I would like to see at some point an analysis from you of the breakdown of former Anglicans versus lifelong Catholics in the pews of Ordinariate parishes. I have shared with you my view of this, but perhaps others can provide information to create a better picture.My preliminary response was,
The big problem with posting on ex Anglicans vs cradle Catholics is that Houston continues not to issue any kind of statistics. Nobody so far has reported on this to me from individual parishes, and an issue there is that most are too small to be significant – one or two families would flip the overall picture in such cases.But I also ran this by my regular correspondent. I still offer the caveat that the numbers are so small overall, especially in any but the handful of large parishes, that evidence can be little more than anecdotal. But with that said, my correspondent replied,
There is also a third category: former Anglicans who became Catholic before, often long before, Anglicanorum coetibus came along. They may enjoy the opportunity to hear old familiar prayers and hymns, but they in no way represent any success of AC as an evangelising tool. Former Anglicans are encouraged to register as Ordinariate members even if there is no Ordinariate mass near enough for them to attend. That group contributes the single largest amount to the Bishop's Appeal, I note.I've had few reports from visitors on the balance in individual communities, though my understanding is that in some, like St John the Evangelist Calgary and Our Lady of the Atonement San Antonio, there is a certain amount of division between Anglican converts and cradle Catholics, especially given OLA's history as a diocesan Pastoral Provision parish.Beyond the first intake, numbers usually ascertainable from contemporary accounts of the community's reception (I think around 140 at Christ the King, Towson; a similar number at Incarnation, Orlando; then sharply down to between fifty and ten in most instances), one can then look at website/Facebook pictures of candidates being received at Easter (previously unbaptised) and Pentecost (everyone else, including Catholics who had not been confirmed) to get an idea of how many people are being brought into the Church via the Ordinariate. I recall that Holy Martyrs, Murrieta had a large (30?) number of receptions this Pentecost but that is not typical.
I also noted that Mrs Gyapong was taking a line similar to your own. I think that there is a looming split between that point of view and those who expected the OCSP to be a Traditionalist bastion. These people were mostly already Catholics.
One factor that may contribute to the obscurity of this whole issue is the lack of high-profile leadership of the laity from either Msgr Steenson or Bp Lopes. Thus as far as I know, we haven't seen either at any well-publicized Anglican-specific liturgical events like an advent festival of lessons and carols. Certainly the Houston communications staff should be able to place stories about this sort of thing in the mainstream Catholic press, prominently featuring the ordinary with his comments on the precious treasures.
Some traditions common to both Catholics and Anglicans, like blessings of the animals near the feast of St Francis of Assisi, would also be opportunities for celebrating joint backgrounds and would be occasions for the ordinary to participate visibly, again perhaps by stressing the tradition both hold in common. But so far, neither ordinary seems to have shown much interest in shaping the laity's attitudes through personal example. Much more could probably be done to unify the laity this way -- and the ordinary can certainly shape the approach of the priests as well.
I've got to think this is a symptom of an overall complacent, inward-looking attitude among ordinariate clergy, who from bottom to top seem focused primarily on their careers, rather than on the laity and their own concerns. So the divisions fester.
