Pope Francis 'said Ordinariate not needed' - bishop

From The BBC-


Pope Francis did say the Ordinariate for ex-Anglicans was unnecessary - but that does not mean it will be Papal policy, an Anglican bishop has said.

Bishop Gregory Venables told the BBC the published account of Cardinal Bergoglio's remarks to him was correct.

A spokesman for the UK Ordinariate commented that it was set up with the highest Catholic legal authority.

A Vatican spokesman said last month the Ordinariates were "a permanent feature" of the Catholic Church.

The Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham was set up in the UK in 2011 in a move strongly supported by the last Pope, Benedict XVI, to allow discontented former Anglicans a place within the Catholic Church where they could preserve elements of their "Anglican patrimony".

It was followed by two other Ordinariates, covering North America and Australasia.

More here-

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-21815148

Msgr. Steenson has no worries about Pope Francis

From Anglican Ink-

Msgr Jeffrey Steenson, the ordinary of the Chair of St. Peter,  has urged members the of the American branch of the Anglican Ordinariate not to fret over recent news reports the new pope was not convinced of the necessity of creating a home for Anglicans in the Catholic Church.

In a note released after the election of Pope Francis I on 13 March 2013, the Bishop of Argentina and former primate of the Anglican Church of the Southern Cone, the Most Rev. Greg Venables, said Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio “is much more of a Christian, Christ centered and Spirit filled, than a mere churchman.”

The new pope was, in his experience, “consistently humble and wise, outstandingly gifted yet a common man” who had been a friend to Anglicans in Argentina.

Bishop Venables said Cadinal Bergoglio “called me to have breakfast with him one morning and told me very clearly that the Ordinariate was quite unnecessary and that the church needs us as Anglicans.”

The report from Bishop Venables sparked some controversy in the British press and speculation Francis might adopt the different tone than his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI. A spokesman for the English Ordinariate denied any change is telling the Telegraph the comments were Bishop Venables’ not the Pope’s.

More here-

http://anglicanink.com/article/msgr-steenson-has-no-worries-about-pope-francis

Canadian Primate asks Rowan to convene meeting to discuss cross-border intervention

Yes, please, would you guys just talk to each other?

Archbishop Fred Hiltz, primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, said he has requested Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams to facilitate a meeting between him, the primate of the Anglican Province of the Southern Cone, Gregory Venables.

The three primates – Archbishop Hiltz, Archbishop de Andrade, and Bishop Jefferts Schori – have repeatedly asked Archbishop Venables to stop meddling in the internal affairs of their provinces. Archbishop Venables has, on his own accord, been providing episcopal oversight to churches that are in serious theological dispute with their respective provinces over the issue of sexuality. Archbishop Williams has said he will do his best to facilitate the request.

http://www.anglicanjournal.com/100/article/canadian-bishops-faced-with-implications-of-next-steps-after-lambeth

Dr Williams has made a split inevitable in the Anglican Church

The Archbishop of the Southern Cone (not pictured) and his self fulfilling prophetic voice. From the London Times -

"The Primate of the Southern Cone, Bishop Gregory Venables, predicted the end of the communion, saying: “This is more evidence of the unravelling of Anglicanism. Without a clearly agreed biblical foundation, all the goodwill in the world cannot stop the inevitable break-up. Unity without truth is disunity.” Bishop Venables, who has infuriated North American Anglicans by taking conservative defectors into his South American province, including the entire Diocese of San JoaquÍn in central California, was among the organisers of the recent Global Anglican Future Conference in Jerusalem."

Its all here

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article4481688.ece