Podcasts about personal ordinariate

NOTE: Though I mentioned timestamping, I've decided to forego that for now to allow me to go ahead and get this episode out without additional delay. I may well add it in retroactively at some point but for now you'll just have to survive with the free full transcript, below. https://columbuscatholic.org/chancery https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/253959/cardinal-hollerich-there-s-space-to-expand-church-teaching-on-all-male-priesthood  Hello everyone, welcome back to Popeular History, a library of Catholic knowledge and insights and I'm going to be skipping the brought to you daily part because I've switched, at least for the time being, back to a model that basically can best be described as brought to you as I am able: something every month, probably. Which, I admit, doesn't roll off the tongue quite so well, but it's the right move. Anyways, it's good to be back talking with you again, I've been using the time away wisely, taking care of family and household stuff that needed my attention. Thank you for understanding. This is going to be something of a glossary of various roles within the Catholic Church that are gonna keep popping up, so consider this your cheat sheets to consult as needed. Oh and good news, I learned how to timestamp show notes, at least on some catchers, so see if it works for you. Let me know if it doesn't. See the show notes.  Without further ado, let's get into these church roles, starting with church roles you may recognize from the Bible but which are no longer a thing unless you're like a Mormon or something. First, APOSTLE. The most familiar use of this term is referring to one of the 12 Apostles, Jesus' closest followers: Peter, Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Thomas, Matthew, the other James, Judas (not *that* Judas), Simon, and Judas (yes *that* Judas). At least, that's the listing of the 12 as given in the book of Acts, my favorite reference point as this podcast talks about Church history and Church history actually happens in Acts, unlike the Gospels where it's pre-Pentecost so it's not really Church history yet, per se. And really, *that* Judas, Judas Iscariot, is replaced by Matthias for most purposes when you're talking about the apostles because since Judas betrayed Jesus he's a bit of an embarrassment to the group, which, fair enough. In the end, Apostle is the only one of these titles where I'm going to name the main holders individually in this episode, though of course through future episodes of the podcast I'll name all the Popes and Cardinals I have documentation of any kind for and we should also recognize that the term Apostle is used outside the Twelve as well at various points, including most prominently Saint Paul and even the almost certainly female Junia in his Letter to the Romans. The broader term for one of the earlier followers of Jesus is a DISCIPLE, and while this one does have some use in contemporary Catholicism, for example my parish has a slogan of "making disciples and disciple makers", the title of disciple as a specific identifier is something you're going to encounter in the Bible rather than in the day-to-day, where it's more of a general goal as a follower of Jesus. Meanwhile, an EVANGELIST is one who wrote one of the Gospels. Earlier I committed to the Apostles being the only one of these titles where I'd name all 12 of the main holders and I'm going to stick to that, but yeah, it's that simple. Note that this is actually more restrictive than being one of the writers of Scripture in general, for instance even though he wrote a good chunk of the New Testament, Saint Paul doesn't get described as an Evangelist. That isn't to say there isn't a bit of a tradition of using even this term someone analogously for anyone who spreads the message of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection, for example the decidedly non-Catholic phenomenon of Televangelists get their name as a play on this word. Our last Bible-times Church role is that of PROPHET. Simply put, a prophet is someone inspired by the Holy Spirit to deliver a message, John the Baptist being the most famous New Testament example though especially if you look closely at the Book of Acts you can find other examples. There have been a number of folks who have made claims to be prophets in some form or another, generally the Church has frowned on such pronouncements. Officially, all new *public* revelation closed with the death of John the last Apostle around the year 100. However, the door to being a legitimate prophet is not completely closed, since *private* revelation is still possible, for example the various Marian apparitions like Lourdes and Fatima. What makes revelation considered "private" is not so much its actual privacy as its non-binding nature. All Catholics are obliged to accept public revelation, namely the Bible; no one is obliged to accept any private revelation like latter-day Prophets, though such individuals can gain the basic endorsement of the Church, which is what made Fatima, for example, so influential. That bit of a gray area bringing a Biblical role to the present is a good transition to the category of Church roles we'll talk about next, namely the basic roles in and structure of the Catholic Church today. As a periodic reminder, the default perspective and focus of this show is Catholic Christianity. I say that because there are plenty of Christian groups that follow models different than what I'll be describing here, though in broad terms what we'll be talking about is the dominant structure of Christianity and has been for centuries if not millennia. The fundamental concept to understand for this part–and really, to understand much of Catholicism–is APOSTOLIC SUCCESSION. Apostolic succession is the notion that the Apostles were the first BISHOPS and picked folks to succeed them in their ministry as bishops. I'm not here to convince you that that's what happened, but since this show runs with Pope-colored glasses, it's what we're rolling with. In this framework, not just anyone can have authority in the Church, only those who have this apostolic succession. You can still get wrinkles, like MYSTICS that influence the bishops, but ultimately, whether a mystic has lasting influence is going to depend on whether any bishops- that is anyone who has apostolic succession- listens to her. And I say her because such mystics are typically female. And actually, I wasn't planning on covering mystics in this overview, but I guess I really should give them their own timestamp in the summary here since I've gone off on a tangent. I talked about them earlier in the context of modern day prophets. Basically, a mystic is someone who has some sort of special connection to revelation, whether God or the Blessed Virgin Mary or whoever. But anyways, back to bishops, because while stuff like mystics are fun, the majority of church admin is done in much more mundane fashion by the regular clergy like the Bishops. Catholic Bishops are always male, because in Catholicism ordination is what makes someone a bishop, and Catholic teaching holds that women cannot be ordained. Another particularity of ordination is that someone who is ordained can't get married, though put a pin in that because it's going to get more complicated when we talk about priests and especially deacons. Only bishops can carry out ordinations, and it involves physical touch so they cannot be done remotely. To minimize concerns about who has apostolic succession and who does not, for many years the standard has been that at least three bishops should participate in the ordination of a bishop, though this is not strictly speaking a requirement. With all of this apostolic succession and ordination business, the Catholic world is divided in two: the CLERGY, that is, those who are ordained, and the LAITY, that is, those who are not ordained. There's also sort of a third category but shush I'm keeping it simple and don't worry we'll get into that before we're done today. LAY, the shortened form of Laity, can also be used as an adjective in Church terminology, for instance in the phrase LAY EUCHARISTIC MINISTERS, or LAY CARDINALS, in both cases emphasizing that the individual being described is not as ordained as one might expect. Meanwhile, CLERG is not a word, pleaae don't try to make it a thing. Anyways, once ordained, bishops are typically assigned a specific geographic area called a DIOCESE. Their main base of operations will tend to be in what's called a CATHEDRAL that's generally in the most prominent city in that diocese, and the Diocese is generally named after the city, for instance my home diocese of Columbus is named after the city of Columbus in Ohio. In some ways bishops are equals, for instance all bishops can ordain successors. But in other ways they aren't, for instance Catholicism is somewhat famously centered around the Bishop of Rome, aka the POPE, who is prominent because the Diocese of Rome was where Saint Peter, the foremost disciple, settled down, never mind that by all accounts he also ran the Church in Antioch for a while. Collectively, all the Catholic Bishops in the world are called the COLLEGE OF BISHOPS, and according to the very handy and highly recommended Gcatholic.org there are well over 5000 such Catholic bishops alive today. Of course, there are also a good number of bishops who aren't Catholic, meaning they aren't in communion with the Pope, especially the Eastern Orthodox. And forgive me if I explain being in communion as like the Church version of being facebook friends. It's obviously more solemn than that, but basically yes, it's a mutual public acknowledgement that you're on good terms with someone else. Bishops who aren't in communion with Rome are still bishops- meaning they still have apostolic succession and can still create their own successors, which has lead to a fair amount of drama, historically. When I mentioned not all bishops are created equally, I wasn't just talking about the Pope. There are several different kinds of bishops to consider, so let's hit the highlights. In addition to a regular bishop who heads a diocese, there's a higher level bishop called an ARCHBISHOP who runs what's called an ARCHDIOCESE or you might see the term PROVINCE. Technically I believe a province is the combination of an Archdiocese and any regular diocese that are under its jurisdiction, which are called SUFFRAGAN diocese in that context while the Archdiocese is called the METROPOLITAN, which is also a shorthand way of referring to the archbishop in that arrangement, or you might more fully call him the METROPOLITAN ARCHBISHOP. To return to my home diocese as an example, the Metropolitan for the Diocese of Columbus is the Archbishop of Cincinnati. Not every Archbishop is a Metropolitan Archbishop, because not every Archdiocese has a suffragan diocese. You can also find cases where a person is personally made an Archbishop but is not put in charge of an Archdiocese, those cases are called "PRO HAC VICE", which is basically Latin for "for this occasion”, meaning while the person is being made an archbishop their diocese is not being made an archdiocese. There are weirder scenarios that can pop up as well, but I'm trying to focus on the highlights to keep this manageable and will point out the more unusual stuff when and if it pops up. In terms of territory, the next step above a province would typically be a REGION, which is generally just an administrative subdivision of a national bishops' Conference. Columbus is in a region with all the dioceses–it's hard to pluralize that–in Ohio and Michigan, called Region VI. This particular layer of admin is completely unremarkable and has no special titles or roles associated with it. At the top of the national level there's generally what's called a BISHOP'S CONFERENCE, an organization made up of the bishops and perhaps their equivalents across a given nation. Depending on the scale of things you might also see bishop's conferences that cover multiple countries or I think I've even seen some sub-national bishops' conferences here and there, it just depends on what makes sense given the geopolitics and the nature of the Catholic Community. Though there isn't a special churchy title for the leadership of a Bishops' Conference- they're just called President or whatever- I will tend to note when someone I'm going over holds a leadership post here since it's at the national level. Getting back to church titles rather than standard admin structure, it's worth noting that, in a nutshell, the older a diocese is the more prestige and gravitas it has. Historically, the oldest diocese in a given country had special importance and was something a bit above a regular archdiocese called a PRIMATIAL SEE held by a PRIMATE- not the monkey though sure joke away– oh and see by the way is just another word for a diocese, that's S-E-E. It's specifically referring to the bishop's "seat", which is the same concept that makes the head church of a Diocese called a Cathedral, cathedra being a Latin word for Chair. And yeah, it's a bit weird to have so much focus on what someone is sitting on but keep in mind thrones for kings kind of fill the same concept, it's basically the idea that it's the office that has its own importance that accumulates with each officeholder. Some diocese are dignified at an even higher level and are called Patriarchates, with bishops of those diocese being called Patriarchs. Historically the core group of patriarchates was Rome, Constantinople, Antioch, Alexandria, and Jerusalem. Others have been added through the years, notably Moscow in the East. Generally Patriarchates are more associated with Eastern Orthodoxy since the highest ranking churchmen there are the Patriarchs, though the Popes would also flaunt their Papal powers over the church generally by setting up some new Western Patriarchates as well, like Lisbon and Venice. I'll definitely be spending a lot of time talking about all the various patriarchates in the main narrative, so stay tuned. Recently a new role has been developed, and of course I mean recently in church terms so, you know, in living memory, and that's the role of what's termed a "MAJOR ARCHBISHOP", just half a hair down from a Patriarch in dignity, and of course overseeing a "MAJOR ARCHBISHOPRIC". Check out my episode on Sviatoslav Shevchuk for more on that, basically the Vatican wanted to grant the Ukranians higher honor but could not fully commit to a new Patriarchate because of pressure from Moscow, so the position was developed as a compromise. There are now a total of four Major Archbishops, all Eastern Catholics. To explain very briefly, now that I'm mentioning Eastern Catholics, the Catholic Church is actually made up of a total of 24 sui iuris- that is, "self governing" Churches, called Particular churches. The one you're probably most familiar with is the biggest, what's called the Latin Church, but the other 23 are equally important at least in theory even though in practice they often get sidelined or overlooked. A single city may have multiple bishops because of these different rites, and also because of non-Catholic bishops, for example there are currently five people claiming the role of Patriarch of Antioch, three Catholic bishops from different sui iuris particular churches in union with Rome, and two Orthodox bishops not in union with Rome. None of these Patriarchs of Antioch are based in Antioch, modern Antakya. It's complicated. Collectively members of these non-Latin Sui Iuris churches are called Eastern Catholics and In most cases these are the results of various splits and reunions throughout Church history, resulting in a variety of local traditions maintained because 1 tradition is beautiful and 2 union with the Pope is more important to the Pope then making everyone do exactly the same thing, though there have certainly been pushes for that, and I hope that somewhat tongue-in-cheek brief overview isn't too insulting but long story short the variety resulting from these different traditions could easily double the length of this episode, but given the main purpose of this was to allow Cardinal-Watchers to follow Cardinal Numbers without getting too lost I'm going to let the Latin rite examples I've given form the core and I'll explain Eastern titles- such as calling most bishops EPARCHS and most Dioceses EPARCHIES- as they appear in individual episodes. Now, believe it or not, there's still a few more bishop-tier titles to go. First, a TITULAR BISHOP is a bishop who has been assigned a non-functional diocese, which sounds like a bit of a raw deal- and to be clear, it is- but it generally allows them to focus on other stuff they need to be doing while officially giving them the status and dignity of being a bishop. There are also titular archbishops and even titular patriarchs, basically the next few terms function as adjectives. Another modifier you might see before someone's bishop title is "Auxiliary". An AUXILIARY BISHOP is a bishop who assists in the administration of a see- typically an archdiocese or a patriarchate- while being titular bishop of another see. This keeps one person as the overall pastor but allows for easing the burden when there's a lot of bishopping to be done. There's another kind of bishop called a COADJUTOR. As the co- part might suggest, a coadjutor bishop acts alongside the regular bishop. Generally speaking a coadjutorship is a short term arrangement, designed to ease the transition when the regular bishop retires, with the coadjutor having automatic succession. Unlike Auxiliary bishops, coadjutor bishops are not typically given a separate titular see reflecting this even closer association with the diocese. Normally the goal is one bishop per diocese and one diocese per bishop, coadjustorships are treated as an exception to that ideal for the sake of smooth transition. Another adjective you'll see applied to someone's title as bishop is emeritus, and this one I think is more familiar to folks. A BISHOP EMERITUS is the former bishop of a diocese. In modern practice most Bishops are required to submit their resignation to the Pope once they turn 75, so that's the typical retirement age, but early retirements due to health reasons or air quotes "health reasons" are not unheard of, and sometimes folks are left in their posts for a bit longer. When a diocese has no serving bishop, that period is called a SEDE VACANTE, or "vacant seat". Most folks hear that in connection with the Pope, though the term can be used for all diocese, not just Rome. If the vacancy is a longer one, you'll often see what's called an APOSTOLIC ADMINISTRATOR appointed for the interim, someone to keep things running who may or may not already be a bishop of another diocese, often the metropolitan. Finally, there's a broader term that includes but is not limited to bishops that I've been studiously avoiding: an ORDINARY. Most often the ordinary is a bishop, but there are some special jurisdictions outside the normal diocesan structure that are served by a non-episcopal-AKA non-bishop- ordinary. Such jurisdictions are called ORDINARIATES. And yeah, don't let the wording fool you, ordinariates headed by an ordinary are not, you know, the ordinary arrangement, those are for special circumstances. The most common type of ordinariate is a MILITARY ORDINARIATE. Given the special needs of armed forces and the families serving in them, many nations have a specific ordinariate dedicated to military families. There is also something called a PERSONAL ORDINARIATE, which in modern times is best understood as a bridge between Anglicanism and Catholicism, something Anglican leaders aren't particularly thrilled about but that didn't stop Pope Benedict XVI from setting up the structure a few years back. This is also as good a time as any to note that a CHAPLIN is like the priest-level edition of an ordinary, in the sense that they're dedicated to a specific group of people that isn't a geographic thing, and also in the sense that it's often something you'll see in a military or other institutional context, and *also* in the sense that a chaplain might not actually be a priest even though they carry out many similar functions, much like an ordinary may not actually be a bishop. Alright, next up, let's start looking at what's going on within a typical diocese, especially at Mass, that most Catholic of ceremonies. As you might have guessed, we're going to be talking a fair bit about PRIESTS today, so let's dive in there. Priests, like bishops, receive Holy Orders through ordination. They effectively function as a stand-in for the bishop, serving as his delegates in the local churches called PARISHES. They have apostolic succession only in a secondary sense- their holy orders are valid because of their bishop's valid apostolic succession, and they cannot ordain successors themselves. Unless of course they also happen to be a bishop, which, yes, Mr Offscreen Pedant, bishops are also priests, but I'm speaking specifically about priests who are not also bishops. All bishops are priests and deacons to boot, holy orders is a three-part deal that stacks up like that. Of course, not all deacons are priests, and not all priests are bishops. It's a squares and rectangles kind of thing. The primary function of a priest is to administer sacraments, especially saying Mass and hearing confessions. I actually have my sacraments series done for the Solemn High Pod, so check out the three part Popeular History episode 0.20 if you want to know more about Mass and the sacraments. If 0.23 and dare I hope 0.31 are done by the time you're listening to this you can check out those as well for more on the Mass. Like Bishops, priests are generally expected to practice clerical celibacy, especially in the Latin church but also in the East in the sense that they cannot get married after ordination. So if they want to join the ranks of the married clergy, they better already have the married part done before they do the clergy part. A priest is the most essential person when it comes to Mass, because priests are the ones who either celebrate or say Mass–either of those verbs will work, by the way, and I'm not actually aware of a difference in meaning. Anyways, this is brought home by the fact that priests can literally say Mass by themselves, with no one else present. And I don't want to go too far into theology in this org chart overview, but I really should note that ultimately, on a theological level, it's not so much the priests themselves saying Mass or hearing confessions, rather it's Christ acting through them. What about deacons? Well, first off, there are two kinds of deacons in current practice: TRANSITIONAL DEACONS and PERMANENT DEACONS. The transitional deaconate is a step towards priesthood, and typically lasts a year. It's the first rung of Holy Orders, the first ordination the future priest will receive. In the case of permanent deacons, rather than a stepping stone the diaconate is its own vocation, with the recruiting focus being on men ages 35-55 or so depending on the diocese. Even in the west married permanent deacons are normal, though still with the same caveat that I mentioned for eastern priests earlier: once you're ordained no more new marriages for you. Deacons have an assisting role at Mass and administering other rites and sacraments but historically their main role has been more in the realm of what's called works of mercy, aka helping the poor, as that was the original idea behind setting up the diaconate as outlined in the biblical Book of Acts. It was only in recent times–recent times in the scale of Catholicism of course meaning in you know, living memory, it's a big timeline–anyways it was only in recent times that the permanent diaconate was revived after a millenium of suppression. Technically, to be sure, there were some deacons in the middle ages–Pope Gregory VII gained his reputation as Deacon Hildebrand- but outside of the Papal court, where titles tend to carry on regardless, DROPDROP they were scarcely more than a step to the priesthood, DROPDROP that transitional model I mentioned earlier. Before that decline, deacons were actually generally more impactful than priests, often serving as the bishop's right hand, especially in the form of ARCHDEACONS. This model is still largely present in the Eastern Churches, especially if you recall that Arkdiyakon role I mentioned in the context of the Thomas Christians I mentioned last month. Finally, I should note that there is strong historical evidence for a female diaconate in the early Church, for example in Romans 16 Saint Paul refers to a certain Phoebe as a deaconess, and unlike in the historical argument over female priests and bishops, the Church accepts a form of female diaconate as a historical reality. However, it is argued that women deacons were not ordained, that their role was fundamentally different from that of male deacons. Whether to revive an unordained form of female diaconate is an active topic of discussion in Rome. Of course, we're well into the weeds now. Things have changed. But before we make our way back to the modern Church, let's take a quick look at how Holy Orders worked prior to the Second Vatican Council of the 1960s. Before Vatican II, Holy Orders didn't start with the diaconate, the priesthood was actually the culmination of a seven-step process that began with what's called the minor orders. The lowest rung of this ladder was the PORTER, being basically the church doorman. After that, the LECTOR, in charge of some of the Bible reading at Mass, and a role which largely survived the council but was taken out of the context of a step on the path to priesthood, to the extent that even shock of shocks women can be Lectors. Next up was the ever crowd-pleasing role of EXORCIST, one trained to cast out demons, and perhaps surprisingly that's another role that's still with us, now taking the form of a special category of priests. As I understand it, to this day each Diocese has at least one exorcist, though their identities are typically kept secret because, ya know, kooks who won't stop bugging him because, I mean, real-life-exorcist. Cool. Finally, up at the top of the minor orders there was the role of ACOLYTE. Think alter server but one of the more active ones, not just a candle-holder. And yes, a role that was once higher than an exorcist is now generally occupied by a middle schooler. Right above the minor orders was the first rank that required ordination- no, not the deacon, the SUB-DEACON. Like all the other minor orders suppressed in the West, this role has been preserved in the East. Take this how you will, but the East has tended to more scrupulously preserve tradition than the Latin Church. It probably helps that they have no one with sufficient authority to come close to mucking around with tradition. I honestly don't think we'll be talking about sub-deacons much, but just know they're, well, right below a standard-issue deacon in the medieval pecking order, as you might have guessed, assisting at mass in similar but different roles. This office went away in the West with the abolition of the minor orders in Vatican II. After the sub-deacon the medieval and early modern seven stages of Holy Orders culminated with the familiar roles of Deacon- full on deacon this time- and then priest. Note that Bishop was not really considered a part of this progression in this model. Now, let's take a moment to chat through a couple other church roles largely or totally left to history while we're in the neighborhood. First, who can forget the fact that there's a whole Canterbury tale dedicated to the PARDONER. This wasn't someone who specialized in hearing confessions and absolving sins as you might expect after that episode we did on the newly elevated Cardinal Dri, the elderly Argintinian Capuchin with that focus. Instead, the focus of the Pardoner was on selling indulgences, those get-out-of-Purgatory-free cards that brought enough scandal to destroy the unity of western Christendom. And yes, I'm kind of acting like you already know about the Protestant Reformation in the same episode where I explain at a basic level what a priest is. Anyways, speaking of Protestants–or quasi-Protestants, or whatever you want to call them, perhaps just Anglicans– speaking of Anglicans, in many ways they're an even better time capsule for preserving some things lost to modern Catholicism than the East. Obviously not in all stripes of Anglicanism, as that wide tent contains a lot of innovations, but, well, on the traditionalist Anglo-Catholic end of the spectrum you can still find things like CANONS and PREBENDS. Canons with one N of course, the church kind, though of course the martial Pope Julius II was fond of two-N cannons as well. Anyways, even ruling out the military cannons I need to specify, as there are not one not two but three distinct meanings of a one-N canon in medieval Catholicism and actually in contemporary Catholicism as well, though the role of canon- by definition our focus on this episode on roles in the Catholic Church- the role is much less common than it once was. But first, the most common meaning of the term Canon in contemporary Catholicism is in the context of Canon law, because that's the term for way the Church governs itself and specific sections of the overall governing document are called canons. Similarly, church councils, that is, gatherings of church leaders, also tend to produce canons, especially the great ecumenical–that is, universal–councils of old that we'll start discussing when we get to the fourth century. So for example someone might cite the first canon of the Council of Nicea, where the Church of old ruled on the pressing question of how being castrated would or would not impact one's ability to serve as a priest. There's also something called the Canon of the Mass, and really the root word helps to understand the meaning of both this and the law slash council thing, because a canon in Latin is something like a fixed measuring stick. The fixed part of Mass is the section of prayers that are always the same, or at least that were always the same until our old friend Vatican II made other options available (again, as I understand it). Nowadays the Canon of the Mass, also called the Roman Canon, is additionally referred to as Eucharistic Prayer 1, implying the existence of Eucharistic Prayer 2, which isn't just a theoretical thing but a real life shorter form that liturgical traditionalists like myself tend to hate. There's also Eucharistic Prayers 3 and 4, which are less egregious, but still, stick with Eucharistic Prayer 1, aka the Roman Canon, if you would be so kind. The third kind of Canon is, at last, the role, and interestingly the etymology here is the same root as the others, giving the sense of something standardized or fixed in place. In this case, the standardization is because the "Canons" of a cathedral or other significant church were a group of priests who had decided to live communally and establish their spiritual and physical lives around a set of rules, you know, standardizing them. Canonizing their lives, if you will. They were basically members of a religious order, though not one centrally governed. Oh, and I suppose I should also note that the term canonization fits into this overall picture in a similar way: it's called canonization because what canonization does is standardize the cult of a particular saint across the universal church. Oh and stop saying cult like it's a bad thing, in this case that's just the word used. It's not a wink and a nod to kool-aid. Also, a canon in the sense of a cathedral canon or other role in a religious order is different from a canon*ist* or a canon lawyer, which is one who studies and explains or practices Church law, respectively. Clear as mud? Fair. Oh, and the PREBEND I mentioned, well, that's basically just a fancier kind of Cathedral canon. Let's move on though. The last historical Church role I want to talk about today is the KING. Or the EMPEROR. Or, you know, whoever the relevant feudal LORD would be. Because such secular leaders were nevertheless seen as having a critical role within the Church, with the civil government and the Church not then tending to have the separation we're used to these days. Really, nobility in general was a big deal for the church until the last century or so. Ok, so we've talked about the various forms of bishops and their territories, and about who you might see at Mass. What about those between? Well, one of the most important functions in Church organization is training up the next generation of leadership, and that training of new priests tends to take place at special institutes called SEMINARIES. You can basically think of seminaries as universities for future priests, and there's also a junior league of sorts for younger students that's basically a kind of boarding school called a MINOR SEMINARY. Those who study at seminaries are called SEMINARIANS, and those who teach there are nowadays generally titled PROFESSORS having the same basic sense as in the secular world but with Catholicism baked in. Kind of like this show verses a generic non-Popeular podcast. The head of a seminary is generally called a RECTOR, though I'm sure there's some variety in that. As you may know depending on what's common in your neck of the woods, rector can also have the same basic sense in secular institutes of higher learning as well, which makes sense when you take a look at the root word there: basically, "ruler". Etymology is our friend here, there, and everywhere. Outside of seminary education, there's also the topic of the general administrative structure of a given diocese. Obviously the bishop is on top, and as you probably already guessed the priests of the diocese typically have admin roles in addition to saying Mass. As an American Catholic, I'm mostly used to hearing the term PASTOR for a priest who's tasked with running a local church community called a PARISH, though I gather canonically the Anglican sounding term VICAR is more precise. You'll also hear the term PARISH PRIEST used in the same sense. A single parish may have more than one priest assigned to it by the diocesan powers that be. A secondary priest is called a PAROCHIAL VICAR in more  official stuff but ASSOCIATE PASTOR is the term you'll hear in common parlance, at least in American use. You might also see someone described as a CURATE, which in modern use designates a priest who assists the principal Vicar or Pastor or Rector of whatever, but historically would refer to the pastor themselves, and yes, it's complicated. There are higher levels to consider as well, both administratively and in terms of honorary titles. For example, MONSIGNOR is a special honorary title given to seasoned priests at the discretion of the Pope. It's not really a role, since it's purely a title and has no special function, but I figured I'd include it here. There are three levels within being titled a Monsignor, first a "CHAPLAIN OF HIS HOLINESS", second an "HONORARY PRELATE", and finally a "PROTONOTARY APOSTOLIC". These sorts of honorifics are currently out of favor in Rome given Pope Francis' strong preference for simple aesthetics and not seeking honor and titles, but he's pushing against a very long tradition of honors and titles in Roman culture, long enough that it goes back to the Cursus Honorum of ancient Pagan Rome, and I expect with the back-and-forth way the Papacy and the Curia operate, we haven't seen the last of ecclesiastical honorifics. After a fat Pope, the saying goes, a skinny Pope. Oh, there's even a kind of honorific for church buildings that functions in kind of the same way as making a priest a Monsignor, namely the status of BASILICA, which is basically just a way for the powers that be to say "hey check out this church it's extra nifty". Of course, not all higher titles within a Diocese are honorifics, there are functional roles as well. The overall day-to-day admin of the diocese is typically not run by the Bishop personally but by an office called the CHANCERY run by a CHANCELLOR, another term you may have heard in higher education because there's historical overlap between higher education and the admin of the Catholic Church or, you know, medieval courts in general. VICE-CHANCELLORS are also a thing, being second in command, behind the Chancellor. If you want a little more insight into what a Diocesan Chancery does, my home Diocese of Columbus has a write-up on their website that explains it better than I would so allow me to just quote them: "The Chancery includes those offices and persons who directly assist the Bishop in the pastoral and administrative governance of the Diocese of Columbus. The Chancery, on behalf of the Bishop, expedites canonical matters; collects and preserves diocesan and parish records; assists parishes and priests with civil matters; maintains files on priests and parishes; collects statistical information for the Diocese; facilitates communications with other dioceses and the Vatican; provides information on the Church or directs inquirers to appropriate sources; facilitates pre-Marriage dispensations and permissions and transmits to other dioceses pre-marriage files; and oversees diocesan offices." The rough Papal equivalent to the diocesan Chancery is the Roman CURIA. In Rome, the Church bureaucracy is sprawling. It's no secret that bureaucracies tend to grow over time when left unchecked, and historically Rome was just about the last place to look for a check on a bureaucracy. Even the ancient pre-Christian Romans exalted bureaucracy, with their skills as administrators being credited as a major unifying force for the Empire. Of course, administrative skills and bureaucracy can almost be contradictory concepts– after all, getting things done requires moving beyond committee after committee. But ultimately the purpose of the Curia is to spread the faith handed down from the Apostles throughout the world, and with that emphasis on handing down, tradition is a huge part of things. When you combine an emphasis on tradition with a massive scale- there are well over a billion Catholics in the world today- and a global scope–well, the Curia is absolutely massive and, despite repeated efforts at overhauling things, it's complicated as well. It would be deeply ironic but not inaccurate to call it Byzantine, a term for “really really complicated” drawn from another institution derived from ancient Rome, though the Byzantine empire is no more and the papacy is more globalized than ever. Pope Francis has been toying with the formula more than any other Pope in recent history, time will tell if the changes stick. One of the most apparent changes Pope Francis has made to the Curia, certainly in the context of our rundown of specific terms, is rebranding the various PONTIFICAL COUNCILS and CONGREGATIONS to DICASTERIES. The practical effect of this is minor but it's helpful to recognize these terms as referring to high level Curial departments–often but not always headed by Cardinals, indeed Pope Francis has structured things so there is no longer any official bar to Dicasteries headed by, say, a woman, though that hasn't actually happened yet. In any event, the heads of Dicasteries or Congregations or Pontifical Councils or whatever you want to call them are called PREFECTS, with the second in command being listed as SECRETARIES, and then things like UNDERSECRETARIES appearing further down the chain of command but still fairly high on the overall curial org chart. The CARDINALS I mentioned there are a special role connected to the Diocese of Rome. As a group they are called the COLLEGE OF CARDINALS, in much the same way that the bishops throughout the world collectively make up the COLLEGE OF BISHOPS. Most famously, it is the eligible Cardinals under the age of 80 who pick the next pope in a closed voting contest called a CONCLAVE during a Papal Sede Vacante, in a period of “vacant see”, you know, “empty chair”. Meetings of Cardinals more broadly speaking are called CONSISTORIES, because yeah, pretty much everything has a special term here, that's why you're listening to this episode. The office of Cardinal has historical connections to the clergy of Rome but it is not by definition an ordained role, meaning there could conceivably be women as Cardinals in the future as I discussed in my September 28th episode this year. There are three fundamental orders of Cardinals, the names of which are rooted in the origins of the college but which are no longer tied to their respective levels of Holy Orders in any particular way as all modern Cardinals are at least priests and most are bishops. Nevertheless, Cardinals are Categorized as either CARDINAL-BISHOPS, the highest level, or CARDINAL-PRIESTS, in the middle, or CARDINAL DEACONS, the lowest category, though really if you're a Cardinal even at the lowest level you're still pretty high up in the Church's pecking order. Special roles within the College of Cardinals include the PROTOPRIEST and the PROTODEACON, the longest serving of those respective orders. Historically, it was the Protodeacon's job to crown the Pope, though Popes haven't opted for crowns in decades. It's also the job of the most senior cardinal deacon participating in the Conclave to announce the new Pope through what's called the HABEMUS PAPAM, Latin for "we have a Pope". A specific name for a specific speech. Speaking of Conclaves and Papal Sede Vacantes and such, the CAMERLENGO OF THE HOLY ROMAN CHURCH is the one who runs the show when there's no Pope around, assisted, of course, by a VICE CAMERLENGO. And to give you an idea of *just* *how* *wonky* the Curia can be, though the Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church is generally a Cardinal, he should not be confused with the CAMERLENGO OF THE COLLEGE OF CARDINALS, a role dedicated to administering the financial affairs of the Cardinals which has, mercifully, recently been allowed to lapse. So, yeah. There are a huge number of special roles and titles connected to the Curia. We'll be seeing them in action repeatedly as we go, but I don't want to get too hung up on them in this overview. Needless to say, Rome is a special case, full of special cases. Before we go, I do want to point out the NUNCIOS are effectively Papal Ambassadors, and the offices they head are called NUNCIATURES. A small step down the latter of diplomatic precedence there are PRO-NUNCIOS who have PRO-NUNCIATURES and who perhaps aspire to be full-on Nuncios one day–yes, oddly, in this case the "pro" prefix actually signifies as a *lower* rank. Finally, it would be just plain wrong of me to skip the fact that there is an important role called the LIBRARIAN OF THE HOLY ROMAN CHURCH, which is pretty much exactly what it sounds like, and which was historically also known as the BIBLIOTHECARIUS. Don't worry, we'll be following them especially closely. Anyways, any more standard diocese, including Columbus, may not have something as deep and extensive as the Curia, but they still have their own complexities not only within but also beyond the walls of the Chancery, often being subdivided into units called DEANERIES, which are groups of parishes. These multi-parish groups are headed, as you might have guessed, by someone called a DEAN, though you might have also guessed that a more official and less intuitive name exists in canon law: a deanery can also be listed as a FORANE VICARIATE, headed by a VICAR FORANE. There are other roles that aren't geographically based but are still critical to the functioning of the diocese, such as NOTARIES, who are permitted to draw up official documents on behalf of the local Church, and CONSULTORS, who, well, are there for the bishop to consult with on specific topics where he may need their advice. Ok, we're getting there. Now, you might think you know what RELIGIOUS means, but in a Catholic context it has a narrower definition. Being *a* religious means you have taken RELIGIOUS VOWS, specifically THE EVANGELICAL COUNSELS of Poverty, Chastity, and Obedience. Obedience, in this case, meaning obedience to a religious superior. Welcome to the world of RELIGIOUS ORDERS, which you might also know variously as RELIGIOUS INSTITUTES, INSTITUTES OF CONSECRATED LIFE, SOCIETIES OF APOSTOLIC LIFE, or even CONGREGATIONS, depending on a variety of factors and generally distinguished at a deeper level than I want to get into today. A fair amount of the variety comes from the various religious orders having their own distinct rules, called, well, RULES, and particular focuses, called CHARISMS. They also traditionally have distinct uniforms, called HABITS. You can typically recognize members of different religious orders by their habits, for example white and black robes will most often be a Dominican, brown or sometimes gray will trend to signify a Franciscan of some sort, though there are a lot more religious orders than there are basic colors so brown is also the dominant color in the unrelated Carmelite order. Anyways, the most classic form of a religious order is a MONASTERY with the members of the order being known as MONKS in the case of males or NUNS in the case of females– and monasteries have always been segregated by gender though there were historically sometimes what was called DOUBLE MONASTERIES with male and female wings. Given everyone involved had taken a vow of chastity, such a separation was seen as a practical step. Now, you might be surprised to hear me mentioning nuns in the context of a monastery, rather a CONVENT, a similar institution, which in contemporary English is where you'd expect to find nuns, with monasteries being reserved for monks. But I want to give you some historical understanding as well, and historically the distinction between a convent and a monastery was not one of gender but of specific type. Monasteries tended to be more rural and therefore removed from worldly concerns but could be communities of either gender, while convents tended to be more urban and therefore a bit more integrated into secular society. But that historical sense has faded sufficiently in English that you'll get weird looks if you say there are nuns in a monastery or monks in a convent. You may be technically correct, which is indeed the best kind of correct, but just be aware that the non-gendered sense of the terms is now not as common as it once was. Either way, members of religious communities are generally called BROTHER or SISTER as the default form of address unless another title supersedes. The head of a monastery is typically called an ABBOT in the case of a male CONGREGATION or an ABBESS in the case of a female congregation- the congregation being the community itself. Second in command in the case of a larger community or perhaps in overall command of a smaller community that is itself subordinated to a mother house is a PRIOR or PRIORESS, the former for a male community and the latter for a female community. In terms of the overall building, if the person in charge is an Abbott or Abbess then it's an ABBEY, if it's run by a Prior or a Prioress it's called a PRIORY, though it's not unusual for folks to simply fall back on the simplified and gendered newer meanings of monastery and convent I described earlier. A generic term for those in charge of a religious community is a SUPERIOR, or perhaps MOTHER SUPERIOR, with the leadership of the overall global order being typically called a SUPERIOR GENERAL. There's also a middle range of governance called a PROVINCE, giving that word a similar meaning to what we saw on the Diocesan side of things. All of these communities vary in a number of ways. Some are more removed from worldly affairs, with few to no outside visiters, those communities are called CLOISTERED. These communities go back to the origins of Christian monasticism, where an individual would often feel inspired to withdraw from the world and live a life of severe ASCETICISM, that is, renouncing pleasure and embracing prayer and PENANCE-reparations for sins-  in the hope of spiritual rewards. In the common narrative, folks would come out to such HERMITS, who might be called DESERT FATHERS or DESERT MOTHERS, and seek to follow their example, forming a community. The term for the individual ascetic who vows to follow the evangelical counsels is a hermit like I mentioned or you might also call them an ANCHORITE, and that form of monasticism is EREMITIC, from same root word as "hermit". Once you're talking about living in community, that particular form of monasticism is called CENOBITIC monasticism, combining the greek words for "common" and "life". Not all monasticism is that degree of renunciation of the world, though certainly that form was most established in the early Church. But over time other orders with various special charisms- special focuses- emerged, with the rise of the MENDICANT orders- those that essentially live by begging- occurring in the 13th century, with the Franciscans and the Dominicans being classic examples. Male mendicants are called FRIARS. In time there would also be MISSIONARY orders such as the Jesuits or the Salesians, as you might guess those being dedicated to spreading Christianity to areas where Christianity was a minority. Members of missionary orders are simply called brothers or sisters, leaving the monk and nun labels to those living in more traditional communities. In a number of cases the communally living religious orders have established affiliated entities designed to allow those who live outside their actual communal life to nevertheless observe some form of their rule and wear some form of their habit. These are called THIRD ORDERS, the first and second orders being by implication the monks and the nuns in their communities. Members of third orders are also called TERTIARIES. Historically similar to third orders were things like BEGUINES and their male equivalents, BEGHARDS, though those were as much defined by their lack of official status in the Church as anything else, which makes them an awkward addition to this episode. So I'll leave it at that. Anyways, with the permission of their superior- keep in mind obedience is one of the monastic vows–the others being poverty and chastity if you need a refresher–anyway with the permission of their superior male religious are able to receive ordination and become clergy. Religious who become priests are called RELIGIOUS PRIESTS, which is fair enough as a title but does have an amusing effect in that priests who are not members of a religious order are called SECULAR PRIESTS, a term that made me laugh when I first saw it and which still makes me chuckle from time to time. They can also be called DIOCESAN PRIESTS, but what's the fun in that? Believe it or not, this overview has left a lot out. Like, I never told you about how CATHOLICOS was originally a title for a bishop whose territory was more devoted to a region than a specific city, but that it evolved to be the highest title in the Church of the East. But that's in part because while I intend to cover all 23 SUI IURIS–that is, self governing– churches that make up the overall Catholic church, nevertheless the ROMAN or LATIN CHURCH is the dominant stream of Catholic history, making up over 98% of Catholics today. In case I haven't made it clear enough yet, let me emphasize again that this stuff does get complicated and you don't need to feel bad about not knowing it all offhand. I've thought about this stuff for hours daily and I don't meet that bar, this episode required research like every other. But I hope this guide helps bring some clarity and can serve as a useful reference as you go. If I didn't explain it here, and possibly even if I did, I promise I'll explain it when it comes up as we go. Thank you for listening, God bless you all!

