Do Come Home, All is Forgiven

The Catholic Herald (UK) reports that Cardinal Walter Kasper, president of the Pontifical Council of Christian Unity, has issued a challenge to the Anglican Church on the eve of its Lambeth Conference to "choose between Protestantism and the ancient churches of Rome and Orthodoxy."

Speaking on the day that the Archbishop of Canterbury met Benedict XVI in Rome, Cardinal Walter Kasper, the president of the Pontifical Council of Christian Unity, said it was time for Anglicanism to "clarify its identity".

He told the Catholic Herald: "Ultimately, it is a question of the identity of the Anglican Church. Where does it belong?

"Does it belong more to the churches of the first millennium -Catholic and Orthodox - or does it belong more to the Protestant churches of the 16th century? At the moment it is somewhere in between, but it must clarify its identity now and that will not be possible without certain difficult decisions."

He said he hoped that the Lambeth conference, an event which brings the worldwide Anglican Communion together every 10 years, would be the deciding moment for Anglicanism.

These remarks from the Cardinal are striking indeed and highlight the "special relationship," similar to that with Great Britain and the United States, between Rome and Canterbury; the genuine concern and affection the Holy Catholic Church has, from the Pope on down, for the souls of the Anglican schismatics. Just the same, however, Cardinal Kasper, as well the Holy Father, must be aware what parlous shape the Anglican Communion is in these days and that the chances of it "clarifying its identity" (something that has eluded her for 474 years), especially now, under the present impotent leadership of His Grace, Rowan, are nil. So we must wonder the underlying purpose of the Cardinal's remarks.

It is hard to say but it could be that Cardinal Kasper (and, by extension, the Holy Father) are giving notice they no longer have confidence in the continued viability of the Anglican Communion, that the upcoming Lambeth Conference could well be her last. Traditionalist Anglicans, therefore, should be thinking long and hard about the wisdom of staying within the fold of a organization that is on the verge of fracture.

Last year, one of the many breakaway "alphabet soup" Anglican organizations, the Traditional Anglican Communion, petitioned the Pope to be admitted, en masse, into the Holy Catholic Church. The Church has a tradition of moving glacially slow on requests of that sort but I suspect the TAC may receive a reply soon and that it will be positive. Cardinal Kasper's recent comments could be serving as ground preparation for the TAC and other disaffected Anglicans, at least those of Catholic leaning; an announcement that the Holy Catholic Church will no longer be shy about openly welcoming Anglicans into the One True Fold. Let us hope that is the case and that Anglicans will follow suit. They would bring a rich tradition of worship into the Catholic Church and she would benefit immensely from it.

(h/t William Tighe.)