting, or conforming, or whatever the expression is -- could mean new employment opportunities. The pastor of a parish up in Scottsdale is a former Episcopalian priest with five strapping kids, the last two naturally planned. Well, it may be that St. Thomas More has begun deleting my requests for intercession without opening them, but my pitch is falling on deaf ears. "We're Protestants," the pair tells me. "We believe in catholicity with a small 'c', but we reject the supreme authority of any bishop, including the Roman one, even though Pope Benedict seems to be a very nice guy." To their credit, they've held this line consistently. Concern for their intellectual independence has prevented them from joining the relatively orthodox Anglican Communion of the Southern Cone. The presiding archbishop, they insist, is a micromanager, more papal in his personal style than any pope. As they send out their resumes to the Methodists and Missouri Synod Lutherans, I have to wonder how typical they are. Sure, the Vatican has announced plans to simplify the process by which Anglicans return to communion with Rome. But who's listening? Two close friends of mine, an Episcopalian priest and his wife, are being ejected from their parish and their Church because they had spoken out against against the Church’s increasing rejection of Scriptural authority.

Naturally, I’ve been plugging the home team for all she’s worth. “Come on, guys! Cross the Tiber why don’t'cha? Newman did it, Manning did it! Even Oscar Wilde slipped in under the wire at the last minute. What on earth is stopping you?”

I pointed out that converting — or reverting, or conforming, or whatever the expression is — could mean new employment opportunities. The pastor of a parish up in Scottsdale is a former Episcopalian priest with five strapping kids, the last two naturally planned.

Well, it may be that St. Thomas More has begun deleting my requests for intercession without opening them, but my pitch is falling on deaf ears. “We’re Protestants,” the pair tells me. “We believe in catholicity with a small ‘c’, but we reject the supreme authority of any bishop, including the Roman one, even though Pope Benedict seems to be a very nice guy.”

To their credit, they’ve held this line consistently. Concern for their intellectual independence has prevented them from joining the relatively orthodox Anglican Communion of the Southern Cone. The presiding archbishop, they insist, is a micromanager, more papal in his personal style than any pope.

As they send out their resumes to the Methodists and Missouri Synod Lutherans, I have to wonder how typical they are. Sure, the Vatican has announced plans to simplify the process by which Anglicans return to communion with Rome. But who’s listening?

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