Rorate Caeli

Anglican-Vatican Rumblings


The Bolletino today has a noteworthy announcement of a press conference scheduled for Tuesday, 20 October 2009, in the John Paul II Hall of the Vatican Press Office:

Si informano i giornalisti accreditati che domani, martedì 20 ottobre 2009, alle ore 11.00, nell’Aula Giovanni Paolo II della Sala Stampa della Santa Sede, si terrà un briefing su un tema attinente ai rapporti con gli Anglicani, cui parteciperanno l’Em.mo Card. William Joseph Levada, Prefetto della Congregazione per la Dottrina della Fede e S.E. Mons. Joseph Augustine Di Noia, O.P., Segretario della Congregazione per il Culto Divino e la Disciplina dei Sacramenti.


Translation:

We inform accredited journalists that tomorrow, Tuesday, 20 October 2009, at 11 a.m., in the John Paul II Hall of the Press Office of the Holy See, a briefing will be held on a theme pertaining to the relationship with the Anglicans, at which His Eminence Cardinal William Joseph Levada, Prefect of the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and His Excellency Msgr. Joseph Augustine Di Noia OP, Secretary of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments will take part.


Father John Zuhlsdorf offers these observations and speculations:

The main speakers will be the Prefect of the Congregation for Doctrine of the Faith, His Eminence Card. Levada and the fomer Sotto-Segretario of the same CDF, now Secretary of the Cong. for Divine Worship H.E. Augustine DiNoia, OP.


This all makes sense if…if… this is to announce that there will be a reunion of Traditional Anglicans with the Catholic Church. This would be in the bailiwick of the CDF. And Archbp. DiNoia would have been involved when he was at the CDF.

However, a group of Traditional Anglicans would also no doubt have the Anglican Use for their liturgy, and therefore having the English speaking Secretary who had been at the CDF, rather than the Spanish speaking Prefect of the CDW makes perfect sense.

So… I suspect this is about the reunion of the so-called Traditional Anglicans.


Damian Thompson also has received information that Archbishop Vincent Nichols of Westminster and Anglican Archbishop Rowan Williams of Canterbury will host a press conference at 10 a.m., Tuesday, 20 October, at 39 Eccleston Square, London. Thompson reasonably observes, "I cannot believe that the two press conferences are not directly related."

Those who desire and pray for the reunion of the Anglicans with the Catholic Church, and who hope for the union and integration of the Traditional Anglicans into the Church, will be eagerly anticipating the news Tuesday morning.


[Our thanks to Mr. Peter Karl T. Perkins for promptly bringing this to Rorate's attention.]