Anglicans... Homeward Bound

The Anglican Catholic Church of Canada (ACCC) has voted to join with the See of St. Peter through the guidelines of Anglicanorum Coetibus, the Apostolic Constitution created by Pope Benedict XVI (the Complementary Norms can be found here). Support for the Ordinariate was unanimous in the House of Clergy and received 25 of 30 votes from lay delegates (two members opposing the proposal and three abstaining). The Catholic News Agency has more information if you're interested.

Right now, the Catholic Church has approximately 1.166 billion children. I think that when the statistics come out in a few years, the numbers will have risen once again as a result of this beautiful constitution. The Anglican Church just can't stay above water. Rowan Williams is losing power, and the ACCC isn't the first to vote to join the Catholic Church.

Friday Review

So, a few minor things have happened lately that aren't large enough to really discuss in depth, but are interesting nevertheless.

The Pope and the Tridentine Mass

The news has been going around for a while (about 5 days or so) that Pope Benedict XVI celebrates the Tridentine Mass (Extraordinary Form of the Mass) privately. While this rumor has been circulating for a years, this is the first time a bishop has gone on record in affirmation (as far as I know). Bishop Bernard Fellay, The head of the Society of St Pius X (SSPX), made this claim at a gathering in Brazil this month (you can read the article here, and a translation of it here). He also stated that one reason the Holy Father celebrates the Extraordinary Form in private and not in public is because an unnamed Italian bishop had threatened to resign.

Revised Church Law on Sexual Abuse

The Vatican just released new norms in dealing with cases of sexual abuse.

It's important to emphasis a word in the title... revised.
Previous to the American sexual abuse crises, the Vatican already had norms for dealing with cases of sexual abuse. Were they lacking? Sure. After all, they hadn't been updated for about a century and many things had changed between that time (World Wars, Vatican II, etc.). A new set of norms was released in 2001 by Pope John Paul II, which you can read here (for more information on the American sexual abuse crises, I would point to John J. Allen, Jr.'s book All the Pope's Men. While Mr. Allen is in no way conservative or orthodox, he often ticks off the readers of National "Catholic" Reporter, so I'd say he's middle ground. Either way, he gives some excellent information that is worth reading). Those norms were in dealing with the American sexual abuse crises.

You're the Best Player Our Team's Got!

I've often used this phrase when playing a game against my brothers or sister or my mom or dad. It comes from the fact that they are so horrible, they are actually helping my team by playing against me. Well, I can also say the same to the Anglican Church.

Pope Benedict XVI's Reform

Here's the thing... I think people aren't looking at the big picture. A lot of people get all up in arms and get quite angry when Pope Benedict XVI does something small in regards to the liturgy, such as asking people to kneel when receiving Communion from the Pope. Also take for example Pope Benedict allowing, not forcing, parishes and bishops to more widely use the Tridentine Mass.