Damian Thompson covers the Roman Catholic Church for the London newspaper the Daily Telegraph. His “Holy Smoke” columns often raise issues that you rarely read in American religious publications and virtually never read in our secular newspapers. An example of this can be found in his Wednesday, July 16 column “Benedict is Encouraging Anglican Converts” (http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/damian_thompson/blog/2008/07/16/benedict_is_encouraging_anglican_converts)
Thompson correctly points out that “progressive” American Catholics are horrified at the prospect of a mass conversion of orthodox Anglicans to the Roman Church. In response they are spreading the fallacy that Pope Benedict rejects any support of those in conflict with the Anglican churches latest moves supporting homosexual clergy and women bishops:
“Liberals claim that Pope Benedict has ‘let it be known that he does not support the defection of conservative Anglicans to the Roman
Catholic Church’. He has done no such thing.
The Pope is supporting moves by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith to construct a model whereby a group of rebel conservative Anglicans, the Traditional Anglican Communion, can be received en masse and occupy their own structures inside the Roman Catholic Church. This model which is being constructed in secret – could serve as a blueprint for mainstream Anglicans wanting to convert as a group.”
Thompson also reminds readers that this is not the first time that Pope Benedict has supported conservative Anglicans. In 2003 then-Cardinal Ratzinger “sent a personal message of support to conservative Anglicans meeting in Dallas ,” an action that put him in conflict with the Vatican ’s ecumenism representatives.
Read Thompson’s column.
Donald Tremblay
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