The Portal Archive July 2011 | Page 3

THE
P RTAL
July 2011
Page 3
More Ordinations
by Arnold Herron
Since the first
edition of The Portal we have twice reported on Ordinariate Ordinations. First
there was that never to be forgotten day in Westminster Cathedral for the ordinations of Keith Newton,
Andrew Burnham and John Broadhurst. In May we invited you to read about the ordinations to the
Diaconate of former Anglican Clerics now members of the Ordinariate. Between these two events, we told
you about the reception into the Church of the best part of one thousand members of the Ordinariate. Now,
in this July edition of The Portal, we report on the Ordinations to the priesthood.
 Of course, you will have read about these in other
journals, in the blogosphere and in many other
places. As a monthly journal, this presents us with
a problem. If we mention it, the readers think, “I
know about this.” If we do not mention them those
same readers say to themselves, “Why have they not
mentioned the ordinations?”
 In the Archdiocese of Birmingham there are a
number of Ordinariate Groups, in Coventry, Oxford,
Worcestershire, Sutton Coldfield and the Black
Country. One of the priests for the Black Country,
Fr Chris Marshall, told The Portal he was struck by
the wonderful sense of Communion, of being part of
something far greater than he had thought.
A similar story in Nottingham
© Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham
It was a similar story in Nottingham where
the Bishop, the Right Revd Malcolm McMahon
OP ordained three men to the priesthood for the
Ordinariate in the Cathedral on 18th June. The
building was, of course, packed. One of those
ordained, Fr Simon Ellis, told The Portal, “It is a great
privilege to receive Orders in the Catholic Church,
and to able to exercise them in the Catholic Church
and the Ordinariate wherever we are.” In answer to
the question, “What is it like to be ordained twice?”
he replied, “I don’t think about it, I just get on with
what I have to do!”
 There are two Ordinariate groups in the Diocese of
Saint Chad’s Cathedral in Birmingham Nottingham, one in Derby and one in the Long Eaton
The Portal was in Saint Chad’s Cathedral
in Birmingham on 12th June for
the ordination of eight men of the
Ordinariate. Mgr Keith Newton gave an
excellent Homily in which he quoted
Basil Hume as saying that in Ordination,
ordinary men were called to do
extraordinary things. He went on to say
that in Ordination, as in the rest of life,
we do not even measure up to our own
expectations, let alone God’s!
area, although they work closely together.
 As with all the other Ordinations
around the country, it was a splendid
occasion and the Archbishop, Bernard
Longley, spoke warmly about the
Ordinariate and its Ordinary, Mgr Keith
Newton.
© Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham