Scottish Catholic Observer

Similar structures are already in place in Britain and America.

“I am confident that those former Anglicans who have made a journey in faith that has led them to the Catholic Church will find a ready welcome,” Archbishop Denis Hart of Melbourne, who serves as president of the Australian Catholic Bishops’ Conference, said.

Australia’s Anglican ordinariate will be called the Ordinariate of Our Lady of the Southern Cross, under the patronage of St Augustine of Canterbury. It will have the status of a diocese. The ordinariate is intended for Anglicans and former Anglicans who wish to enter full communion with the Catholic Church while retaining some of their customs and liturgical traditions.

The Australian bishops conference secretary Fr Brian Lucas said the church expected about 500 Anglicans to convert, some from the dissident Traditional Anglican Communion, which broke away years ago after the Australian Anglican Church allowed women to be priests, and some mainstream Anglicans with a Catholic inclination. He said he expected there would be two parishes in Melbourne, two in Sydney, one in Brisbane and one in Perth. The Pope had not yet appointed a bishop.

“This will be announced on June 15, but there are people needing to make a decision about their life, particularly Anglican clergy, and now they can make their plans with confidence in the next step in their journey,” Fr Lucas said.

The ordinariate for the UK launched in 2011, while the US ordinariate launched on January 1, 2012. In England and Wales there are at least 40 ordinariate groups with 60 priests, several of its members are former Anglican bishops.

Both ordinaries for existing ordinariates were quick to offer their heartfelt congratulations.

Mgr Keith Newton, ordinary of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham in the UK, said he was delighted.

“This is great news for the Church in Australia, and for those from the Anglican tradition who are seeking to fulfill the goal of full visible unity with the Apostolic See, whilst maintaining essential elements of our Anglican tradition,” he said.

“A close bond already exists between the ordinariate here in the UK and our brothers and sisters of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St Peter. It is my hope that similarly strong ties can be established with our Australian counterparts, especially as we look forward to the publication of a common       Liturgical use.”

Mgr Jeffrey Steenson, ordinary of the US-based Ordinariate of the Chair of St Peter, also welcomed the announcement.

“The news that the Holy Father will establish a Personal Ordinariate in Australia, the third in the world, is truly wonderful, as it marks another simportant step toward Catholic unity,” he said.

“I offer my prayers, good wishes and encouragement to all those who will become part of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of the Southern Cross, and I pledge the support of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St Peter.”

Pic: The Holy Father with Australian bishops