Anglican Vs Catholic (3)

~What does it look like when an Anglican priest or bishop decides to join the Catholic Church today?

This answer was given by Doug Girardot. And since it is apt, I will just share. This is the point I have been trying to arrive at by opening you up to the story behind everything.

Read below...

In order for Anglicans—lay or clergy—to be received into the Catholic Church by means of the Ordinariate, they must signal their desire to do so in writing. However, there is no need for these people to be re-baptized: The Catholic Church already recognizes Anglican baptisms as valid, as it does for any Christian denomination that uses water, invokes the Trinity and performs the sacrament for the same reasons as the Catholic Church during baptism.

In order to be fully initiated, those Anglicans who wish to join the church are required to study the church’s teaching and receive the sacrament of Confirmation. Some may choose to take the same R.C.I.A. course as other people who may be converting from an entirely different religion, but because so much of Anglican doctrine overlaps with Catholic teaching, they can opt to take a shorter course.

When Anglican clergy become Catholics, they are not automatically eligible for the priesthood (or the bishopric, for that matter). The Catholic Church does not recognize Anglican ordinations as valid. In the Catholic view, an Anglican wishing to become a Catholic priest must be ordained under Catholic auspices.

If they wish to serve as clergy in the Catholic Church, former Anglican priests must first undergo background checks (as does anyone who seeks to do ministry in an official capacity in the Catholic Church). Afterwards, if a candidate receives approval from the head of their Ordinariate and from the Vatican, they must undertake an academic and pastoral formation program—usually by attending a seminary part-time over the course of two years. Once they go through this initial process, they are finally ordained by a bishop

What about Anglican priests who are married??

This may come as a surprise to many Catholics. Already-married Anglican priests who join the Catholic Church can be ordained as Catholic priests using the process described above. However, the Catholic Church has taken great pains to stress that this is an exception, not the rule: Ex-Anglican priests who are married must be approved for ordination on a case-by-case basis by the Vatican, and a priest’s wife must agree to go along with the process. If a priest is not already married by the time he becomes a Catholic, he is not permitted to wed afterwards—just like any other Catholic priest.

Also, ex-Anglican bishops do not automatically become bishops in the Catholic Church. Just as with any other Catholic priest, to become a bishop requires that one be approved by the pope and consecrated by at least one other Catholic bishop. And just like the Western Rite tradition, bishops are selected from those who are not married.

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