A STATEMENT FROM THE FIRST ORDINARY OF THE NEWLY ERECTED PERSONAL ORDINARIATE

Statement from Keith Newton

First Ordinary for the Personal Ordinariate in Great Britain

″I am humbled to have been appointed by the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, as the first Ordinary for the Personal Ordinariate to be erected in Great Britain under the provisions set out in the Apostolic Constitution Anglicanorum Coetibus. This is not an honour I have sought or expected but I pray that God will give me the wisdom and grace to live up to the trust the Holy Father has placed in me.

″My wife and family have been a great support to me throughout my ministry and I know they will continue to do so. I am delighted that Gill was received with me into the full communion of the Catholic Church at Westminster Cathedral on 1 January 2011.

″I can look back at over 35 years of ordained ministry with tremendous gratitude. The Church of England nourished me in the Christian Faith and it was within her that I discovered, as a teenager, my vocation to the ordained ministry which has involved service both in England and Africa. I do not see my reception into the Catholic Church as a radical break but part of the on-going pilgrimage of faith which began at my baptism. Since my teenage years I have longed and prayed for corporate unity with the Catholic Church and the publication of the Apostolic Constitution has offered the possibility of realising that dream.

″I am particularly grateful to the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Reverend Rowan Williams, for his patience and graciousness with those of us who have been exploring our way forward over the last few months.

″The Catholic Church, both here and in Rome, have given me warm encouragement in making this step and I am grateful for the countless words and signs of welcome I have received from many members of the Catholic Church over recent days. I hope the Ordinariate will be a gift to the Catholic Church and that I, together with those priests and people who join the Ordinariate, will be of service to the whole Church.”

Keith Newton

Appointed the first Ordinary of the
'Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham'
by Pope Benedict XVI, 15 January 2011

Photographs of the Ordinations at Westminster Cathedral

A set of Photographs of the Ordinations of Fathers Newton, Burnham and Broadhurst can be found at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/catholicism/sets/72157625829565750/

THE PERSONAL ORDINARIATE OF OUR LADY OF WALSINGHAM

The Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham was erected today


Statement from the Holy See:-

In accordance with the provisions of the Apostolic Constitution Anglicanorum coetibus of Pope Benedict XVI (November 4, 2009) and after careful consultation with the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has today erected a Personal Ordinariate within the territory of England and Wales for those groups of Anglican clergy and faithful who have expressed their desire to enter into full visible communion with the Catholic Church. The Decree of Erection specifies that the Ordinariate will be known as the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham and will be placed under the patronage of Blessed John Henry Newman.

A Personal Ordinariate is a canonical structure that provides for corporate reunion in such a way that allows former Anglicans to enter full communion with the Catholic Church while preserving elements of their distinctive Anglican patrimony. With this structure, the Apostolic Constitution Anglicanorum coetibus seeks to balance on the one hand the concern to preserve the worthy Anglican liturgical, spiritual and pastoral traditions and, on the other hand, the concern that these groups and their clergy will be fully integrated into the Catholic Church.

For doctrinal reasons the Church does not, in any circumstances, allow the ordination of married men as Bishops. However, the Apostolic Constitution does provide, under certain conditions, for the ordination as Catholic priests of former Anglican married clergy. Today at Westminster Cathedral in London, the Most Reverend Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster, ordained to the Catholic priesthood three former Anglican Bishops: Reverend Andrew Burnham, Reverend Keith Newton, and Reverend John Broadhurst.

Also today Pope Benedict XVI has nominated Reverend Keith Newton as the first Ordinary of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham. Together with Reverend Burnham and Reverend Broadhurst, Reverend Newton will oversee the catechetical preparation of the first groups of Anglicans in England and Wales who will be received into the Catholic Church together with their pastors at Easter, and to accompany the clergy preparing for ordination to the Catholic priesthood around Pentecost.

The provision of this new structure is consistent with the commitment to ecumenical dialogue, which continues to be a priority for the Catholic Church. The initiative leading to the publication of the Apostolic Constitution and the erection of this Personal Ordinariate came from a number of different groups of Anglicans who have declared that they share the common Catholic faith as it is expressed in the Catechism of the Catholic Church and accept the Petrine ministry as something Christ willed for the Church. For them, the time has now come to express this implicit unity in the visible form of full communion.

Picture with Keith, Andrew & John with Bishop Alan Hopes

Ordination to the Diaconate

Pictures from the Ordination to the Diaconate, taken by Father James Bradley, of Keith Newton, Andrew Burnham and John Broadhurst can be found at: http:// www.flickr.com/photos/jamesbradley/sets/72157625817489184/

NOT THE CHURCH TIMES NEWSPAPER 2043

The Archbishop of Canterbury was one of the honoured guests at the opening of the new Lambeth Palace Five Star Hotel and Casino complex which, as readers will know, was purchased by a leading Hotel and Casino Chain. The new owners have extensively developed the site and it now boasts 500 rooms and suites. The Opening Ceremony was conducted by the Speaker of the House of Lords, Lord Chaseworthy. After he had cut the ribbon and declared the hotel open, the guests which included many members of the House of Lords including several bishops, were treated to a gourmet 7 course lunch served in the new restaurant.

During the toasts to the new Hotel, the Archbishop congratulated the company on the refurbishment of the Palace and drew particular attention to her new flat, which has been built as part of that refurbishment, saying how delighted she was with it and how easy it was to access the Chapel which had been preserved. After the speeches, the Archbishop blessed the hotel with Holy Water. Guests were then invited to try the new casino, swimming pool or just relax in the Champagne Bar.

Guests will be welcomed to the hotel from tomorrow. Rooms are available for booking at the rate of £600 per night or suites at £2,500.

THE PORTAL

The first edition of “The Portal”, a magazine, published on line and free, is available at:- http://ordinariateportal.wordpress.com/.

It is for those who are interested in joining The Ordinariate, or for those who are interested in finding out more about what is happening.

PLEASE KEEP KEITH NEWTON, ANDREW BURNHAM AND JOHN BROADHURST IN YOUR PRAYERS AS THEY ARE ORDAINED AS DEACONS TODAY AND PRIESTS ON SATURDAY FOR THE ORDINARIATE.