From the Christian Century-
In the nearly 500 years since the Church of England split with the Roman Catholic Church, a fair number of converts have crossed from one church to the other. Still, the path can be rocky, as Alberto Cutié—the most recent high-profile convert—discovered on May 28 when he left Catholicism to join the Episcopal Church.
Known as "Father Oprah" because of his popularity and media savvy, Cutié was caught by a photographer in an embrace with his girlfriend on a Florida beach early in May. The 40-year-old celebrity cleric later admitted to struggling with the Catholic priesthood's mandatory celibacy requirement and was suspended from ministry.
Just weeks later, Cutié announced that he hopes "to continue priestly ministry and service in my new spiritual home," the Episcopal Church, which allows priests to marry. He had been considering conversion for two years, according to the Episcopal Diocese of Southeast Florida.
With a star of Cutié's magnitude— millions have tuned in to his television and radio shows focusing on relationship advice—media attention to his conversion perhaps was inevitable. Reporters from English- and Spanish-language media crowded into Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Miami to witness the half-hour ceremony and subsequent press conference.
Miami's Catholic archbishop, John Favalora, Cutié's former boss, was not pleased. In addition to criticizing the new convert, he blasted his Episcopal counterpart, Bishop Leo Frade of Southeast Florida, for breaking the unwritten rules of conversion: Advise the other bishop about your plans and don't show up the other faith by making a public display.
More here-
http://www.christiancentury.org/article.lasso?id=7238
1 comment:
Anglican bishop of Peru, second-guesses Bishop Frade's actions:
http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=10563
and some background on Bishop Fradé:
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/miami-dade/story/1086748.html?asset_id=108666
&asset_type=gallery
In instances when Episcopalian converts are not celebrities, I've found the Roman Catholic Church not the least bit inhibited in crowing about their latest convert. Our local Catholic diocesan paper regularly features guest columns by a former TEC married convert priest. If this were a liberal Catholic diocese I'd say they were trying to soften the readership up to the idea of married R.C. priests, but this diocese is very conservative. It comes off as patronizing and triumphalistic.
The same can be said when a TEC/Anglican becomes Eastern Orthodox. The bragging is shameless and obnoxious in either case, but regardless, neither church gives a fig what benighted 'heterodox' Episcopalians think. We are a promising "mission field" to them.
I guess I'm puzzled why we (TEC) go all angst-ridden when the reverse happens? But then I "get it" that neither of these churches considers us a "branch" of apostolic Christendom, and that our clergy are merely laymen (and laywomen) dressing up as clergy.
I, for one, have seen both churches up close and very personal, and no longer care what they think of us.
also "received" into TEC ...
John in central Illinois
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