Ordination offers hope to converts
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.SPECULATION was growing yesterday that other retired Anglican bishops opposed to women priests might follow the lead of the former Bishop of London and have their Anglican priesthood partially recognised when they convert to Rome, writes Andrew Brown.
Dr Graham Leonard was conditionally ordained as a Roman Catholic priest by Cardinal Hume last Saturday in the chapel at Westminster Cathedral.
Officially, the Roman Catholic Church is insisting that Anglican priestly orders are 'utterly null and void' in the words of a Vatican decree of 1896. Conditional ordination, a ceremony that implies that the ordinand might have been a priest or even a bishop outside the Roman Catholic Church, was a concession eagerly sought by the Anglicans who have been trying to become Roman Catholics after the General Synod's decision to ordain women priests. But it has in general been unequivocally refused.
So far, 182 Anglican priests have announced their intention to resign over the issue. Dr Leonard's ordination is not unprecedented. An Anglican priest was conditionally ordained as a Roman Catholic in Germany in 1959.
The official reason given was that he could prove that his consecration as an Anglican bishop had been assisted by Old Catholic bishops, members of small churches in full communion with Canterbury whose orders are none the less accepted by the Vatican.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments