Lifeline from the Pope

Last week Pope Benedict gave a lifeline to long-suffering traditionalists in the U.S. Episcopal Church and Anglican churches worldwide. The Vatican announced that Anglican dioceses and parishes can convert to the Roman Catholic Church. They can continue to worship using Anglican liturgy.

This is good news to many Episcopalians/Anglicans. For the Catholic Church, it brings in the beauty of the Anglican liturgy. First Things points out, "This may accelerate the already-growing movement within the Catholic church to correct some of the liturgical excesses and errors we’ve seen in the last 40 years."

For dioceses or parishes that convert to Rome, the Episcopal hierarchy will naturally respond in its usual Christian way, by suing to take these parishes' churches away from them. SOP for a church whose "inclusiveness" somehow has no room for people of traditionalist views.