New Era Begins as Benedict Throws Open Gates of Rome to Disaffected Anglicans
Pope Benedict XVI. Photo: The Telegraph
THE TELEGRAPH – BLOG: This is astonishing news. Pope Benedict XVI has created an entirely new Church structure for disaffected Anglicans that will allow them to worship together – using elements of Anglican liturgy – under the pastoral supervision of their own specially appointed bishop or senior priest.

The Pope is now offering Anglicans worldwide “corporate reunion” on terms that will delight Anglo-Catholics. In theory, they can have their own married priests, parishes and bishops – and they will be free of liturgical interference by liberal Catholic bishops who are unsympathetic to their conservative stance.

There is even the possibility that married Anglican laymen could be accepted for ordination on a case-by-case basis – a remarkable concession.

Both Archbishop Vincent Nichols and Archbishop Rowan Williams are surprised by this dramatic move. Cardinal Levada, head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, was in Lambeth Palace only yesterday to spell out to Dr Williams what it means. This decision has, in effect, been taken over their heads – though there is no suggestion that Archbishop Nichols does not fully support this historic move. >>> Damian Thompson | Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Vatican Opens Door to Anglicans
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: ROME -- Pope Benedict XVI introduced a fast track for Anglicans seeking to join Roman Catholicism, a move paving the way for conservative Anglicans frustrated by their church's blessing of homosexuality in the priesthood and same-sex unions to enter the Catholic fold.

The Vatican on Tuesday announced plans to create a special set of canon laws, known as an "Apostolic Constitution," to allow Anglican faithful, priests and bishops to enter into full communion with the Vatican without having to give up a large part of their liturgical and spiritual traditions.

With the measures, Pope Benedict is attempting to reclaim ground lost by the Roman Catholic Church in the 16th century when King Henry VIII defied papal authority to found the Church of England. The move clears the way for entire congregations of Anglicans to join the Catholic Church and makes it easier for married Anglican priests to convert without embracing Catholicism's traditional code of priestly celibacy. >>> Stacy Meichtry and Amy Merrick | Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Austerity Britain: Why the Far Right Is Finding Converts in Barnsley
Pub-goers in Barnsley listening to a characteristically uncompromising Nick Griffin denounce privatisations and express sympathy for striking miners. Photo courtesy of TimesOnline
TIMESONLINE: Outside a large, modern pub on the edge of Barnsley, penned in by police, 150 demonstrators chant “Nazi scum off our streets” and “String ’em up like Mussolini”. Inside, Nick Griffin, leader of the British National Party, is whipping up 300 white, working-class supporters — men and women, young and old — with a speech tailor-made for these days of deepening recession, rising unemployment and profound disillusion with expenses-fiddling mainstream politicians.

“This country is full. It’s time to shut the doors and look after our own people,” he declares from a platform adorned with a huge Union Jack. Britain should leave the European Union so it can stop the “huge swamping wave of mass immigration from places like Poland which has put hundreds of thousands of our people out of a job”. Instead of bailing out “greedy, corrupt, incompetent banks”, Westminster’s “scumbag, thieving politicians” should be using those billions to rebuild British industry.

Mr Griffin expresses sympathy for the 1984 miners strike, triggered by the closure of the Cortonwood colliery in Barnsley. He denounces the Government’s privatisation programme. He accuses Labour of crushing ordinary people to ensure maximum profit for its corporate financiers. “It has sold out,” he thunders. “The old Labour Party is dead. Long live the new party for British workers — the BNP.” >>> Martin Feltcher | Tuesday, May 12, 2009