At the Forward in Faith National Assembly held yesterday and today in the U.K., Bishop Andrew Burnham, the Anglican Bishop of Ebbsfleet (one of the Church of England's traditional Anglo-Catholic "Flying Bishops"), attributed Pope Benedict's new offer of a personal ordinariate for Anglicans becoming Catholics in part to the prayers of St. Thérèse of Lisieux, saying that it is her "shower of roses". Also crediting the prayers of Our Lady of Walsingham and soon-to-be-blessed John Henry Newman, he called it "the miracle that seems to be springing up in our midst":
Anglican Bishop Andrew Burnham (who, I suppose, is soon to become Catholic Father Burnham) is not alone in crediting St. Thérèse. Jack Smith at the Catholic Key Blog quotes from two other Anglican clergy who also credit St. Thérèse for this development, occurring so soon after her relics visited England (September 16 to October 16, 2009). Hat tip American Papist.
Also, Jeffrey Steenson, formerly an Episcopal Church bishop, and now a Catholic priest, wrote about the announcement on MercatorNet (hat tip Canterbury Tales). He said this about his hope for the Episcopalians he necessarily left behind when he became Catholic:
"One thing has continued to trouble me in this journey, and that is the remembrance of the people left behind. . . . who hunger and thirst for something more, for whom the Catholic Church is a very intimidating but compelling presence. They must overcome misunderstandings about what the Catholic Church teaches, and fears about what it might mean to live in the Catholic Church. Patient pastoral work can resolve much of this, and I rejoice that the Holy Father has opened this door for them. "
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