On Sunday, our priests in the Anglican Catholic Church of Canada (ACCC) read out an ad clerum from our bishops, notifying us that Provincial / Diocesan Council met Nov. 26 and has found a creative way for us to move forward to unity, though at different speeds.
The ACCC, originally composed of one Province with only one Diocese (of Canada), has created a new diocese: the Pro-Diocese of Our Lady of Walsingham “whose mandate shall be to shepherd those parishes, clergy, and individuals who so wish, into full Communion with the Catholic Church.”
The Council also passed the following motion: “that this church (i.e. the Province, representing both dioceses) remains committed to seeking full and visible unity with the See of Peter, as confirmed at Synod 2010, and as articulated in the Affirmation of St Louis, which is part of our constitution”.
While remaining Metropolitan of the ACCC Province of Canada, Bishop Peter Wilkinson, with Bishop Carl Reid as his auxiliary, assumes the office of Diocesan Bishop of the new Pro-Diocese. Bishop Craig Botterill becomes diocesan administrator of the Diocese of Canada.
This is good news, both for those parishes like mine in Ottawa that are almost finished with our catechesis in preparation for entering the Catholic Church and for those parishes, mostly on the East Coast, that have indicated they are not ready yet.
It means we in the “first wave” will have a corporate way of moving into the Catholic Church without losing all our assets, and those who remain will still have a structure and spiritual oversight while they are in a period of discernment and perhaps form a “second wave” or more.
For more details about this and to see the ad clerum go to The English Catholic
It is also up now, via Fr. Christopher Phillips, at The Anglo-Catholic.
By the way, we began our catechesis to enter the Catholic Church on Oct. 3. Wow! That has meant spending the whole day, pretty much, at church. But it has been great.
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