The Rev. Richard Rodgers of Blessed Sacrament Old Catholic Church in Racine, Wis., has presided over Masses since 1989. But Rodgers isn’t a typical priest — the 62-year-old pastor is married and has a son and grandchildren.
A former Episcopalian minister, Rodgers leads a seven-member congregation in the Chicago Diocese of the Old Catholic Church, a hybrid of Roman Catholic and Anglican traditions.
“I left the Episcopal Church because it was slowly descending into chaos,” Rodgers said, referring to his opposition to the church’s acceptance of openly gay clergy, blessing over same-sex unions and allowance of female priests and bishops.
Traditionalists in the Episcopal Church believe these practices go against biblical teachings. Rodgers said he and his parishioners were looking to maintain a more conservative approach to worship when they left the church.
They weren’t the only ones to leave the Episcopal Church.
The Catholic Church has been strongly encouraging Anglican conversions since 1980, when Pope John Paul II passed the “Anglican Use” provision. It allowed for former Anglican parishes to keep certain elements of the Anglican service and tradition while also embracing conservative Catholic values.
Typically, Anglican Use parishes answer to the Roman Catholic bishop of their diocese. These churches are considered Roman Catholic by the church authority, though they still maintain some Anglican traditions. Married priests, like Rogers, have been allowed to join.
In an Oct. 20 announcement, Pope Benedict XVI looked to further ease the process of conversion for Anglicans. The pope established a new position in the church — personal ordinariate — an office to provide pastoral oversight and guidance for Anglicans looking to join in full communion with the Catholic Church through Anglican Use. In effect, the ordinariates will serve as bishops to Anglican Use parishes.
Rodgers said the Vatican’s recent efforts are aimed at capitalizing on the tensions within the Anglican Church to bring more members to Catholic Church.
Bill Chapin, president of the southeastern Wisconsin chapter of the American Anglican Council, another group that has broken off from the Episcopal Church, said he believes that not many people will want to join the Catholic Church in the area.
Chapin heads a group of Episcopalians “who still believe in the orthodox teachings of the Anglican Church,” but have also broken away from the Episcopal Church for its stance on gay clergy, in addition to theological differences. The group is aligned with the newly formed Anglican Church of North America.
However, some Anglican parishes across the country have fully made the conversion to Catholicism. Our Lady of Atonement Catholic Church in San Antonio, Texas, was the first Anglican Use parish to become part of the Catholic Church in 1983.
The Sunday services at Blessed Sacrament in Racine closely resemble those of the Anglo-Catholic Masses in San Antonio. This includes a more traditional way of receiving communion that includes kneeling. An Anglican hymnbook, “The Book of Divine Worship,” provides music. Much of the service is performed with the priest’s back to the congregation.
Rodgers described his Mass as being the “old traditional Latin service in English,” a reference to the Catholic liturgy pre-Second Vatican Ecumenical Council.
Some theologians view the latest move by Pope Benedict XVI as a step toward unification of these closely related churches.
Julian Hills, an associate professor of theology and an expert on the relationship between the Episcopal and Roman Catholic churches, said the pope’s recent move is “an effort to receive Anglicans while letting them retain some dignity.”
Hills said an additional motivation may be to push for the conversion of entire parishes at once instead of individual conversions.
Pope Benedict XVI • Nov 15, 2009 at 5:44 pm
Do you know what the difference is between the 19th century breakaway “Old Catholic Church” and the actual Catholic Church, the rites that are allegiant to Rome?
For the only accredited journalism program at a Catholic university, failing to point out this difference is a bit sad.
bitsnbytes • Nov 12, 2009 at 8:35 pm
This parish of the “Old Catholic Church” describes itself as “Anglican Use” (a Roman Catholic term) and uses the Roman-Catholic-approved “Book of Divine Worship”, according to its web page.
http://netministries.org/see/churches.exe/ch32568
Using RCC terminology and liturgical books makes it look as if he were exploiting confusion in order to bring more members to his church. — Oh, funny: that’s what he accused the Pope of doing!
Bruce • Nov 12, 2009 at 12:04 pm
Why does “Chicago Diocese of the Old Catholic Church” link to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago? These are different organizations.
Is the Book of Divine Worship that is used at Racine the same as the Anglican Use Book of Divine Worship? If so, it is not a hymnal, but a modification of the Episcopal/Anglican Book of Common Prayer for use in Anglican Use parishes.
This article lacked a great deal of clarity and seemed very misleading, conflating Old Catholics, Roman Catholics, independent Anglicans, etc. I am frequently disappointed at how religion is reported in United States media, and this is just another example of poor reporting. It may be poor research/understanding on the part of the writer, or messing editing by the newspaper.
Warren • Nov 12, 2009 at 11:53 am
Not so much troll as true: the aforementioned “little boxes” share a common heritage of all claiming something which does not belong to them, i.e., authority. Sure, JWs are as far from Christianity as Unitarians, and neither of those two would claim any likeness to the other whatsoever. However, as much as Christ desires unity amongst His followers, no sect has preserved what Christ gave to His Church, i.e., the unity in the truth of the Catholic Faith of the Apostles. It is in that regard, the endless divisions within protestantism and it’s furthest heretical reaches, that what is shared is that which none of the sects can hope to achieve – unity in the truth. And, as far as truth is concerned, maybe the real trolls are the ones doing the name calling. Ad hominem attacks? – how predictable.
Jsmith • Nov 12, 2009 at 10:18 am
Wolf Paul: You’re right that the differences are significant. Mu opinion is that Arthur is a troll.
Wolf Paul • Nov 12, 2009 at 8:42 am
Arthur:
If they all look just the same to you, you either have not been looking very closely, or else you are blind.
Arthur • Nov 12, 2009 at 4:15 am
Choose your fiction!
Episcopal, Anglican, Anglican, Presbyterian, Methodist, Baptist, Jehovah’s Witness, Christadelphian, Spiritualist, Unitarian.
Little boxes on the hill side and they all look just the same!!