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I det engelske ordinariatets nettmagasin «the Portal«, kan vi i siste nummer lese hva Norges-vennen Msgr. John Broadhurst om det som har hendt det siste halvåret. Jeg kaller ham Norges-venn fordi han må ha vært i Norge hvert år de siste 15 år, og er venn med mange høykirkelige lutheranere, mange medlemmer og prester i Den norsk katolske kirke – og med mange katolikker. Jeg har de siste månedene tenkt mange ganger på hva hans «nordisk-katolske» venner nå tenker; siden msgr. Broadhurst tok en annen vei enn de gjorde – da de (på en måte) startet sin egen kirke. Til meg sa han at han ikke trodde han kom til å konvertere individuelt, men at han håpet på en mulig avtale med Den katolske Kirke. Jeg trodde aldri de skulle få en så dog «deal» som de nå har fått!
Jeg håper teksten i bildet over kan leses – og msgr. Broadhurst sier videre:
… Generous provision
My real concern is that the Ordinariate should work. The Holy Father has made a generous provision which concerns our culture and history. The great danger is the Ordinariate could be seen simply as a fast track into the Catholic Church. This is certainly not what the Holy Father intends.Mission and ecumenism
The Ordinariate is about mission and ecumenism. So a serious situation sits in front of us. How do we address our many friends in the Church of England and how do we contribute to evangelism.Able and competent people
Most of our Groups are by Catholic standards very small though, by Anglican standards they are not. In the Church of England we had a very different pastoral strategy and many parishes were small. On the positive side our ordinariate groups are filled with the committed and the activists. We are very lucky to be part of a community of able and competent people. I do believe we have real possibilities.Places to live our Anglican heritage
That said how are we to make it work? One issue that is not yet resolved is that of Ordinariate centres. Inevitably a group appended to a much larger Catholic parish will eventually dissipate. We need to find places to live our Anglican heritage in a new Catholic context. I would hope that in the next two or three years we will find new places to be faithful witnesses to Christ.The Ordinariate is here to stay
I have just moved to the Midlands and there are no Ordinariate Groups here but I already have a list people, supplied by a local priest, who have expressed a real interest. The Ordinariate is here to stay and will offer much to the Church. I am sure it will grow and we owe it to the Holy Father to make it work. The leadership of the Catholic Church in this country have been very helpful and welcoming.Positive and enthusiastic
As I said at the Forward in Faith Assembly 18 months ago the Holy Father has made a generous offer and we have no choice but to respond. My response is positive and enthusiastic. As we develop our future we will watch with interest the emergence of Ordinariates in North America and Australia.