We Anglo-Catholics were never among the majority but back in the 50s and 60s we were heard. . . . where has Eucharistic Adoration, Confession gone except underground in ECUSA?This question goes to my current understanding of Anglo-Catholicism. I was a member of an Anglo-Catholic ECUSA parish for a dozen years, although it was of the "affirming" variety, which means it is gay-friendly, and it's worth pointing out that this has always been part of Anglo-Catholicism. Largely gay, Anglo-Catholic ECUSA parishes are still there and in fact thriving, and I've discussed some of the reasons here. "Not that there's anything wrong with that," as they say, especially in a liberal Protestant context, which is what ECUSA is, after all. Bishop Bruno tolerates Anglo-Catholicism of this style, as does Bishop Bennison, both very liberal.
However, we're also up against the other style of Anglo-Catholicism, that described to me in ECUSA confirmation class 30-plus years ago as the people who want to call themselves Catholic without paying the dues you actually have to pay to be Catholic. As an openly gay, Nashotah-house educated ECUSA priest explained to our parish several years ago, the Anglo-Catholic view of Confession continues to be "all may, none must, some should". The Roman Catholic view is that all Catholics must go to Confession at least once a year, in connection with receiving the Eucharist at least once a year, at Easter.
Beyond that (and this was a hard step for me to take), the Roman Catholic Catechism says that certain sins are mortal, which means that if you don't have them absolved via Confession, you'll go to hell. These include some sins that most Episcopal priests would call minor or not sins at all; I won't list them here. A good Catholic had better get to Confession in a hurry if he or she has committed a mortal sin, which of course goes well beyond grand larceny or embezzlement. (I chatted with a Catholic priest the other day who spoke of a child who confessed that he was angry with his parents, for reasons the priest thought were at least reasonable.) Episcopalian or "continuing Anglican" views on Confession are basically different from this.
But this goes to the heart of what I think is a dangerous confusion in Anglo-Catholicism. Style is one thing, substance is quite another. There is room for Anglo-Catholic style in The Episcopal Church, and that's enough for many people. To break away from The Episcopal Church into a "continuing Anglican" body that is not Roman Catholic, however, while calling yourself "Catholic", is a major mistake. You don't like TEC, you want to call yourself Catholic, then have some integrity and pay the dues you need to pay.
