If the Pope Invites, Will They Come?

October 23rd, 2009 - No Comments

“The Vatican announced a stunning decision Tuesday to make it easier for Anglicans to convert, reaching out to those who are disaffected by the election of women and gay bishops to join the Catholic Church’s conservative ranks,” The Associated Press reports. Smeal’s Glen Kreiner, who has conducted several studies on the organizational identity of the Episcopal Church, sees three ways this play out within the Anglican Church:

This week’s offer by the Pope to accept certain Anglican priests into the Catholic Church is an interesting and complicated turn of events.
 
First, and most readily apparent, is that it gives a certain subgroup of disaffected Anglican priests a place to go where they find themselves more “at home” with their beliefs.
 
Second, thinking with a longer-term view, it could provide added incentive for the global Anglican leadership to find palatable solutions for the conservatives in the Communion. Knowing that the Catholic option is on the table might make it even more important to have a viable, attractive option within the Communion.
 
Third, it should be noted that there would be considerable difficulties for the vast majority of Anglican priests to make this shift. Although conservative Anglicans find themselves aligned on many issues with Rome (e.g., homosexuality), there are many substantial issues of dissimilarity, especially that of authority—Anglicans are not accustomed to having a strong, central leader. Additionally, Anglicans cherish their history and identity, and a considerable aspect of that identity is blending elements of Catholicism and Protestantism rather than being one or the other.

Kreiner’s most recent research on the Episcopal Church has just been released as part of the church’s Around One Table initiative, which focuses on the main aspects of Episcopal identity, or what it means to be Episcopalian. Kreiner recently shared the results of another study with Smeal’s Research with Impact Web site. In this study, Kreiner explains how Episcopal priests manage work-life balance and what the rest of us can learn from them.

Tags: Kreiner, Organizations

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