Bishop Peter John Elliott is a retired Australian bishop of the Catholic Church who served as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Melbourne from 2007 to 2018.1 He graduated from The University of Melbourne with a Master of Arts in history and then attained a Master of Arts in theology at the University of Oxford. Bishop Elliott is also an author, writing a number of published works that predominantly concern the celebration of Catholic liturgy. His latesst book is entitled, The Sexual Revolution: History, Ideology, and Power. He was born and grew up in Melbourne, where his father served as an Anglican priest. In 2009, he was appointed the Delegate of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and the Australian Catholic Bishops' Conference for the setting up of a Personal Ordinariate for Former Anglicans. In 2015, he was appointed Episcopal Vicar for Religious Education and continues his theological oversight of To Know, Worship and Love, the Archdiocesan Religious Education Texts. Bp Elliott's book, The Sexual Revolution: History, Ideology and Power: https://ignatius.com/the-sexual-revolution-srp/ Sign up for our weekly newsletter here: https://ruthinstitute.org/newsletter/

In this episode we are joined by Father William Waun, a Catholic priest of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter. Father Waun shares about being raised in a Fundamentalist home with a very strict upbringing, going to Seminary, becoming a Methodist pastor, and eventually being ordained a married Catholic priest. Episode 79 SHOW HOSTS: Deacon Harold Burke Sivers Nick De La Torre Ellen Holmes Steeves LeBlanc SUPPORT our show: theprodigallife.com SHOW PAGE: https://www.awakencatholic.org/the-prodigal-life/how-a-fundamentalist-pastors-kid-became-a-catholic-priest-w-fr-willima-wuan Catholic Gifts - https://catholic.store/collections/prodigal-life-deacon-dan-sivers-gift-guide Catholic SWAG - https://catholicmerch.store THE AWAKEN APP: http://theawakenapp.io Bring the AWAKEN MISSION to your parish! https://www.awakencatholic.church/mission

In light of recent events at St. John Lateran in Rome where Anglicans were allowed to say Mass at the Pope's own church, we thought it was a good time to revisit the topic of Anglican Orders. This is a "mega episode" because it has two parts: Part 1: A conversation between Fr. Creighton, Fr. Wesley, Bp. Chandler Jones and Fr. Becket Soule. Part 2: A re-run of an old episode in which Bp. Chad discusses the validity of Anglican orders with Fr. Wesley and Fr. Myles. Bp. Chandler Jones is the Presiding Bishop of the Anglican Province of America and blogs at ⁠Philorthodox⁠.  Fr. Becket Soule has taught classical languages, law, and history at the Catholic University of America, the Dominican House of Studies (Washington, DC), the Pontifical College Josephinum (Columbus, OH), and Oxford University, and retired as Professor of Canon Law at St Paul University in Ottawa, Ontario.  He has been visiting lecturer and fellow at other institutions of higher studies in the United States, Great Britain, and the Ukraine, and has served as an official of the Congregation for the Eastern Churches in Rome, and as Judicial Vicar and Episcopal Vicar of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of Saint Peter in the United States and Canada; Becket has also served Anglican and Catholic parishes in Texas, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and England.  He is now pastor of St Margaret of Scotland Catholic Church in Maggie Valley, NC. Be sure to check out the video of his presentation to the Ecclesiastical Law Society "The Recognition of Orders by the Roman Catholic Church". Send us your feedback and questions to thesacramentalists@gmail.com or reach out to us on Twitter @sacramentalists. Be sure to join our Communion of Patreon Saints for only $5 a month.

Fr. Stephen Hilgendorf shares his path from the Anglican priesthood to the Catholic priesthood through the Personal Ordinariate. JonMarc Grodi hosts.

