But Let's Get Back To Reconciliation

If there's one lesson to be taken from the ongoing story in this blog, it's that becoming Catholic is a major decision. While I'm not sure that the Portsmouth Letter was the actual cause of Anglicanorum coetibus, the story of the letter and the intricate misery that's cascaded from it in the TAC and elsewhere shows the implications of tampering lightly with the spiritual. Something over two dozen TAC bishops thought it might be a good idea to become Catholic, provided they didn't have to put themselves out unnecessarily. Six years later, only a few have actually followed through, while other careers, including those of John Hepworth, David Moyer, and Daren Williams, have crashed and burned. Clergy and laity who acted in good faith on the premises of the letter and what they took to be the TAC's intent over Anglicanorum coetibus have been left in the lurch.

It's plain that if people say they're "in favor of the Ordinariate", the example of the TAC bishops should be enough to show that this doesn't necessarily mean they're prepared to make whatever sacrifices might be involved in becoming Catholic. Over the past couple of years, I've been privileged to know a few people who've decided to convert to Catholicism from Mormonism and Scientology. They're good examples of the strength of character that's needed for this kind of journey.

Not everyone has this strength of character or this ability to follow through. Nor has the leadership, in either the ACA or the Ordinariate, necessarily had the ability to explain the real choices involved clearly: a good example is the story of St Aidan's Des Moines, in which Louis Falk, a prime mover behind the Portsmouth Letter, allowed his parishioners to believe Anglican annulments would be observed by the Ordinariate, or that the Ordinariate would overlook matters like being a Mason. The parish finally brought Msgr Steenson up to Des Moines to explain reality however reluctantly, at which point it voted overwhelmingly to reverse earlier elections and stay out of the Ordinariate. Falk then blamed Steenson for the whole debacle. Falk, of course, was "in favor of the Ordinariate" all along; he just happens to be one of the great majority of TAC bishops who haven't followed through.

One version of the factions at St Mary of the Angels is that there has been a group of putative good-guys, who were "in favor of the Ordinariate" but against Fr Kelley. As it happens, many of these had obstacles of the usual sort to becoming Catholic, which raises questions about their sincerity. The elected vestry of St Mary's and Fr Kelley both accepted a proposal from Msgr Steenson in July 2012 that suggested Fr Kelley be placed on an extended sabbatical that would amount to a generous severance package. Steenson would then proceed to appoint an Ordinariate priest, and things would move forward.

Wouldn't you expect the putative pro-Ordinariate, anti-Kelley good-guy faction to drop all their reservations and decide to move forward in a unified parish? Of course, no such thing has happened. Becoming Catholic as an individual is complex and difficult enough. As a parish, it's harder still. Everyone involved needs to get real about this situation.