Conversions?
I have been following news of the new Ordinates for Catholics of the Anglican tradition mainly through my reading of articles and links the Young Fogey has posted. I wish these folks well in finding a new home, as I did in the PNCC. I wasn’t fleeing wholesale theological and patristic anarchy as they are, but rather a general weakness in Roman Catholic practice which was a disconnect from all I had learned and knew. It began as an escape, but in the time that passed I realized it had to be a re-evaluation of all I held; it had to be a process of re-education and becoming. That was necessary in order for me to be true to my choice and conscience. I needed to be honest, not just comfortable, rendering more than lip service (Matthew 15:8) to God and the Church. I faced struggles in adapting and in becoming PNCC, and I have to keep old habits and ways of thinking in check to this day.
That said, I offer a few things to consider. I know that the men (AKA bishops) leaving the Anglican Church could care less about my perspective, but here it is:
- It is a conversion. You will not be who you were, nor will you be able, of good conscience, to believe what you believed or practice what you practiced. You will be able to preserve aspects of your patrimony in liturgies and the cycle of prayer, but even they will change. Do you have it in your heart and mind to accept, defend, and teach all that the Roman Catholic Church teaches? Can you work toward that in good faith and be willing to meet the day when you have to admit that what you were was a falsehood? It will take some time to integrate these things into who you are, but you should really be going in as more than just Anglicans getting rid of women bishops. You cannot resign yourselves to being the Anglican version of “Orthodox in Communion with Rome,” accepting and rejecting teaching as you feel is right. You will trip over this stuff almost every day for the rest of your life — a lot in the beginning.
- The PNCC experience with many Anglicans has not been good. They rarely make it in the door because they freely admit they want to be Anglican in all ways, but with valid bishops and orders (of course we will not accept those who do not intend to be PNCC). Of those who do convert, many typically revert because we are simply too Catholic for their taste, or they miss home. Learn from those experiences and avoid the pitfall of tying to justify being in a happy place with few “window dressing” concessions. There is no via media. Cognitive dissonance won’t do you or the R.C. Church any good.
- Can you back the Bishop of Rome as more than that, as your Pope, with full teaching authority and universal jurisdiction, so that when he says, ‘pray it this way,’ you do it that way personal objections notwithstanding? Can you be the new More or Fisher?
- Can you see past smells, bells, pretty architecture, vestments and the like (externals) to the struggles you will face in the very small communities you will administer, who cannot pay for much, who will similarly struggle against their inbred Protestant ‘I’ll be the judge of that’ way of thinking? They may only be able to afford crappy polyester vestments… what then?
- Can you get along with the local R.C. Bishop and Diocesan administration who will act more the pope than the pope, pushing you to prove your loyalty by throwing up obstacles and questions every step of the way? You may appear more Catholic than they externally, but they know the system from the inside, and in the R.C. Church the system and its laws can crush you.
- What do you do when half of those you lead to Rome run back because the trials and work are more than they bargained for? Can you bless them and wish them well in their path to Christ, or will you crucify them as traitors to the cause?
- Can you bear criticism when you cannot marry a parishioner’s half atheist daughter who hasn’t been to church since she was 14, or cannot baptize her child, or when you cannot give someone an annulment for their 3rd serial marriage, or when you cannot commune some in the congregation? How do you explain all those thorny issues after the glamor of venturing out wears off and reality hits home (pickup Monty Python condom sketch). Can you accept pastoring by Canon Law and the Catechism?
- You will need to reflect on your choice of staying for as long as you did, accepting unheard-of innovations while holding your nose. People will call you on that. That acceptance will be used against you by R.C. innovators who will point to your acceptance as proof it can be done (as long as the innovations don’t touch you personally). It will also be used against you by ultra-traditionalists who will ask why women bishops became the final straw. Where were your guts when…
There are well wishers, but perhaps they too should be circumspect, looking beyond the initial rush and hype to the reality that awaits. Are you willing to really change? Seek God’s grace — with that and lots of humility and suffering it is possible. It will be interesting to see.
Interesting, insightful, accurate, and inspiring. Thank you for a very useful perspective. You should give it wide distribution in Anglican and Roman Catholic publications.
P.S. Your blog entries on this subject are giving me a much better understanding of what it means to be Polish National Catholic. I wish that more web readers knew of your site.
