The enigma of conservative Anglicanism: Bishop Love of Albany can support and practice the pretended ordination of women, while David Virtue, IIRC, opposes it (at least so far as the presbyterate is concerned; last I heard, he was in favor of woman deacons), and yet he can describe Bishop Love as the last orthodox bishop in the Episcopal Church.And further,
I don’t understand the Cold Case File writer’s point of view. The Ordinariate is there; if they want to be Catholic with Anglican style liturgy they can. But they will have to accept the Catechism, and an authority. If they are fundamentally Protestants after all, there is ACNA, where they also have to accept a degree of doctrinal and liturgical authority over them. If they want to continue doing their own thing and getting a nice pension at the end, the cost of that is same sex marriage and priestesses. Most will decide they can, after all, live with those things.This in turn brought to mind a remark by the late Msgr William Stetson in his History of the Pastoral Provision:
When asked the difference between being an Episcopalian priest and a Catholic priest, one former Episcopalian priest answered, “about twenty thousand dollars.” The financial arrangements for Catholic clergy are not suited to the needs of married men. This is a topic that needs further study and on which bishops sponsoring candidates need guidance.I think the way to reconcile all this is to say that poor Bp Love is facing the Steenson Dilemma. Steenson was ordained in TEC after "continuing" Anglicanism had become a thing, so we must assume he was reconciled with women's ordination and the 1979 BCP. Nevertheless, his delicacy was such that as a bishop, he would have a suffragan ordain women priests, but he was OK with concelebrating with them once they were ordained.
He was sufficiently with the TEC program that in the wake of Eugene Robinson's election as Bishop of New Hampshire, he wrote an essay, "The New Donatists", accusing those who objected of heresy. Yet not long afterward, he succumbed to Bernard Law's blandishments, resigned his episcopal see, and traveled to Rome with what must certainly have been assurances that he would become ordinary of a new Anglican personal prelature. Whatever the difference was between an Episcopalian bishop and a Catholic ordinary, we must assume something was added to sweeten the deal. I believe he continued to own a private plane.
By the same token, I think the visitor who commented on the incentives for Bp Love wasn't too far from the mark. I would guess that even Cardinal Law's charisma could command only so many resources to recruit additional TEC bishops to the cause, but he is no longer available for the project. An apologia for his conversion by Steenson published in 2008 is full of equivocation and sheepish confessions:
So why did you become a Catholic? What was it that induced you to cast aside the reasonably comfortable life of a bishop in the Episcopal Church and commit professional suicide in your midfifties? And why the Catholic Church instead of one of the alternative Anglican options? I noticed that my answers have not always been the same, and this has bothered me.So he was copacetic with the 1979 liturgy, women's ordination, women bishops, Jack Spong, and Gene Robinson, but March 28, 2007 -- that was the last straw!! And as of 2008, his designation as North American ordinary was still four years away, but we must assume it was in train and well assured, and his living arrangements in Rome were provided for. This man made no sacrifice. I think the commenter above isn't wrong in suspecting an equivalent package for Bp Love would bring an equivalent move., , , I still have a sense of guilt about the whole ordeal of becoming a bishop in the Episcopal Church, because I was so conflicted about its direction. It was perfectly evident in 2004 where things were heading. My only defense is that I still hoped Anglicanism, at the eleventh hour, might yet reorder its life so as not to lose its original Catholic identity.
. . . the tumult reached a crescendo at the House of Bishops meeting on March 20, 2007. That was the day the bishops overwhelmingly rejected the valiant work that had been done to propose more effective instruments for the Anglican Communion, and they insisted that the polity of the Episcopal Church is independent, democratic, and connected to the rest of Anglicanism by voluntary association. By sunset I knew that I could not remain in the Episcopal Church under these circumstances.
But let's take Msgr Stetson's recognition of the economic factor in Episcopalian clergy choosing to become Catholic or not a step farther. A bishop will make the move if it suits him financially. What about priests who need, as Stetson estimates, another 20K? Or maybe to put it differently, what about priests who'll make such a move without the extra 20K? Well, in the first wave of ordinations in 2012-13, we did get a few rectors from established parishes, but not many -- and certainly most of those came in with their parishes (Fr Catania was an exception). CORRECTION: : Fr Catania did bring his parish---Mt Calvary---with him into the OCSP, but was replaced by Fr Scharbach in 2014.
But since then, we've had just another set of illustrations that economic forces work as predicted. The men who've been recruited are't coming in for an extra 20K, and at that, they're no bargains. And they weren't formed as celibate seminarians, brought up on the recognition that the real treasures are in heaven, and they can live well enough as single men on what they're paid in the Church. Instead, we've got exactly what you'd expect from paying at the bottom in any job market, men who are desperate for any job, for any number of reasons -- and predictably, we're seeing those reasons as they gradually emerge.
Episcopalian clergy expect to ride first class. It's no surprise that the ones who consider the ordinariate are often not even the genuine article, they're just generic Anglicans -- or even worse. As my high school economics teacher pointed out, you can save money by buying the dented cans or the day-old bread. But you do then have to be a smarter consumer.
