The Apostolic Constitution on the Personal Ordinariate for former Anglicans who wish to be received into the Full Communion of the Catholic Church, which was announced in October, has been issued over the last few days. Click here to read it, and the associated documents. You will understand that this is a matter of great interest to former Anglicans like myself.
I think it important to look beyond some of the headlines in both the secular and the religious press which often over-simplify complex issues and seem more concerned to create heat than to shed light! My own feeling is that this is a generous response from the Church to a perceived pastoral need.
However, on a personal level, I am delighted to be a priest of the Diocese of Nottingham. I knew, when I was received into the Catholic Church some fifteen years ago, that I needed to immerse myself in parish and diocesan life. I have been deeply enriched by so doing. My Ordinary will continue to be the Bishop of Nottingham to whom I promised obedience on my ordination day.