Jim
Points well made. I am impressed with the quality of your writing. My experience with the local Anglican Use parish of the Roman Catholic Church in San Antonio is that it attracts a lot of hyper traditional Catholics as well as a few High Church Anglicans. Interestingly, and something you did not point out, is that its members spend a lot of time pointing out that they are more “Catholic” than all the other Catholics in town.
Jim
Sorry for the second post. I agree with Thomas’s comments about the PNCC. I guess one thing I would like to see more of is theological discussions. I know these can really turn people off but I think there is a need to explore some of the differences between the PNCC and RC theology in more depth for the layman. My general impression is that people who know the PNCC exists think of it as the RC with married priests and no Pope.
Along that line, there is a lot(a relative measure for sure)of PNCC discussion of the ongoing dialog with the RC over reunion. Apparently, there are a number of people who believe the Anglican Ordinate can be a model. None of this discussion addresses the huge issue of married bishops. There is no provision in either the Roman Catholic of Orthodox traditions for married bishops, an institution that is well established in the PNCC.
Anyway, my two cents.
Jim
Thanks for your kind words about my writing. I do a lot of reading which helps me improve my writing skills.
I agree with you about hyper-traditional and new Catholic converts – they think of themselves as more Catholic than the Pope.
You are also correct about the need for more theological discussions in the PNCC, especially among lay people. Sometimes, professional theologians get carried away in a so-called ecumenical spirit and deemphasize real religious differences between Churches. The PNCC is much more than a denomination which rejects papal infallibility. It has developed its own form of (democratic) Catholicism which is no longer just Polish or married clergy or public confession for adults or Communion under two species. It has a different, special religious ethos which is apparent to outsiders.
This unique Catholic Church – yes, I will admit that you are Catholic in your own way – would have to change in many ways if it were to reunite with Rome. The Roman Catholic Church AND the Polish National Catholic Church should understand this. Nevertheless, no matter what the future may bring, at least the RCC and PNCC are talking and not fighting in the streets or in print. Thank God for this progress.
My two cents.
Jim, Thomas,
Thank you both for your comments. One of the theological and dogmatic references I find most helpful in understanding the PNCC is the “Agreed Statements” series from the Orthodox-Old Catholic dialog (copy here). The past few Synods have also requested ascent to texts from the PNCC Doctrine Commission (Called to Faithfulness, The Sacrament of Matrimony, Current Issues in Morality, Eschatology).
One of hardest things, especially for people attuned to the Western scholastic tradition, is understanding the Church’s thinking on issues which man is at a loss to define. A good example is transubstantiation. Can we believe that the bread and wine are truly the body and blood of Jesus without having to posit an academic explanation for how it happens. This is why I often reference the blending of the East and West in the PNCC. Our theology is much more Eastern, our practice Western.
I too have noticed in the PNCC a leaning toward Eastern Christian theology. There clearly is in the Western traditional an almost pathological need to explain everything. If I were describing the difference between Eastern and Western theological tradition I would say it is a bit like the difference between a distribution (the Eastern approach) and a point estimate (the Western approach). Often, it seems to me that the Roman Catholic position is a point that falls within the Eastern distribution. The problem comes in when the RCC insists that its point, derived with the tools of the Western scholastic tradition, is the only possible acceptable point. On the other hand, the Eastern Christians take the position that RCC point is not even within the distribution, an equally invalid contention.
In any case, it would be helpful if there was a more concerted effort on the part of the PNCC to show how its theology is reflective of the Eastern traditions. I have heard it said that as so many priests in the PNCC come out of the RCC the PNCC is moving closer to the RCC in theology and maybe moving away from those unique perspectives it has developed during its history.
Jim
Jim,
That’s the best way I’ve ever heard it said – “a distribution” – and it gets beyond the East/West the other is a graceless heretic arguments one frequently sees online. It is also funny in that our new Prime Bishop has a doctorate in Mathematics.
One aspect of the Church that helps RCC priests in adjusting is the Church’s democratic nature. I’ve seen folks directly challenge their priest when they tried to insert some non-PNCC theology or doctrine into their sermons. People don’t generally challenge clergy in the performance of their duties, but if they are dodgy on what the PNCC is, it will get discussed.