Holy See establishes Australian ordinariate for former Anglicans
CWN - June 15, 2012
Pope Benedict XVI has established an ordinariate in Australia for Anglicans entering the Catholic Church and named a former bishop of the Traditional Anglican Communion to lead it.
The new ecclesiastical jurisdiction, formally known as the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of the Southern Cross, was established on June 15. Father Harry Entwistle, who once served as western regional bishop for the Traditional Anglican Communion in Australia, was ordained to the Catholic priesthood on June 15.
"Ordinariates have thus far been erected in England and the United States and are the response of Pope Benedict to Anglicans who have been petitioning the Holy See to enter into full corporate unity with the Catholic Church while retaining essential elements of their heritage," the Australian Catholic Bishops' Conference said in a statement.
"Pope Benedict has made it very clear that unity between Christians is not achieved by agreeing on the lowest common denominator, and those entering an Ordinariate accept the Catechism of the Catholic Church as the authoritative expression of the Catholic faith," said Father Entwistle.
"Membership is open to former Anglicans who accept what the Catholic Church believes and teaches; former Anglicans who have previously been reconciled to the Catholic Church but who now wish to reconnect with their Anglican spiritual heritage; and those baptized in the Catholic Church who have close family members who belong to the Ordinariate," he added.
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