More on the Anglicans and Rome

We’ve mentioned before news that some conservative Anglicans have been in talks about entering the Roman Catholic Church en masse. Now, conflicting reports are coming from the UK.

The Independent runs with this headline: ” Pope rides to Rowan’s rescue. Exclusive: Vatican shuns defectors and backs calls for Anglican unity. ”

While the Telegraph ‘s “Holy Smoke” blog says that’s nonsense. The headline: ” Benedict is encouraging Anglican converts. ” And the opening paragraph: “More evidence this morning that Catholic liberals are panicking at the prospect of an influx of conservative Anglicans. They want us to believe that Pope Benedict is ‘shunning defectors’ in an attempt to shore up the position of the Archbishop of Canterbury. Not true.”

Mike Potemra and Jack Folwer hash these stories out on “The Corner” here and here .