Reading between the lines of this assessment written by a regular contributor to the OOLW's monthly magazine, Ordinariate Portal, the situation in the UK is even more fragile than that of the OCSP. Two of the five churches she mentions as bright lights are actually diocesan parishes to which an OCSP priest has been appointed as pastor or administrator.Further,The prejudice, class-based I'm sure, which prevents Catholics from accepting former Anglicans as "real Catholics" and Anglicans from accepting the Catholic church as a personal option is blamed for the lack of growth, and one has heard this so frequently from OOLW sources that it must be a genuine obstacle to its success.
The final reference to the good liturgy and music found in the Ordinariate is of course a reminder that accusations of classism in the Ordinariate project are not unmerited. And if AC cannot be an effective tool of evangelisation in a country where at least a third of the citizens are baptised Anglicans, what are its chances in the US, where the figure is closer to 1%?
Have just spent some time looking at Mrs Bogle's internet footprint and while I see that she has a reputation as a spirited spokeswoman, not to say pit bull, for conservative Catholic positions, her personal blog, "Auntie Joanna Writes," more than lives up to its name. Religion there is a cosy tea-party, where the privileged are kept safe, warm, and happy by keeping their gaze firmly fixed on the rear-view mirror. "More of these excellent sandwiches? And do have one of the cakes." Self-parodic, IMHO.One more time: What problem are we trying to solve? A half-a$$ed attempt at relieving the shortage of Catholic priests by letting in a club of favored candidates? Certainly it can't have much to do with appealing to any sort of laity.