Welcome to More Christ. We seek to bring some of the world's most interesting and insightful guests to discuss life's central and abiding questions. In this ninety sixth episode in a series of discussions, I'm joined by Fr. Benedict Kiely. Father Benedict Kiely is a Catholic priest, incardinated in the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham. Born in London, and ordained in Canterbury, England in 1994, Father Ben has spent most of his priestly ministry in the United States. In the summer of 2014, Father Ben perceived a call to devote his entire priestly ministry to aid and advocacy for persecuted Christians, especially in the Middle East. Founding Nasarean.org, a 501 (c) 3 charity based in Stowe, Vermont and with the permission and support of his Ordinary, Father Ben divides his time between the US, UK and the Middle East, speaking, preaching and writing, trying to focus attention on the plight of persecuted Christians around the world. He has visited war-torn Iraq on multiple occasions since 2015, and has visited Syria and Lebanon where Nasarean is now supporting a number of family businesses. Father Ben has appeared numerous times on national radio and television, including Fox News, the BBC and international podcasts. A noted writer, formerly the US columnist for The Catholic Times, Fr. Ben's work has appeared in, among other publications, The Saint Austin Review, The American Conservative, The European Conservative, The Daily Caller, Real Clear Politics, National Review, First Things, The Catholic Herald and Crisis. For more, please see: https://www.nasarean.org/index.php

In this week's interview segment, Vatican Insider welcomes back Fr. Christopher Pearson, pastor of Most Precious Blood parish in London. As I mentioned last week in Part I of our conversation, we've been friends for over a dozen years, as you will hear in the amusing start of our conversation, and Fr. Christopher was in Rome to concelebrate at the January 5 funeral of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. What links us in friendship is one of Pope Benedict's major achievements – the creation in 2009 of the Personal Ordinariate, a canonical structure within the Catholic Church established to enable “groups of Anglicans” to join the Catholic Church while preserving elements of their liturgical and spiritual patrimony. Fr. Chris was an Anglican pastor for 15 years and talks about his becoming a Catholic priest. He highlights Benedict's great desire for Christian Unity, citing the Ordinariate as one example of how that can be achieved.

In this week's interview segment, Vatican Insider welcomes back Fr. Christopher Pearson, pastor of Most Precious Blood parish in London. As I mentioned last week in Part I of our conversation, we've been friends for over a dozen years, as you will hear in the amusing start of our conversation, and Fr. Christopher was in Rome to concelebrate at the January 5 funeral of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. What links us in friendship is one of Pope Benedict's major achievements – the creation in 2009 of the Personal Ordinariate, a canonical structure within the Catholic Church established to enable “groups of Anglicans” to join the Catholic Church while preserving elements of their liturgical and spiritual patrimony. Fr. Chris was an Anglican pastor for 15 years and talks about his becoming a Catholic priest. He highlights Benedict's great desire for Christian Unity, citing the Ordinariate as one example of how that can be achieved.

Lots of news this weekend on Vatican Insider (as there always seems to be!), and also a special guest on the interview segment, Fr. Christopher Pearson – pastor of Most Precious Blood parish in London. We've been friends for over a dozen years, as you will hear in the amusing start of our conversation, and Fr. Christopher was in Rome to concelebrate at the January 5 funeral of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. Lots of news this weekend on Vatican Insider (as there always seems to be!), and also a special guest on the interview segment, Fr. Christopher Pearson – pastor of Most Precious Blood parish in London. We've been friends for over a dozen years, as you will hear in the amusing start of our conversation, and Fr. Christopher was in Rome to concelebrate at the January 5 funeral of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. What links us is one of Pope Benedict's major achievements – the creation in 2009 of the Personal Ordinariate, a canonical structure within the Catholic Church established to enable “groups of Anglicans” to join the Catholic Church while preserving elements of their liturgical and spiritual patrimony. Fr. Chris was an Anglican pastor for 15 years and talks about his becoming a Catholic priest. He highlights Benedict's great desire for Christian Unity, citing the Ordinariate as one example of how that can be achieved.

Lots of news this weekend on Vatican Insider (as there always seems to be!), and also a special guest on the interview segment, Fr. Christopher Pearson – pastor of Most Precious Blood parish in London. We've been friends for over a dozen years, as you will hear in the amusing start of our conversation, and Fr. Christopher was in Rome to concelebrate at the January 5 funeral of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. Lots of news this weekend on Vatican Insider (as there always seems to be!), and also a special guest on the interview segment, Fr. Christopher Pearson – pastor of Most Precious Blood parish in London. We've been friends for over a dozen years, as you will hear in the amusing start of our conversation, and Fr. Christopher was in Rome to concelebrate at the January 5 funeral of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. What links us is one of Pope Benedict's major achievements – the creation in 2009 of the Personal Ordinariate, a canonical structure within the Catholic Church established to enable “groups of Anglicans” to join the Catholic Church while preserving elements of their liturgical and spiritual patrimony. Fr. Chris was an Anglican pastor for 15 years and talks about his becoming a Catholic priest. He highlights Benedict's great desire for Christian Unity, citing the Ordinariate as one example of how that can be achieved.

In the first Merely Catholic podcast for 2023, Dr Gavin Ashenden is joined by Monsignor Andrew Burnham to discuss one particular aspect of the legacy of Pope Benedict XVI, who died on New Year's Eve at the age of 95. In this 31st episode, the former Anglican Bishop of Ebbsfleet pays tribute to the late Pontiff for establishing the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham, an act which allowed the corporate reception of entire Anglican communities and permitted them also to bring with them much of the beauty of their liturgical patrimony. Monsignor Burnham, one of five bishops who in 2010 resigned to join the ordinariate, reflects on what he now believes was miracle of creative ecumenism, an act of healing at the hands, and from the heart, of a deeply generous pope.

In Fall 2021, it was revealed that Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali, among the most senior and high profile leaders within the Anglican Church, had converted to Catholicism.In this episode, we sit down with (now) Monsignor Nazir-Ali as he reflects on his first year of membership in the Catholic Church. We explore moments from his life which served as major waypoints in his journey of faith, including his embrace of Christianity during his youth in Pakistan, his hasty departure from his homeland after crossing swords with militant Islamist authorities, and his ultimate conclusion that both the deposit of faith and its authentic ministry dwell most fully within Catholicism.We also discuss pivotal issues in the contemporary life of the Church, including the need for sacred tradition and magisterial authority to guide the transmission of the faith, especially in any exercise such as the Synod on Synodality.  To top it all off, we touch on St. John Henry Newman, the death of Queen Elizabeth II, and the legacy of the early Church as a persecuted minority which ended up changing the course of human history.Monsignor Nazir-Ali is a priest within the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham, and serves as the Director of the Oxford Centre for Training, Research, Advocacy and Dialogue.ReferencesDr. Michael Nazir-Ali official website@michaelnaziraliDr. Michael Nazir-Ali, “There can be no moral renewal of public life without respect for God and Man”, The Catholic Herald (July 29, 2022)“Ex Anglican Bishop Michael Nazir Ali converts to Catholicism”, The Spectator (October 14, 2021)Support the showwww.crownandcrozier.comtwitter.com/crownandcrozierfacebook.com/crownandcrozierhttps://www.instagram.com/crownandcrozier/Please note that this podcast has been edited for length and clarity.

Monsignor Michael Nazir-Ali, the former Anglican Bishop of Rochester who became a Catholic in 2021, joins Dr Gavin Ashenden for this 29th episode of Merely Catholic, the podcast series for the Catholic Herald. Now a member of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham, Monsignor Nazir-Ali sets out his views of synodality and he answers some of the criticisms aimed at him by a minority of Catholic activists whose views about the 2021-2024 Synodal Process is somewhat different. The pair also discuss the role and primacy of conscience and Monsignor Nazir-Ali reveals what he most likes about his newly-adopted spiritual home.

Conversion to Catholicism, A Married Priest, & Harvard vs. Yale with Fr. Jonathan Erdman In today's episode of Spirit & Spire, Isaac, Bryan, & John interview Fr. Jonathan Erdman, former Episcopal priest, convert, and Catholic priest at Our Lady & St. John Catholic Church of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter, AND the new pastor of St. Francis of Assisi in Louisville! What a name! Listen as he shares his incredible story of faith and wisdom concerning today's challenging climate. Please pray for our priests to have strength and courage as they fight the good fight. They are quite literally on the front lines at our parishes, schools, agencies, and communities and need all the prayer, love, affirmation, and friendship that we can give them. Isaac Fox hosts this episode with his co-hosts Bryan Cain & John Sohl. Erik Huff could not be with us today. Look for Spirit & Spire on Google, Apple, Spotify, or wherever podcasts are found. Check out the teaser trailer and share this far and wide as more episodes are coming. www.SpiritandSpire.com Support Us | www.patreon.com/spiritandspire Please support our incredible sponsors! www.FamilyRenewalProject.com www.CathedraloftheAssumption.org If you would like a shoutout in an upcoming episode, contact us at spiritandspire@aol.com

What did Jesus mean when he said, "Do not judge?" (Mt. 7:1) in one place and in another "Judge rightly" (Jn. 7:24)? How are Christians to make good judgements in complicated situations, especially with all of the heated abortion debates currently taking place in our country and the elections that we are urged to participate in? Fr. Mayer answers these questions in this homily given on October 23, 2022 at Blessed Trinity Catholic Church, Jacksonville, FL.  Fr. Mayer is the pastor of St. James Catholic Church, Jacksonville, FL, a community of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter.

Does it really even matter that you pray? God is going to do what he is going to do anyway, so why should you pray? Fr. Mayer explains why daily prayer is essential for getting to heaven and building a relationship with God. This homily was given on October 16, 2022 at St. James Catholic Church, a community of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter.

