Of course my tongue was firmly in cheek as I wrote that. However, I will grant that if a man obstinately persists in public sin such as a cohabitating sexual relationship (with anyone) then that is a clear impediment to his ordination, or any other sacrament for that matter. But as far as I know it would only be an impediment to liceity and not validity, and this thread is about validity.
I find this to be reasonable. Certainly men who are in a sexual relationship outside of marriage should not be ordained. Sadly, things like this sometimes slip through the cracks.
While we would consider Scandinavian Lutheran orders as valid AS, I suspect that Rome probably would not.
Also about Lutherans, the clergy of the ELCA, as a result of its altar and pulpit agreement with the TEC, now claim AS through the Anglican lines, including “Dutch Touch”, though I would defer to GKC on any matter of Anglican and through it, ELCA apostolic succession.
Actually, I’ve come across this “rumor” as well. I don’t think there was ever an official pronouncement on the matter, but there has been a theory floating around Catholic circles that the Lutheran Church of Sweden may have preserved apostolic succession/valid orders as the Catholic bishops, from what I understand, embraced Lutheranism and continued to ordain their successors down to the present day with correct form (and possibly sufficiently evangelical catholic theology to satisfy the requirement of intent). That being said, even if this were the case, I imagine they are now ordaining women? That’s a curve ball…
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