I sincerely hope that former Anglicans living in locations without an OCSP group---that would include 35 out of the 50 most populous US cities---are fully engaged in a local parish, and if they have registered as Ordinariate members it is not at the expense of thinking of themselves as Catholics, first and foremost. If, as seems to be the case, the only new groups forming are those which a former clergyman is trying to gather as his ticket to ordination, we can assume that the number of groups will not increase significantly[.]I'm curious in particular about the Pasadena-group-vaguely-in-formation. It appears to be made up of otherwise unaffiliated cradle Catholics who want at least to appear traditionalist, though I wonder if there's a certain Anglo-Catholic get-the-prestige-without-paying-the-dues strain here. Since they're already Catholic, are they registered and receiving the sacraments at any diocesan parish? Are they financially supporting a diocesan parish, the archdiocese, or the OCSP in any way but a token bill-in-the-basket?
I would invite Mr Coulombe or anyone else connected with this group to rebut this by indicating at which parishes the members are registered and things like pledge amounts (anonymously attributed) to diocesan parishes, the archdiocese, and the OCSP, sufficient to reassure me that these aren't your grandfather's Anglo-Catholics.
I've seen efforts at two diocesan parishes to steer liturgy in a more traditional direction. Are these people aware of, or involved in, any such efforts in diocesan parishes? Might such efforts be better directed within the diocese? But of course, this would interfere with efforts by Fr Bartus to build a little empire, separate and not just unique.
Further,
[I]ndeed it is more likely that "parishes-in-formation" which have not achieved significant growth in the first five years will will start to disappear as their clergy retire or are relocated. So what is it all about? As I have often stated, the "Anglican Patrimony" is very difficult to define. Is it elements of pre-Reformation Catholicism which were preserved in the separated English church? Or is it distinctive pastoral, spiritual, or liturgical emphases which are nonetheless compatible with Catholicism, or can be made so? Personally I find the whole thing an exercise comparable to cross-dressing and gender reassignment.The link is to a five-year, $645,000 "strategic plan" at St Thomas More Toronto, which involves making a part-time priest full time, adding a music program, repairing the organ, and so forth. The group currently meets in an off-hour mass at a host parish. The current part-time priest is on the verge of retirement, which raises the question of who will replace him and how such a campaign can maintain leadership during the transition.Finally, we are told that it is a template for the evangelisation of other Protestant groups, which is particularly absurd. How can something which has achieved so little success with Anglicans be a template for anything? I would like to think that Bp Lopes is seeking to rationalise the OCSP and create a smaller but more vibrant association of viable parish communities. But I am baffled by the apparent incompetence of his diocesan office---the lack of news, the disarray of the website, the apparent lack of "diocesan" discipline.
I draw your attention to the $645,000 fund-raising campaign announced here. Was this co-ordinated with Houston?
There are other things that set off my "bull-oney" detector. The goals are grandiose but too far out for realistic assessment, much like the global warming campaigns that want to do such-and-such by 2050, when nobody now around will be held accountable. The current priest, after all, will be out of the picture when the campaign winds up in 2022, and in fact the 2017 proposal will probably long since have been forgotten by then.
Yes, I'm sorry to say, this probably was coordinated with Houston, but this isn't to Houston's credit. It looks like another effort to distract attention from the actual prospects pf the OCSP with blue-sky estimates. Again, I question whether Bp Lopes is effectively shepherding some of these people, who would be better advised to seek out compatible diocesan parishes and maintain the prayers and sacraments there.
