Bishop of St Albans responds to Vatican's Apostolic Constitution
The Rt Revd Alan Smith, Bishop of St Albans has responded to the detail of the Apostolic Constitution, published by the Vatican today, 9 November 2009. He said:
“I am unaware of any clergy or lay people in the Diocese of St Albans who have decided to take up this offer of joining one of the ‘Personal Ordinariates’ yet. Personally, I will feel sad if anyone decides to leave us. However, there has always been two-way traffic between the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of England. I expect that we will still see a small but steady stream of Roman Catholics being received into the Church of England. Meanwhile, the overwhelming majority of people in St Albans Diocese will continue to worship and serve their communities as before and are preparing for enthusiastic and joyful celebrations of Advent and Christmas.
As the Chair of the Church of England’s Council for Christian Unity has said, those who have requested and at this point feel impelled to seek full communion with the Roman Catholic Church will no doubt study the details of the Apostolic Constitution carefully in the near future and consider their options.
I am glad to say that the Diocese of St Albans is in excellent heart. We are planning for growth and looking to the future with both confidence and excitement at the opportunities ahead.”
Ends