The existence of the Ordinariates is of course a complete embarrassment to those in the Church who deal officially with representatives of the Anglican Communion. There is no possibility that Ordinariate clergy would be called on to advise or comment, and indeed, like married Catholic priests formerly Anglican on the subject of clerical celibacy, one finds them to be more conservative, more negative about what they have left behind than a disinterested party would be. Part of dealing with the pain of rupture is denigrating what is lost; that is normal human behaviour. The situation of former mainstream Anglicans trying to hold on to what they do still value with the assistance of a former Methodist, Presbyterian or other cleric who then spent some significant years in the CEC or other fringe body before metamorphosing into a Catholic priest strikes me as very sad.The definition of "ecumenism" I typically find is something like "efforts by Christians of different church traditions to develop closer relationships and better understandings", which strikes me as uselessly vague. It's worth pointing out that the generally accepted history of St Mary of the Angels is that Cardinal Manning and Bishop Rusack opposed its joining the Catholic archdiocese on the basis that it would damage their ecumenical efforts.
Unity isn't going to come about because, say, Presbyterian groups suddenly decide that breaking with Rome was a big mistake -- or the Vatican decides to split the difference with Presbyterians in some way. On the other hand, some of the best-known Catholic apologists, David Campbell, Scott Hahn, and Peter Kreeft, are all former Calvinists, but I think it's significant that their decisions to come over were individual.
I've noted before that there's simply no figure in the OCSP who is remotely equivalent as a Catholic apologist or a published intellectual. Even the bloggers who were prominent before 2012 have gone silent. The movement, such as it is, has no public voice that makes any sort of argument for why any former Anglicans should consider coming over as a group. (The one individual who might be able to do this, I hate to say it, is Fr Kelley, who has been blackballed.)
I've got to say I continue to think the OCSP was conceived and founded by opportunists who came in as a first wave. Then there was a second wave of "former Methodist, Presbyterian or other" recruits who, I strongly suspect, would with few exceptions struggle to conduct a Catholic catechism, although the groups they serve are so small it makes little difference.
Embarrassment? Bp Lopes?
