Første biskop i det anglikanske Ordinariatet

Pave Benedikt var meget imøtekommende mot anglikanere som ønsket å bli katolikker samtidig som de ville beholde noe av sin spesielle anglikanske, liturgiske arv, og han opprettet Ordinariatet for dem i 2009. De har hatt dyktige ledere for arbeidet siden starten, men disse har ikke vært bispeviet siden de er gifte menn. Nå får Ordinariatet i USA sin første biskop, og John Allen skriver at dette også viser at pave Benedikt og pave Frans har mer felles enn mange tror:

At the level of style, Pope Francis is obviously a somewhat jarring contrast with his predecessor, emeritus Pope Benedict XVI. Francis generally comes off as a warm Latin populist, Benedict more a cool German intellectual.

Leaders, however, promote either continuity or rupture not primarily at the level of style but rather policy, and on that front, one can make a case that Francis has a surprising amount in common with Benedict. His reforms on both Vatican finances and the clerical sexual abuse scandals, to take one example, are clearly extensions of Benedict’s legacy.

A new chapter in this largely untold story of continuity came on Tuesday, when the pontiff tapped 40-year-old American Monsignor Steven Lopes as the first-ever bishop of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter, one of three jurisdictions created under Pope Benedict in 2012 to welcome former Anglicans into the Catholic Church. …

… In a Crux interview Wednesday, Lopes said he sees his new job as all about continuity between the two popes. “I worked very closely with Pope Benedict in creating the ordinariates, and I know his vision was of allowing diversity in communion,” he said. “Pope Francis embraces that model and is pushing it through to its logical conclusion.”

Francis, Lopes said, is conscious of carrying forward his predecessor’s approach. “I met with Pope Francis last Wednesday and heard from him on this very point,” Lopes said. “He knows very well what he’s doing.” …

… At the moment, Lopes said, the ordinariate for the United States and Canada has 42 parishes, 64 priests, four deacons, and roughly 20,000 faithful. It’s in an expansion phase, he said, both because other Anglican communities are still requesting entrance, and because his parishes tend to be keenly missionary and are attracting new members. …

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