Apostolicae Curae - Current Status - Complications

Complications

In recent decades several developments have complicated the possible re-examination of Anglican orders by the Roman Catholic Church. The ordination of women as priests and bishops in the Anglican Communion has been interpreted as expressing an understanding of ordination differing from the Roman Catholic Church, which officially holds that male-only priesthood is a definitive teaching.

Similarly, the decision of some Anglican bodies to extend intercommunion to churches without the traditional understanding of apostolic succession, such as various Lutheran churches (see Porvoo Agreement), also indicates a breaking with apostolic teaching and practice according to the Roman Catholic Church. While the 1999 concordat in the United States between the Episcopal Church and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) calls for Episcopal bishops to participate in the consecration of ELCA bishops, the agreement did not require the reordination of all ELCA bishops and ministers. This was done so that ELCA ministers ordained by these ELCA bishops could also serve in the Episcopal Church.

Nevertheless, it seems as though the Roman Catholic Church is broadening its criteria for recognition of Anglican orders and aligning itself more with Eastern Orthodoxy's criteria. For example, when Cardinal Walter Kasper, President of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity, delivered a talk at a conference of Anglican bishops and laity at St Albans, UK, in 2003, he noted that "a final solution can be found only in the larger context of full communion in faith, sacramental life and shared apostolic vision." He specifically mentioned obstacles like "lay presidency, the ordination of women, and ethical problems such as abortion and homosexual partnerships." This position (with its emphasis on "doctrinal belief") seems to be in line with the attitude of Orthodoxy toward Anglican orders. Kallistsos Ware, for example, notes in his book, The Orthodox Church: "For Orthodoxy, the validity of ordinations does not depend simply on the fulfillment of certain technical conditions (external possession of the apostolic succession; correct form, matter and intention). The Orthodox also ask: What is the sacramental succession and priesthood? How does it understand the eucharistic presence and sacrifice? Only when these questions have been answered can a decision be made about the validity or otherwise of ordination. To isolate the problem of valid orders is to go up a blind alley. Realizing this, Anglicans and Orthodox in their discussions from the 1950s onwards have left the question of valid orders largely to one side, and have concentrated on more substantive and central themes of doctrinal belief."