Jun 16, 2022 - Fr. Randy Sly is a Catholic priest with the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter, currently serving in the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph. He serves as a spiritual advisor for the Duc in Altum Schools Collaborative, a nationwide initiative is leading the charge in growing and strengthening passionately Catholic schools and the Catholic Church in America. Duc in Altum: https://diaschools.org   Links to download the Veritas app: https://www.veritascatholic.com/listen  

Fr. David Palmer, a priest of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham, joins Crisis Point to discuss the Personal Ordinariate, also known as the Anglican Ordinariate. What is the history of this group, and what is its purpose in the Church today? How does its Mass compare to the Novus Ordo Mass and the traditional Latin Mass? Find out in this episode of Crisis Point!Links:• Fr. David Palmer on Twitter• Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham (U.K)• Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of Saint Peter (United States, Canada)• Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of the Southern Cross (Australia, Japan)• The Anglican Use: A Better Novus Ordo? (Crisis Article)• An Anglican Use Success Story (Crisis Article)Support the show (https://www.crisismagazine.com/support)

Fr. James Bradley, J.C.D., an Assistant Professor of Canon Law at The Catholic University of America and priest of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham, joins us to discuss his musical upbringing in the church of England and his conversion to Catholicism. Possessing a masterful knowledge of canon law, the sacred liturgy, and sacred music, he shares his thoughts about musical gems from the Anglican patrimony in the life of the Ordinariate, as well as their use in the Ordinary and Extraordinary forms of the Roman rite.  Fr. Bradley's faculty webpage is available here: https://canonlaw.catholic.edu/faculty-and-research/faculty-profiles/bradley-james-rev/index.html More information about the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter is available here: https://ordinariate.net Information about the Spring 2021 class "State Persecution of the Church in Modernity: An Historical Study through the Lenses of Source Documents and Film" co-taught with Dr. Jacek Nowicki at St. Joseph's Seminary is available here: https://jenniferdonelson.com/classes 

In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined by Father James Bradley, a Catholic priest in the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham and an Anglican convert to the Catholicism. Father Bradley, a former Anglican priest, joins us to explain how he and his Anglican congregation joined the Catholic Church, en masse, through the Anglican Ordinariate opened up by Pope Benedict XVI. We discuss the importance of full communion with the Catholic Church, the structure of authority and apostolic succession, and the struggle of trying to balance a Catholic identify while remaining outside of the Catholic Church. Plus, Father Bradley explains the unique liturgy and patrimony of the Anglican Ordinariate within the Catholic Church and, of course, we touch on one of England's most famous converts, St. John Henry Newman.For more from Father James Bradley follow him on Twitter.For more, visit The Cordial Catholic. Send your feedback to cordialcatholic@gmail.com. For more information about sponsoring the show, keeping this podcast going, and helping me to continue to deliver quality content please visit the Patreon page.  Even $1 or $2 a month can go a long way to helping make this podcast sustainable and will give you access to a special Patron-Only podcast featuring behind-the-scenes content and early access to upcoming material. If you can give $5/mo or more you'll also be entered into monthly draws for fantastic books hand-picked by me.If you'd like to give a one-time donation to The Cordial Catholic, you can visit the PayPal page.Thank you to those already supporting the show!Newsletter pre-roll. Producers Post-Roll: Stephen, Eli, Tom, Kelvin, Susan, and Eyram.Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/cordialcatholic)

We're talking to Fr. Jonathan Mitchican about his conversion to Roman Catholicism and his deep and abiding love for comic books and movies . Fr. Jonathan is the Chaplain at St. John XXIII College Preparatory in Katy, Texas. He is a Catholic priest in the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter. Fr. Johnathan has his own podcast you might catch if you like comics as much as he does called God and Comics. You can find him at godandcomics.com. He also blogs at workingthebeads.com.

Marcus Grodi welcomes Msgr. Jeffrey Steenson, a former Episcopal bishop and the first head of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter, to discuss the importance of Christian unity. They reflect on their own experiences as Protestant ministers, and what they used to think about the idea of Christian unity, and look at passages from Acts of the Apostles and St. Paul's letter to the Romans to unpack the Scriptural mandate for Christian unity.

Marcus Grodi welcomes Msgr. Jeffrey Steenson, a former Episcopal bishop and the first head of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter, to discuss the importance of Christian unity. They reflect on their own experiences as Protestant ministers,...

Today we're looking at Newman's famous hymn Lead Kindly Light and God's protection in the face of adversity. Fr Michael Halsall is a priest of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham. A former Anglican minister, Fr Michael spent six years as a Chaplain in the British Army, serving on front line operations in Northern Ireland and Bosnia. It was this latter deployment that Lead Kindly Light took on a new significance. Attached to an Artillery regiment, supporting soldiers spiritually and pastorally, who were tasked with breaking down hostilities between the warring factions, he describes his arrival in January 1996, in sub-zero temperatures, as "a descent into hell". Villages were still burning, people were displaced, having suffered some of the worst atrocities since the Second World War. Fr Michael posted a copy of Newman's hymn on the wall of his makeshift room in a converted factory: "After days on the road each week I would return and reflect on Newman’s words - particularly on the first verse as a prayer and thanksgiving for protection. "Much of our travelling and encounter with soldiers was often in the dark in those short mid-winter days, when they had finished their patrols and had some food. I remember leading a service at one of our gun battery positions outside in the snow, and in the pitch darkness by the AS90 gun emplacement. Soldiers often have a strong sense of the spiritual when life becomes precarious, and more so as three of our men did not make it home, but were killed whilst on patrol."

Today we're looking at Newman's famous hymn Lead Kindly Light and God's protection in the face of adversity. Fr Michael Halsall is a priest of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham. A former Anglican minister, Fr Michael spent six years as a Chaplain in the British Army, serving on front line operations in Northern Ireland and Bosnia. It was this latter deployment that Lead Kindly Light took on a new significance. Attached to an Artillery regiment, supporting soldiers spiritually and pastorally, who were tasked with breaking down hostilities between the warring factions, he describes his arrival in January 1996, in sub-zero temperatures, as "a descent into hell". Villages were still burning, people were displaced, having suffered some of the worst atrocities since the Second World War. Fr Michael posted a copy of Newman's hymn on the wall of his makeshift room in a converted factory: "After days on the road each week I would return and reflect on Newman’s words - particularly on the first verse as a prayer and thanksgiving for protection. "Much of our travelling and encounter with soldiers was often in the dark in those short mid-winter days, when they had finished their patrols and had some food. I remember leading a service at one of our gun battery positions outside in the snow, and in the pitch darkness by the AS90 gun emplacement. Soldiers often have a strong sense of the spiritual when life becomes precarious, and more so as three of our men did not make it home, but were killed whilst on patrol."

On Thursday, May 31, 2018, three former Anglican U.S. Military chaplains were ordained Catholic priests for the Personal Ordinariate for the Chair of St. Peter. The Ordinariate was erected by the Holy See in 2012 to provide a way for groups of former Anglicans to become Catholic, while retaining elements of their worship traditions and spiritual heritage. All three newly ordained Catholics will continue to serve as military chaplains, but with endorsement and faculties from the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA (AMS). One of the priests is Father Matthew Whitehead, CH (CPT), USA, now stationed at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia. In this edition of Catholic Military Life, the only official podcast of the AMS, Father Whitehead re-traces his spiritual journey, beginning when he was an Evangelical, through his ministry as an Anglican priest, and the process of discernment that ultimately led him to the Catholic priesthood. He reflects on some of the vast differences in teaching between Evangelical and Catholic doctrine, and how he has come to hold fast to the tenets of the Catholic faith, including the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist, the power to pray for the faithful departed, and the role of Mary, Mother of God, in eternal Salvation.

Recently ordained Catholic Father Joseph W. Reffner, CH (CPT), USA, began his spiritual journey as an Evangelical. He later became a priest in the Anglican Church, and on May 31, 2018, was ordained a Catholic priest for the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter. So how does a married man with five children find acceptance in a flock accustomed to single shepherds living out promises of celibacy? In this edition of Catholic Military Life, the official podcast of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, Father Reffner shares the story of his spiritual awakening, his newfound life as member of the Catholic clergy while continuing to provide pastoral service to those who serve in the U.S. Military, and his advice to non-Catholics thinking about becoming Catholic.

So, what happens when an Anglican priest and his entire Anglican parish feel called to come into full communion with the Roman Catholic Church? To get the answer, we invited His Excellency The Most Reverend Steven Lopes, Bishop of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St Peter, to join us in the Luxurious Corner Booth of the FRENCH Catholic Cafe to explain what the Ordinariate is, and one way Anglicans can join the Catholic Church as a group.

