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Anglican Bishop Keith Newton Richborough, England, Nov 14, 2010 / 06:45 pm (CNA).- The Anglican Bishop of Richborough told his flock that he plans to become Catholic because Pope Benedict XVI’s apostolic constitution “completely changed the landscape” for Anglo-Catholics and he now believes that he must lead the way to union with the Universal Church.Bishop Keith Newton of Richborough, England said in a pastoral letter to priests and people in the Richborough area that he will resign as bishop as of Dec. 31. He will not conduct any public episcopal services. This “difficult” decision followed much thought and prayer,...

Anglican Bishop John Broadhurst Vatican City, Nov 10, 2010 / 04:06 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Just weeks after a papal pilgrimage to England, the announcement that five Anglican bishops plan to resign by year’s end and join the Catholic Church is setting wheels in motion at the Vatican.The Nov. 8 announcement seems to have caught Vatican officials by surprise. And the question of just how these bishops and other former members of the Church of England will enter the Catholic Church has quickly become an important topic of discussion inside the Vatican. The bishops — Andrew Burnham of Ebbsfleet, Keith...

Bishop Alan Hopes Rome, Italy, Nov 8, 2010 / 01:47 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Five Anglican bishops announced their resignations from the Church of England today so that they can enter into full communion with the Catholic Church. The decision to resign made by Bishops Andrew Burnham, Keith Newton, John Broadhurst, Edwin Barnes and David Silk was welcomed by Catholic Auxiliary Bishop Alan Hopes of Westminster in a message on Nov. 8.Anglican Archbishop Rowan Williams said that he accepted the resignations of Bishops Burnham and Newton with regret. Bishop Broadhurst had been serving as the head of Forward in Faith,...

Across the Episcopal Diocese of New Hampshire, congregants and clergy today reacted with heavy hearts to word that Bishop V. Gene Robinson is retiring. Robinson, 63, whose consecration seven years ago as the first openly gay bishop in the Episcopal Church divided the Anglican Communion worldwide, yesterday announced at the annual convention of the New Hampshire diocese that he plans to retire in January 2013, short of the mandatory 72-year-old retirement age for Episcopal bishops. He cited death threats and the considerable strain that the worldwide rift has placed on him, his family, and the church.

With Pope Benedict XVI's Anglicanorum Coetibus clearing away the obstacles for Anglicans to reunite with Rome, some Episcopal parishes are doing that very thing. This past Sunday, Baltimore's Mount Calvary Episcopal Church voted to join the Catholic Church, making it the first congregation in Maryland to do so.The small Anglo Catholic parish at Madison Avenue and Eutaw Street was feeling increasingly alienated from the Episcopal Church as it accepted priests who did not believe in what most of the congregation saw as the foundations of the faith, according to Warren Tanghe, a former Episcopal priest who is now attending...

Catholic and Anglican bishops gather at Lambeth Palace as they await the arrival of Pope Benedict XVI on September 17 (Chris Ison/PA Wire)The Catholic group in the Church of England’s General Synod has called for traditionalists to stay, claiming that they have the numbers to ensure provisions for objectors to women bishops.Led by Canon Simon Killwick, the group claims that a reshuffle in the Church of England’s legislative body means that Anglo-Catholics and evangelicals could successfully oppose legislation on women bishops in 2012 unless it is amended to meet their demands.They hope to establish a rival organisation to the Personal...

Now after Bishop John Broadhurst three more Bishops of the Anglican Church want to cross over to the Roman Catholic Church. London [kath.net/idea/red] Now there are already four Bishops of the Anglican Church crossing over to the Roman Catholic Church. They are against women in the office of Bishop. The general Synod had opened the way for the ordination of female Bishops in July. The official Bishop John Broadhurst (Diocese of Fulham), Andrew Burnham (Ebbsfleet) and Keith Newton (Richborough) as well as the retired Bishop Edward Barnes desire, according to information at the "Times", to make use of the possibility,...

Bishop John Broadhurst, Bishop of Fulham in the Anglican diocese of London, is to resign his post later this year to join the Pope’s Ordinariate. The Catholic Herald’s Anna Arco broke the story, also revealing that Bishop Broadhurst will stay as chairman of Forward in Faith, which he says is “not a Church of England organisation”. It sounds as if traditional Anglo-Catholicism is undergoing a major shift (or crisis) of allegiance, because FiF, though not representative of everyone in that constituency, was the main body for Anglo-Catholics in the Church of England opposed to women bishops and priests. Now it...

Breaking news from the Catholic Herald’s investigative reporter Anna Arco: Britain could have an Ordinariate by the end of the year, it emerged today.Sources say that the Rt Rev Keith Newton, the flying Bishop of Richborough and the Rt Rev Andrew Burnham, the flying Bishop of Ebbsfleet, will take up the special canonical structure, which allows groups of Anglicans to come into full Communion with Rome without losing their Anglican identity, before the end of the calendar year.Groups of Anglicans are already forming across the country in preparation for joining an Ordinariate, according to the blog of the retired Bishop...

Archbishop Wuerl Washington D.C., Sep 23, 2010 / 05:40 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Archbishop of Washington Donald Wuerl will guide the incorporation of interested Anglican groups into the Catholic Church in the United States under the apostolic constitution “Anglicanorum Coetibus,” a Vatican congregation has announced.The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) has named the archbishop as its delegate in this position, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) reports. Archbishop Wuerl also heads the U.S. bishops’ ad hoc committee that is assisting the CDF in implementing the apostolic constitution, which Pope Benedict XVI issued in November 2009.“Anglicanorum Coetibus”...

