Ting tar tid, viser det seg ofte, og etter at pave Benedikt 20. oktober i fjor annonserte at anglikanere nå får muligheten til å konvertere i større mengder, og mer som grupper enn enkeltindivider, og at de får ta med seg noe av sin liturgiske tradisjon, begynner det nå ganske langsomt å skje noe. På den annen side er det her mye som skal legges til rette, så man skulle kanskje ikke regne med at ting skjer så fort. (Selv om jeg ofte griper meg selv i å tenke at disse biskopene, prestene, og lekfolkene, etter alle disse årene snart må klare å bestemme seg.)
Det viser seg nå at sist lørdag var tre konservative anglikanske biskoper fra England på (hemmelig) besøk i Vatikanet, for å se videre på hvordan denne overgangsprosessen kan bli – les om møtet i The Telegraph.
Det viser seg nå at det var svært uheldig at dette møtet ble kjent, og slik skriver den anglikanske biskopen John Fulham (som mange ganger har vært i Norge):
I feel as your Chairman that I should say something about the reported trip to Rome. As you all know, I am interested in the Ordinariate. I had the opportunity to accompany Bishop Andrew and Bishop Keith to the Vatican to discover what was intended. As Chairman of Forward in Faith International it was important that I was present, as FIF Australia is totally committed to it. Also many members in America and here are actively interested. I can say nothing more about the visit.
However, I am embarrassed by the leak to the press that we had visited the Holy See. All of us have expressed an interest in the Ordinariate and so it is obviously necessary to understand exactly what is intended and how the Ordinariate will be implemented. We were certainly neither negotiating nor plotting. The leak came as a real surprise to me as it happened whilst I was abroad. As we had not informed others of our visit, who leaked it – and why – is a very serious question. It risks damage to the Church of England, and to Catholic Anglicans in particular, as well as to the forthcoming visit to the UK of the Holy Father. It also has serious ecumenical implications. To say it was malicious would seem to fit the facts. …