Vatican could offer personal prelature for Anglican group
January 29, 2009
A conservative Anglican group could be offered the status of a personal prelature if it enters into communion with the Catholic Church, according to the Australian Catholic weekly The Record. The Record reports that the Traditional Anglican Communion (TAC), a group that has been exploring entry into the Catholic Church, might be given its own semi-autonomous structure, allowing members to retain many of their traditional Anglican liturgical practices. Such a prelature could also entice other discontented Anglicans to enter the Catholic Church.
A personal prelature is a canonical structure that allows for a group to pursue its own distinctive spiritual mission under the direction of a prelate who is directly subject to the Pope. The prelature is not confined to any geographical territory, although the members are subject to the bishops of their own dioceses. The only personal prelature in the Church today is Opus Dei.
The TAC claims a membership of 400,000 faithful. One significant problem facing the group's aspirations to the personal-prelature status lies in the fact that several TAC bishops are married. The Catholic Church does not allow for married bishops.
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