Coming back to the office after the conference on ecclesial reconciliation at St. Vladimir’s, I came across two news stories on the topic. The National Catholic Register reports that Mar Bawai Soro, a bishop of the Assyrian Church of the East suspended for his views on the primacy of the bishop of Rome, and the 3,000 members of his flock in California were were formally accepted on May 9 into the Catholic diocese of St. Peter the Apostle for Chaldeans and Assyrians.
On the Western front of the Church, the Register reports that, “discussions at the Vatican on devising a possible structure for the Traditional Anglican Communion to come into communion with Rome are understood to be nearing completion. The communion is a breakaway group of 400,000 Anglicans opposed to women’s ordination. However, during his May 5 meeting with Pope Benedict XVI, [Archbishop Rowan] Williams asked that any potential announcement be delayed until after the Lambeth Conference.” Last year I had heard that talks between TAC and Rome were beginning, but it seemed like a long hard road stood ahead. The fact that things have come this far in so little time is a very good sign indeed. NCR subscribers can enjoy the full story here , while everyone can enjoy the core here .
The TAC story comes via the Shrine of the Holy Whapping .
