Anglican order are in fact null and void, so any anglican priest ordained with such lines are not validly ordained and thus can not confect a host. Those who are in fact practicing anglican clergy, but are ordained with lines other than those of the older anglican lines are in fact validly ordianed priests in the eyes of Rome, and can confect the hosts.
With regard to the Anglicans “native” lines being declared null and void, I have aboslute confidence in this. In fact, before writing this bull, the Pope ordered the comission in charge of studying the matter to go back and study it again. Because “null and void” wasn’t the answer he was looking for, he was looking for “valid” which would have quickened the reunification of our Churches in that era.
As it is, those lines are utterly null and void, and reunification would wait for a later date. Perhaps we’re on the cusp of it now.
As I occasionally get to repeat, the story of
Apostolicae Curae is a hobby of mine, of many years standing. What the commission was charged with were two questions, formulated primarily by Cardinal Vaughan, who was the motivation behind the commission (and quite determined what the outcome should be). The commission was a reaction, and not the original one planned, to the efforts of Lord Halifax and the Abbe Portal to start a sort of early form of the ARCIC, to see if there was a possibility of moving the Anglicans and the RCC closer together. The two questions put before the (originally 6 man, later 8 man) commission were what was the RCC attitude toward the question of Anglican orders,
ab initio, and should this attitude be changed.
The story of that sad is affair is long, and covers theological, political and personal factors. The way to interpret the final judgment, for a faithful RC, is to consider Anglican orders null and void. An Anglican is free to take a different view of the matter (and the form and the intent). And we do.
The best single exposition of the logic behind this judgement is found in (then Jesuit Fr.) Francis Clark’s ANGLICAN ORDERS AND DEFECT OF INTENTION. The best expression of a possible Anglican defense against it may be found in Fr. J. J. Hughes’ two books, ABSOLUTELY NULL AND UTTERLY VOID and STEWARDS OF THE LORD. Fr. Hughes is a very interesting individual, by the way.
The question of the infusion of other, valid episcopal lines into Anglicanism is also an interesting subject. Logically, assuming valid form and matter, and taking the same measure of intent as was expressed in
Apostolicae Curae, Rome should consider (say) the infusion of Old Catholic or PNCC lines into Anglicanism to result in valid, but illicit orders. There has, however, never been a definitive statement from Rome on this.
GKC
but i tend to beleive in letting living things live if they aren’t causing any seroius harm to humans…
