Dear Brothers and Sisters,
In November, the Benedict XVI Centre for Religion, Ethics and Society at St Mary’s University Twickenham published research entitled Convert Clergy in the Catholic Church in Britain. (See https://www.stmarys.ac.uk/research/centres/benedict-xvi/docs/convert-clergy-report.pdff) It is an investigation into the movement of Anglican clergy and religious into the Roman Catholic Church between 1992 and 2024. Such movements had of course taken place before 1992 – we may think, for example, of St John Henry Newman and Cardinal Manning- but 1992 was chosen as the starting point for the research as that was the year in which the General Synod voted by 2 votes to permit the ordination of women.
The research finds that since 1992 more than 700 former Anglican clergy and religious, including sixteen former Anglican bishops, have joined the Roman Catholic Church. Of these, it is estimated that 5 former Anglican permanent deacons and 486 former Anglican priests have been ordained in the Catholic church. The greatest number of movements were in and around 1994 when the first women were ordained and in and around 2011 following the creation of the Ordinariate by Pope Benedict XVI. The number of former Anglican clergy ordained in the Roman Catholic church amounted to some 35% of total priestly ordinations in the Roman Catholic church between 1992 and 2024.
The statistics are surely rather depressing for both churches. From the Catholic viewpoint it raises the question about the effect on that church’s ministry if it had not been able to rely on a large number of Anglican converts. (Cardinal Nichols in the foreword rightly raises the question whether ‘convert’ is a proper description for these men but accepts it as a traditional term.) From the Anglican viewpoint the church has lost a large number of faithful priests, most I suspect of the Anglo-Catholic tradition, who would have maintained within the church the historic faith handed down to us from the Apostles.
The question has been asked whether the appointment of the first female Archbishop of Canterbury will further affect conversions to the Roman Catholic church. According to an item on OSV News, the former Anglican bishop Msgr. Michael Nazir-Ali has suggested there will be a new wave of conversions, adding “The Church of England has clearly decided to go the way of liberal Protestant denominations, abandoning any claims to be upholding the Catholic apostolic succession”. Time will tell. As Forward in Faith has said, we must recognise Dame Sarah as the true and lawful holder of the office of Archbishop. She has been very supportive of churches like ours and there is no reason to think her appointment will affect those who continue to exercise a catholic faith in the Church of England. We hope that provision for an assured sacramental ministry for traditional catholics would continue as before with male Society priests ordained by male Society bishops consecrated by male bishops.
This parish magazine comes out on the first Sunday of Advent, beginning our four weeks of waiting with the ancient Israelites and their prophets for the coming of the Messiah. Of course, we know full well what we are waiting for, what is going to happen and when; the birth of Christ at Christmas. But still we wait in anticipation until we hear the song of the angels to the shepherds. And yet there is also a part of Advent which is unknown, at least in its timing, a wait which extends beyond the church’s Advent season yet is at the heart of that season. For during Advent, we not only prepare to welcome the Christ child at Christmas but we also prepare to welcome Christ at his Second Coming. We know he will return; that is his promise. But we don’t know when, so like the ancient Israelites who didn’t know when the Messiah would come, we wait in ignorance of when Christ will return.
As we journey through Advent, may all of us, with family and friends, prepare to have a very happy and blessed Christmas.
Blessings
Fr Christopher
All Saints' Church, South Wimbledon 