I have mixed feelings about drawing attention to the following which is a reported extract from a leaked email from the Anglican "flying bishop" of Ebbsfleet, Andrew Burnham, one of the "flying bishops" of the C of E:
"I am taking the liberty of mentioning, in confidence and with his permission, that we are in touch with Mgr Patrick Burke at the CDF [the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith]. It has all felt a little bit like Elizabethan espionage but, truly, the informal contact with the CDF has been invaluable, and, if ever Mgr Burke got into trouble, I should write to the pope and say how splendidly helpful he has been.
This is not known about fully in England and Wales because we are trying to ensure that the whole Anglicanorum Coetibus project, which will begin in small ways, is not smothered by the management anxieties of a hierarchy, some of whom think that Anglicans are best off doing what they are presently doing and some of whom think the project would impact adversely on the Catholic Church in England. Needless to say Fr Pat's help, and the support of Archbishop DiNoia, need, to a lesser extent, to be protected from disapproval at higher levels of the dicastery. Hence the cloak and dagger."
For fuller information see Damian Thompson in DT and Andrew Brown in The Guardian.
It has been suggested that the leak stemmed from an enemy of the Pope. But if it serves to shed some light on long-suspected shenanigans in The Magic Circle then perhaps some good will come from it, notwithstanding Bishop Andrew Burnham's embarrassment who appears to be genuinely trying to help the Holy Father. I had the pleasure of meeting bishop Andrew some years ago,when I assisted him in the blessing of a Baptismal font! He struck me then as someone who would have made a great Catholic Bishop, if he had been given the grace to be a Catholic. Some graces come slowly. Maybe some of our Lenten prayers and penances could be offered for all involved.
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ReplyDeleteMy last comment was a bit mean, so I removed it. I will pray for them.
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