"Some Protestant clergy have chosen
unity over fragmentation. They have given up everything to become
Catholic and lead congregations into the Catholic Faith. On February 12th,
2012, Monsignor Jeffrey Steenson was installed as the first Ordinary
for the Anglican Ordinariate in the United States. In his
installation homily, he uttered some of the dearest words to my mind,
heart, and soul. 'The first principle of the Ordinariate is…about
Christian unity.' (You may read the full homily here, https://ordinariate.net/installation-homily-1)
"A cobbled together proto-community of
faithful Christians who had already been meeting for a year, and
desperately hoping that this kind of unity would be offered in the
United States, were ecstatic. The potential of visible, tangible,
organic, incarnate unity would be made available for our separated
Christian brothers and sisters, and we couldn't wait to get started.
"Fracture and fragmentation have
plagued the Christian Church from Her inception, but as most of us know,
the significant rupture came with the Reformation. Since that time,
rupture after rupture after rupture has occurred. Statisticians do not
have a full idea of how many denominations now exist, but it's in the
thousands.
"The Baptist church of my childhood
experienced a fracture. Out of that came another church; and that one
lasted several years before it formally ended, fortunately on amicable
terms. And then we scattered. Some to other churches, some to none."
In a recent commentary, writer Gregory Martha Herr, Obl.S.B., reflected on the importance of true Christian unity.
To access his complete post, please visit:
Catholic Stand: The First Principle is Christian Unity (10 JUN 17)
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