THE
P RTAL
August 2012
Page 3
Letter from Australia
by John Parkes
After a long gestation, the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of the
Southern Cross was born on 15 June 2012. The skilled, encouraging and
patient midwife has been Bishop Peter Elliott, the Australian Catholic Bishops
Conference Episcopal Delegate for the Ordinariate.
Australian Ordinariate Born
Bishop Peter Elliott is an Auxillary Bishop of
Melbourne. Bishop Geoffrey Jarrett, the Bishop of
Lismore, and he have been two of the members of the
Bishops Commission for the Personal Ordinariate.
Both are former Anglicans and both were present at St
Mary’s Cathedral in Perth when Archbishop Timothy
Costelloe ordained Harry Entwistle, formerly Bishop
of the Western Region of the Traditional Anglican
Communion, to the priesthood in the Catholic Church
on 15 June.
in the north east
(where there will also
be
an
Ordinariate
congregation), it is
roughly equivalent to the
distance from London to John Parkes
Damascus. Other Ordinariate congregations will be
spread over Australia.
Melbourne Meeting
Melbourne is very likely to be the next Ordinariate
‘cab off the rank’.
At an Ordinariate
Information Day on
14 July in Melbourne,
Father Harry spoke
of those entering the
Ordinariate taking on
the Catholic culture
of being much more
community orientated,
and bringing with
them the treasures
of
our
Anglican
Fr Harry Entwistle with Bishop Geoffrey Jarrett, Bishop Peter Elliott, Archbishop Timothy Costelloe
heritage,
including
and Bishop Donald Sproxton after his ordination to the Priesthood in St Mary’s Cathedral Perth
our English Spiritual
After the Ordination Mass, Bishop Elliott, Tradition (which we need to rediscover), which claims
proclaimed Benedict XVI’s erection of the Personal continuity with the desert fathers and mothers, with
Ordinariate of Our Lady of the Southern Cross, under the Celtic Church, Saint Augustine of Canterbury,
the patronage of Saint Augustine of Canterbury. Saints Benedict, Anselm, Bernard, Aelred, the English
Father Harry Entwistle was announced as Ordinary. mystics of the 14th century, such as the author of
Several hours earlier 40 of the laity of his congregation The Cloud of Unknowing, Margery Kempe, Henry
were admitted to the Catholic Church. They received Rolle, Walter Hilton, Julian of Norwich and later, the
their first communion with him at the Ordination Reformers, the Caroline Divines of the 17th century
Mass. My wife and I came over from Melbourne for and the Tractarians, in particular Blessed John Henry
the Mass. It was a joyful occasion, replete with hymns Newman. He also encouraged the tradition of the
from Anglican patrimony. Since then Father Harry expectation of the laity to join the clergy in reciting or
hearing daily matins and evensong.
has admitted another 20 of the laity in Perth.
A spread out Ordinariate
Father Harry said, “The Ordinariate will grow and
Father Harry has a big patch. To give some idea of become financially self-supporting if we keep our
the distances involved, the distance from Perth in the eyes on the Lord, if we are faithful in prayer, scripture
south west across the continent to Melbourne in the reading, study, reception of the sacraments, are
south east is roughly equivalent to the distance from evangelistic and live the Christian life wherever we are
London to Athens, and from Perth to Rockhampton and whatever we do.”