Can one be Anglican and fully in communion with the Catholic Church? We talk with Father Glenn Baaten and Deacon Candidate Keith Way about their entry into the Catholic Church. Both are members of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter, created by the Vatican in 2012 for people nurtured in the Anglican tradition who wish to become Catholic. …

Today's host(s): Today's host(s): Scot Landry and Susan Abbott Today's guest(s): Fr. Roger Landry, executive editor of The Anchor, the newspaper of the Fall River diocese; and Gregory Tracy, managing editor of The Pilot, the newspaper of the Boston archdiocese Links from today's show: Some of the stories discussed on this show will be available on The Pilot's and The Anchor's websites on Friday morning. Please check those sites for the latest links. Today's topics: Tenth anniversary of abuse crisis; Romney's pro-life record defended; Santorum's near-win; physician-assisted suicide; new head of ex-Anglican ordinariate Summary of today's show: In our first news show of the year, Scot Landry and Susan Abbott talk with Fr. Roger Landry and Gregory Tracy about the 10th anniversary of the major eruption of the clergy sex-abuse crisis in Boston, touching on an extensive interview with Cardinal Seán in the Pilot; Pro-life and pro-family leaders in Massachusetts defending Mitt Romney's record; Rick Santorum's surprising surge in the Iowa caucuses; the appointment of a leader for the new Ordinariate in the US for ex-Anglicans; and more. 1st segment: Scot welcomed everyone to the show and caught with Susan from her Christmas break. Scot said there's been a lot of media coverage of the church this week and Cardinal Seán has conducted a number of one-on-one interviews talking about he 10 years since Epiphany in 2002 when it was revealed in the pages of the Boston Globe about John Geoghan and how he was assigned to several parishes after being accused of abuse. Susan said she remembers exactly where she was sitting in her kitchen when she read that article. 2nd segment: Scot welcomed Fr. Roger and Gregory to the show. He said Antonio Enrique, editor of The Pilot, did perhaps the most detailed interview with the Cardinal, along with several other stories on this anniversary. Greg said it's a monumental anniversary which has so much meaning for so many. they wanted to give it the coverage it deserves. The interview with the Cardinal tried to delve a little deeper than the letters, but also to cover how he went to Fall River in the 90s during the Fr. Porter case and then what we should do moving forward. Scot said some people are questioning why we are marking this anniversary this way and Antonio asked the Cardinal about it: I think that the commitment of the archdiocese to work for the protection of children is an ongoing commitment. Often times we memorialize the tragic events in history so that they will not happen again. I think that this is one of those kinds of things. Susan said the Cardinal is on target that this is an ongoing commitment and this is a tragic event that needs to be memorialized. Greg said they have received a lot of feedback over the years asking them to stop printing about it in the Catholic newspaper, but they reply that this is a reality that we have to face up to and deal with as a Church. Scot said there are twelve interview questions in the transcript. Fr. Roger said he was struck by the Cardinal's candor with a direct answer to a question about whether Cardinal Law should have resigned. Fr. Roger said like Americans won't forget December 7 or 9/11, Catholics should not forget January 6, where we beg God's mercy and mark the day with reparations. He encouraged listeners to fast in reparation for the pain of the victims and for the harm done to the Church by this scandal. We need to beg the Lord to draw good out of evil and lead us from darkness to light. Scot quoted a question of the Cardinal: “Ten years after the scandal broke in Boston, how do you explain the actions, or inactions, of Church officials who did not act swiftly when credible accusations of abuse were reported, often repeatedly?” The Cardinal responded: As we say, hindsight is always better than foresight. In today's world we have an awareness of the great harm that is done to victims of child abuse. In the past, I fear, that was not the case. People did not realize how profound the harm was that was visited upon children. The harm, I think, was compounded when the perpetrator was a priest because of the identification of the priest with God, with the sacred, and, therefore, besides the psychological damage it also did grave spiritual damage. Then lists many other reasons as well: But I think there was a lot of ignorance of these kinds of things. It became clear to me that, in the case of Father Porter, the bishop at the time, every time there was a complaint, he sent him to a mental health facility and there the psychologists were telling the bishop that he was cured, that he could be returned to (ministry) - absurd things - but at the time even the psychologists were giving that kind of advice. So I think all that contributed to the terrible decisions that were made. There was also an exaggerated fear of scandal and trying to protect the institution. And I think, too, just in the culture at the time there was a lot of denial of this problem. People did not speak of these kinds of things - ever - even though it was like the elephant in the middle of the living room. I think Wl see reflections of that in the reporting on the case in Pennsylvania, where people just didn't want to deal with it, didn't want to face it. Even though they saw it, they were denying it. There was an unwillingness to grapple with the ugliness of this problem. Scot said it's still ugly today, but the Cardinal as much as any bishop in the Church,. has spent the last 15 to 20 years of his life meeting with survivors of abuse and helping now his third diocese overcome these problems. Greg said in 2002 the Pilot made a special issue when the crisis first broke, trying to get a handle on what this meant. He recalled that until March, people thought this was one horrible case that came to light and it would pass, but then it became clear it was not an isolated incident. Even then people were already saying these same things about there being a great ignorance about these matters in the past. Greg said society has come a long way and we need to keep this in its historical perspective. These things didn't all occur ten years ago. Ten years ago, the tragedies that occurred mainly in the 60s, 70s, and 80s were brought to light at one moment. Scot said seeing the progress made in the past 10 years makes him proud. We've trained 300,000 children and 175,000 adults in safe environment education. He said 575 young people have come forward to reveal that they're being abused by someone in their life. Susan recalled how the archdiocese brought together people of various disciplines to form a special committee to bring together materials to provide training for the children and adults. Susan said in the Office for Religious Education they went through a lot of displaced anger because they found their office under attack for promoting the implementation of safety programs for children. Scot said the Cardinal in his letter asked the media and other organizations to contextualize the abuse, by not treating every instance of abuse as if it was a present occurrence and by giving special emphasis to abuse in the Catholic Church and not giving regard to the problem that this is a societal problem. Fr. Roger said for priests, when all these abuses were treated as if they just happened, were subjected to many indignities and suspicions. The Church needs to be treated just like any other institution when accusations of these kinds come up. Fr. Roger said the fact that those with secular mindsets treat the Church differently is an implied recognition that the Church should be held to a higher standard, the standard applied by Christ. Scot said these wounds are still raw for victims and their families, all priests in a particular way, and all laity. We should pray for everyone who will go through a difficult time this week. 3rd segment: Scot said anyone who's seen the TV this week know that the US presidential primary season is in full swing. He said many critics of former Mass. governor Mitt Romney have alleged that he wasn't a strong defender of life or family issues in Massachusetts. Nine leaders in pro-life and pro-family matters in Massachusetts have come out to set the record straight about Romney. Fr. Roger said his reaction is that the defense was too strong. Romney's record in Mass. was mixed and they should have just combatted lies. He would like to hear Romney explain what he thinks he didn't do enough. On same-sex marriage, Fr. Roger thinks Romney should have refused to order city clerks to issue marriage licenses and bring about a constitutional crisis over the ability of the Supreme Judicial Court to order same-sex marriage. On the other hand, he did do a lot of the pro-life, pro-family message and could have done more. Susan said before Fr. Roger just spoke, she would have trusted the signatories to this letters based on her knowledge of their reputations. The signatories included “Raymond L. Flynn and Mary Ann Glendon, both former U.S. Ambassadors to the Holy See, as well as the former executive director of the Massachusetts Catholic Conference, Gerald D. D'Avolio.” Scot said one of the things that came out of the Iowa caucuses was that Rick Santorum, a pro-life Catholic, did so well in the voting, ending up within eight votes of Romney. Greg said Santorum appealed to the Christian conservatism of Iowa in a particular way and his defense of the family. While Greg personally would like to see Santorum become president, he thinks the voters of New Hampshire may not respond in a similar way and may not become the GOP nominee. But the fact that he came so close in Iowa shows that there's a thirst for the pro-life, pro-family message that isn't being supported by other candidates. Scot said he's never seen Rick Santorum ever dilute his conservatism on the pro-life issue. He asked Fr. Roger if Santorum will hear criticism of his pro-life views during the primary. Fr. Roger said Santorum will be cast as an extremist because he doesn't include a rape or incest exception for abortion. He may receive flask for statements from those supportive of the gay agenda reacting to his views of the gay agenda as harmful to America. Also from the Pilot this week is an obituary of Fr. Thomas Fleming, who was ordained in 1959. He served as Army chaplain in Vietnam, Korea, and Germany during the Vietnam conflict. In the Anchor, Fr. Roger said there will be a lot of focus on the Church's teaching on physician-assisted suicide. The Anchor noted that the Mass. Medical Society came out now in opposition to the practice and they wanted to be sure Catholics knew that Massachusetts doctors were not in favor of this proposed law. Also in the Pilot is a story about the forming of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter, which encompasses the United States for ex-Anglican parishes that become Catholic. It's like a diocese in function and is based in Houston. The first ordinary, who is not a Catholic bishop, is a former Episcopalian bishop. Scot noted that Fr. Jeffrey Steenson is not a bishop, and doesn't have the power to ordain, but in most other respects has the same powers as a bishop. Greg pointed out he's not eligible to be a bishop because he's married. Fr. Roger said it's part of Pope Benedict's response to Christ's prayer that “all would be one” and reuniting Christians under one Church.