Last sighting of Mr Hodil was on the Tampa Bay Ordinariate FB page in February of this year, with the note that "Fr William Holiday at Incarnation in Orlando has placed him with us for an indefinite length of time for each of our monthly sessions." This was the group that was shut down at the behest of the local diocesan when Philip Meyer was leading it. Seems to have restarted, meeting at the New Port Richey home of a laywoman (Barbara Westcott), a former Methodist who became a Catholic in 1976 (scroll down this page for her story).One characterization I might make of this is "loosey-goosey". A little group that wants to be Catholic Anglican or Anglican Catholic meets in a nice lady's front parlor once a month for potluck and evening prayer. There is no schedule for reception. The is no apparent effort at catechesis. Their deacon, while transitional, will someday maybe become a Catholic priest. (Wait a moment -- isn't a transitional deacon ordained priest within at most a year of being ordained deacon?) Dcn Hodil, maybe not. All depends.The group is still linked to the map on the Anglicanorum Coetibus Society site (though not on the OCSP Find a Parish) but it does not seem to have met since February 2018. Shut down again? Mr Hodil has preached more recently (May) at Incarnation, Orlando. His description on his Instagram account reads "Former Presbyterian minister Transitional Deacon Someday maybe Catholic priest (????) 'I have been crucified with Christ.' " Perhaps this indicates that a Potemkinville is a must if one wishes to be ordained priest, especially for someone who seems to have had no background in Anglican ministry.
Here's what bothers me about this as a true crime fan. We've already looked at the story of Martin Sigillito, a con artist who represented himself as a "continuing Anglican" bishop. He was convicted in 2012 on 20 counts of wire fraud, mail fraud, conspiracy and money laundering in his trial for a massive real estate Ponzi scheme that swindled investors out of more than $56 million.
Exactly how do prospective OCSP members protect themselves against a hypothetical Fr Chichester, who sets up a monthly potluck-and-evening-prayer in the front parlor of some helpful mark and winds up swindling the little group that gets together? With a little research, our hypothetical Fr Chichester can say he has the endorsement of Fr Phillips (or anyone else) for this little project, and wearing clericals with a Luke Reese demeanor, he will likely get away with it.
Every once in a while, we see in our parish bulletin announcements to the general effect that a male representing himself as a Fr O'Flaherty is turning up on parish properties within the archdiocese. Fr O'Flaherty is not a priest of the archdiocese. If anyone encounters him, it is urged that they contact the Vicar for Clergy. Several things protect the faithful here. One is that there are designated parishes with designated priests. There is a Vicar for Clergy who is concerned about these things and will take action. There is an official communication from the archdiocese about the matter to the faithful.
The OCSP is so loosey-goosey that our hypothetical Fr Chichester can even set up a Facebook page representing itself as the St Alphonsus Liguori Ordinariate group, make announcements, post photos, and more important, pitch the new building fund. It's a very dodgy thing whether anyone in Houston would even notice it. What's the difference between this and the maybe-sorta-kinda Tampa group?
But also, while "stability" in and of itself doesn't seem to be a specific virtue, Benedictines do take a vow of stability, and the word does pop up in the Catechism as a beneficial feature of the Church. Where is the stability in these groups that appear and disappear with such regularity? Why are the faithful being encouraged to go to monthly potlucks when there are daily and Sunday masses, RCIA, confessions, Bible study, and so much else likely within half a mile distance?
Why is there no definite schedule for reception for the Tampa group, or if the group has folded, why is there no announcement from Houston? This, of course, applies to the loosey-goosiness that's emerging with respect to the St Mary of the Angels group.
I would not go anywhere near this thing. I assume, by the way, that an RCIA program will begin at Our Mother of Good Counsel next month. It might be a good idea for those in the St Mary's group to sign up -- at least they'll definitely be received at Easter.
