The Anglican clergy who participated in the service are Anglo-Catholic. Despite their name, they are not in communion with the Catholic Church.
Newsroom (05/02/2023 15:09 AM, Gaudium Press) Last month, on April 18, an Anglican bishop and 50 clergy celebrated an Anglican service at the high altar of the Papal Basilica of St. John Lateran. They met with the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity and were personally greeted by Pope Francis after his weekly General Audience on April 19, 2023.
In a statement released on April 20th, Archbishop Guerino Di Tora, archpriest of the Lateran Basilica, stated that the incident was the result of a “failure in communication” and that he “expresses deep regret for what happened.” In fact, he stated, the “Anglican celebration on April 18 in the Catholic basilica violated canonical norms.”
While critics see the mishap as an unprecedented mistake, traditionalist Dr. Peter Kwasniewski wrote on Facebook: “I am by no means an ‘anti-Anglican’… But it is absolutely inappropriate for the pope (or someone acting with his authorization) to grant permission to Anglicans to ‘have Mass’ in the Lateran Basilica, the cathedral of the bishop of Rome, when Rome’s own venerable rite has been put out of the churches and expelled from the side altars of St. Peter’s. Will the absurdity never end?”
He also adds: “does not believe in any intercommunion between church bodies that do not confess the same doctrine, priesthood and morals. I am good friends with several Anglicans, Orthodox and Protestants, but we do not share the same altar and sacred vessels.”
The Anglican clergy who attended the service are ‘Anglo-Catholic’. Despite the name, the group is in communion with the Anglican Church and not in communion with the Catholic Church. They are like the Orthodox Church and apply methods of the Roman Catholic Church, however, they do not accept the supremacy of the pope.
Compiled by Teresa Joseph
