Why don't they just become Catholics?

[ClamDigger]

Why don’t members of churches, such as the Anglo-Lutheran Catholic Church, just become Catholics? They accept papal infallibility, they agree with all of our dogmas, they perform the Mass in the same way we do, they practice priestly celibacy… Wouldn’t it be easier for them to just convert to Catholicism, rather than remaining seperate from us? Am I missing something?

 

[Madaglan]

Why don’t members of churches, such as the Anglo-Lutheran Catholic Church, just become Catholics? They accept papal infallibility, they agree with all of our dogmas, they perform the Mass in the same way we do, they practice priestly celibacy… Wouldn’t it be easier for them to just convert to Catholicism, rather than remaining seperate from us? Am I missing something?

Perhaps because it means breaking communion with other Christians?

 

[BernadetteM]

The last I heard was that the Anglo Lutheran Catholics are going to come into the Church through the Ordinariate for former Anglicans.

At least they were told to write to Cardinal Wuerl who is the liaison for the Ordinariate in the US.

This was around two months ago and I have not heard anymore about it.

If the Holy Father feels they should enter through the Ordinariate, it might be because from my understanding some use the Anglican Use liturgy and others use the EF. The Ordinariate Catholics will have the benefit of using the EF, however the central liturgy will be the Anglican Use liturgy that is now under revision.

Yours in the Hearts of Jesus and Mary

Bernadette

 

[Bluegoat]

I wonder if it is composed largely of people who are of Lutheran heritage. What that may mean for many people is that it is a bit like being a member of a family - you don’t get to decide on behalf of the whole family that you will all attend a particular church, you have to come to a decision as a group.

If so then there is still the question of why some would hesitate. In the case of the Anglo-Lutherans there seems to have been a movement over time to a more explicitly Catholic position. Some perhaps have been unsure whether the Catholic Church feels the same way about their Lutheran understandings as they do. But it seems pretty clear now that Pope Benedict is very sympathetic to Luther.

One thing that strikes me is that perhaps some were unwilling or disinclined to use the OF Mass. I find most Catholics do not realize what a stumbling block that can be for those who are used to a liturgy that is more substantial. So the possibility of the Anglican Ordinariates would alleviate some of those concerns.