THE P RTAL
March 2013 Page 17
Misunderstandings addressed by The Friends !
by Catherine Utley , fund-raising co-ordinator , Friends of the Ordinariate
The acquisition of two London churches for use by the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham and the establishment of its own community of religious sisters have given all those who are determined to see the structure thrive cause for great rejoicing .
confusion
To ensure the Ordinariate ’ s success , though , we must address the confusion which remains in the minds of many Catholics about just what it is . A lot have not heard of it ; others have , but do not understand that Ordinariate clergy are Catholic priests , in full communion with the Catholic Church . One practising Catholic I was chatting to recently — muddled by half-remembered , misleading media reports — thought the Ordinariate were still Anglicans ( they must be , he said , because their priests are allowed to be married ), who had established some kind of set-up of their own to escape women priests in the Church of England .
start at grass roots level
So where do we begin to put right these misunderstandings ? The Friends of the Ordinariate believe that it must start at grass roots level , with Ordinariate clergy visiting Catholic parishes and explaining to congregations the extraordinary vision of Christian unity which the Ordinariate holds out — the chance , as the Ordinary put it recently — to undo the tragedies of the sixteenth century and realise the Lord ’ s call that the Church should be one .
courageous leap of faith
Once people see the vision and witness the courageous leap of faith which those who believe in it have taken , I believe they will be very keen to encourage and support the Ordinariate in its mission to work with the rest of the Catholic Church to convert the country to the faith .
one Sunday raised £ 4,000
Indeed , the support is already forthcoming . The Friends ’ programme of parish visits began in January with appeals in Ramsgate , Croydon and Hainault , at which much goodwill was generated and generous
donations collected . In February , the Ordinary personally boosted the efforts when he visited the famous London Oratory Church in Kensington , preaching at all eight Masses to an estimated total congregation of 2,500 and presiding at the church ’ s procession in honour of Our Lady of Lourdes . The retiring collections for the Friends for just that one Sunday raised £ 4,000 . Now we want to expand the programme of visits and take them further afield , so that eventually the length and breadth of the country will be included .
Apostolic Nuncio to Great Britain
Raising awareness , communicating the message and bringing in funds for the Ordinariate are what the Friends are all about . At the end of January we were given the chance to do all at once when the Apostolic Nuncio to Great Britain , Archbishop Antonio Mennini ( pictured above with Mgr Keith Newton ), generously invited us to give a fund-raising reception at his residence in Wimbledon . His own warm presence and heartfelt words about the spirit of peace and love in which the Ordinariate was carrying out its work did much both to make the evening enjoyable and memorable and also helped to raise the Ordinariate ’ s profile .
up to all Catholics
The news of Pope Benedict ’ s resignation has made many Catholics — myself included — think again about how much we have to thank him for and of the precious legacies he leaves behind . The Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham — one of the greatest of all his gifts — is now firmly established by those entrusted to implement it , but it is up to all Catholics to ensure that it is supported and nourished , so that what one Vatican Cardinal has called the “ Pope ’ s Project ” can grow and develop in the way that its architect intended .