Archbishop Kurt Koch Vatican City, Sep 23, 2010 / 09:33 am (CNA/EWTN News).- The head of the Vatican's department for Christian unity said that with the new Anglican ordinariate, Pope Benedict is merely opening the door, to those "who knock." Reflecting on the recent trip to the U.K., he added that the possible mass conversions are not an impediment to the continued dialogue between the Anglican and Catholic Churches.In an interview published in Wednesday's edition of L'Osservatore Romano (LOR), Archbishop Kurt Koch, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity spoke of the "great success" of the Pope's...

The key to the Pope's success in Great Britain   by Phil Lawler, September 21, 2010 Most of the reporters writing about the papal visit are clearly surprised by this outcome, and more than a few are betraying their disappointment. A week ago the same reporters were predicting a debacle, and some of them were relishing that prospect. The Pope would face angry protesters wherever he turned, they said. The crowds would be small and subdued. There would be empty seats at the Pope’s public appearances. The staid, jaded secular world of Great Britain would listen skeptically, perhaps nod...

There is a near universal acclaim for the pastoral visit of the successor of Peter to the United Kingdom. The crowds, the depth of his messages in every venue, the obvious hunger of the faithful for the truth of the ancient faith, all added together to make this trip both memorable and historic. However, though Pope Benedict has physically departed and returned to Rome, the mission he elaborated in this historic four day visit has only just begun. It is the New Evangelization of the Church in the United Kingdom and then, through her, the unfolding of a new missionary...

Pope Benedict XVI has returned to his summer residence at Castel Gandolfo for a few days of relaxation, after a 4-day visit to Great Britain that his spokesman characterized as “an extraordinary success.” In England, loyal Catholics were sorry to see the Pope leave, but elated by his visit and energized by his message. A headline in the Catholic Herald captured the mood nicely: “The Pope has routed his enemies and brought joy to the faithful.” In the short report appearing under that headline, William Oddie said that the Pope’s personality had overcome the skepticism that had been fueled by...

Pope Benedict XVI meets bishops at Oscott College seminary in Birmingham, central England September 19, 2010. ZE10091911 - 2010-09-19Permalink: http://www.zenit.org/article-30421?l=englishBishop of Rome Makes 2 Specific Requests in UK Speaks of New Missal Translation and "Anglicanorum Coetibus" BIRMINGHAM, England, SEPT 19, 2010 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI took leave of the United Kingdom today, entrusting before he left two particular tasks to the bishops of England, Scotland and Wales.The final activity on the Pope's tightly-packed agenda was a meeting with the prelates at St. Mary's College seminary, an architecturally magnificent site rich in the history of the Catholic renewal in England after...

Until last night, no Pope had set foot in Westminster Abbey, even though it was doing Catholic coronations for 500 years before Henry VIII had other ideas. No Pope had set foot in the Palace of Westminster either, let alone addressed its occupants. So yesterday was a day of profound historic importance here at the very heart of the British state. And yet, it was the street cleaning department of Westminster City Council which threatened to steal the headlines. The arrest of six litter sweepers amid suspicions of terrorist activity undeniably distracted from a day of huge religious significance. But...

Damian Thompson offers some analysis.  I found it reassuring that many of his points are in harmony with some of my thoughts.  Here is some of with my E&C: How odd that it should be the Guardian that grasped the magnitude of what happened yesterday. Andrew Brown, religion editor of Comment is Free, and the possessor of an intellect as mighty and muddled as that of Rowan Williams, writes: This was the end of the British Empire. [!] In all the four centuries from Elizabeth I to Elizabeth II, England has been defined as a Protestant nation. The Catholics...

Pope Benedict XVI / Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams London, England, Sep 17, 2010 / 02:55 pm (CNA).- In his Friday visit to Lambeth Palace, Pope Benedict XVI met with Archbishop Rowan Williams to discuss the state of Catholic-Anglican relations. In public remarks, the two leaders recalled the example of Cardinal Newman and noted both the difficulties and the promise of ecumenical dialogue in Christian friendship.Speaking in the Great Hall of the Archbishop’s Library, Pope Benedict opened by saying it was a pleasure for him to return the courtesy of visits the Archbishop of Canterbury had made to him...

Many in the mainstream media have failed to see the obvious concerning Pope Benedict XVIÂ’s trip to the United Kingdom, the truth of the Catholic Church has won out. The Pope of Christian Unity (as he is often called by the blogging Father Z) is reaching out to serious minded Christians. The Holy Father is asking them to unite as they once were under the leadership of the Successor of Saint Peter. Now I realize Pope John Paul II went to the UK, but the Anglican Church is in a far more dilapidated condition than it was then. In...

LONDON (CNS) -- Catholic officials are investigating claims that a severely deformed baby was born in a perfectly normal condition after the child's mother prayed to Cardinal John Henry Newman for a miracle. Andrea Ambrosi, the Vatican lawyer in charge of Cardinal Newman's cause for canonization, has revealed in a BBC program to be broadcast Sept. 18 that he hopes the inexplicable healing may be the miracle needed to canonize Cardinal Newman as Britain's next saint. Pope Benedict XVI will beatify Cardinal Newman at a huge open-air Mass in Birmingham's Cofton Park Sept. 19, the last day of his four-day...