The Vatican has just made it easier for Anglican churches to join the Roman Catholic Church:
The Vatican said it will make it far easier for disgruntled Anglicans to convert to Catholicism, in one of Rome’s most sweeping gestures to a Protestant church since the Reformation.
A newly created set of canon laws, known as an “Apostolic Constitution,” will clear the way for entire congregations of Anglican faithful to join the Catholic Church. That represents a potentially serious threat to the already fragile world-wide communion of national Anglican churches, which has about 77 million members globally.
[....]
The Apostolic Constitution calls for the creation of new church structures, called Personal Ordinariates, that will operate under local Catholic dioceses and be administered by former Anglican clergy.
Does it sound like a two-tiered system to you? It does to me.
I guess this could give conservative Anglican congregations leverage in their fight over gay bishops and ordaining women, they could threaten to join the Catholic church if their demands aren’t met. But there are some pretty substantial differences in doctrine that they’ll have to overcome first (the doctrine of justification comes to mind 
and the problem of a celibate priesthood (dispensations to married non-Catholic priests are currently granted but not on such a wide scale).
Still, the Rev. Jack Leo Iker, who leads the group that broke from the Episcopal Church of Fort Worth, said the Catholic proposal is likely to get a mixed reception.
“Not all Anglo-Catholics can accept certain teachings of the Roman Catholic Church, nor do they believe that they must first convert to Rome in order to be truly catholic Christians,” the Rev. Iker said.
It will be interesting to see what the new laws look like when they are finally made public.
posted October 21, 2009 at 3:39 pm
As for its being a “two-tiered” system, it seems that what will be in place will be something similar to what the Byzantine Catholics have. A parallel structure will allow for retention of a particular liturgical culture and/or musical atmosphere. This is a wonderful thing for people used to a more solemn and aesthetic approach to liturgy than you get in some Catholic parishes.
As for doctrinal differences: Do Anglicans even have some sort of uniform doctrine on Justification? As a Catholic, I have NEVER and I mean never, had a conversation about Justification with other Catholics. This term just does not come up. However, in my brief teenage sojourn into Pentecostalism, I heard it a lot. I had an argument about it quite recently with an ex-Catholic evangelical friend. She was quite insistent that nothing you do can “help you get into heaven.” I agree, I said,there is no way you can earn or guarantee yourself a place in heaven, yet you are most obligated to attempt to cooperate with God’s grace even as you rely on his mercy. She didn’t seem to believe that you could even will yourself to do that. Is that part of the “total depravity” idea? You can’t even exert yourself mentally to want to do good? I’m not being sarcastic, I just seriously DON’T GET IT.
Anyway, I’m not under the impression that this is a prevalent belief among Anglicans. Or am I just plain mistaken?
posted October 21, 2009 at 3:45 pm
I’ll probably have more thoughts as this sinks in, but initially I’d say we aren’t talking about great numbers of people here.
Cardinal Kasper spoke very sincerely last week: Asked Oct. 15 about the possible entrance of groups of former Anglicans into the Catholic Church, Cardinal Kasper said, “We are not fishing in the Anglican lake; proselytism is not the policy of the Catholic Church. But if there are people who, obeying their consciences, want to become Catholic, we cannot shut the door.” http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/0904673.htm
BHT linked to a critique of Anglicans making this move which concludes this way: “It illustrates the difficulties the C of E faces and the need for stronger leadership, rather than the ’softly softly’ approach so far taken to those holding liberal views who are splitting the church.” http://www.anglican-mainstream.net/?p=16600 Well, clearly some Anglicans are doing just that, opting for a stronger leadership.
posted October 21, 2009 at 7:20 pm
Appalachian Prof, here’s a critique of that model, “uniatism”:
http://blog.beliefnet.com/deaconsbench/2009/10/an-anglican-petting-zoo.html
yet you are most obligated to attempt to cooperate with God’s grace even as you rely on his mercy.
I’m not one for reading the Catechism but I read this yesterday [678]: Then will the culpable unbelief that counted the offer of God’s grace as nothing be condemned.
You’ll hear nothing about virtue from them, even as Lewis understood it. http://www.philosophyforlife.com/mc12.htm
posted October 22, 2009 at 4:02 pm
Sheep stealers!