THESIS PRESENTATION Initial greetings Two quotes This is the one Church of Christ which in the Creed is professed as one, holy, catholic and apostolic, which our Saviour, after His Resurrection, commissioned Peter to shepherd (Jn. 21:17), and him and the other apostles to extend and direct with authority (Cf. Mt. 28:18,f), which He erected for all ages as “the pillar and mainstay of the truth” (1 Tim. 3:15). This Church constituted and organized in the world as a society, subsists in the Catholic Church, which is governed by the successor of Peter and by the Bishops in communion with him, although many elements of sanctification and of truth are found outside of its visible structure. These elements, as gifts belonging to the Church of Christ, are forces impelling toward catholic unity. Dogmatic Constitution Lumen Gentium 8 It is above all for the entire college of bishops and the Apostolic See to foster and direct among Catholics the ecumenical movement whose purpose is the restoration mong all Christians of the unity which the Church is bound to promote by the will of Christ. Can. 755§1. INTRODUCTION Ecumenism, as we are all aware, is a hallmark of the Vatican II ecclesiology. For this reason, the Church has expressly committed to open new paths towards the full communion desired by Jesus Christ. But the desire to heal the wounds of division among Christians is not something new. Throughout history, there have always been attempts by the Roman pontiffs, the bishops of the whole Church, to restore full communion among the disciples of Jesus. An example of this was the Council of Florence (15th Century), with the concepts of unio et pax as an ecumenical solution for the relation with the separated Eastern Churches: this Council wanted to distinguish what was dogmatic and therefore not debatable, from what could legitimately be understood in another way: the dogmatic aspects were ruled by the unio, while on the disciplinary aspects (not of divine law) the pax prevailed. The subject of this work came from this chapter of history. We wanted to study how Apostolic Constitution Anglicanorum Coetibus of Pope Benedict XVI (2009), by creating personal ordinariates for groups of Anglicans who wish to enter into full communion with the Catholic Church, is a legal response in the ecumenical journey promoted by the Vatican II, updating the categories of the Council of Florence of unio in what is dogmatic and pax in what is disciplinary, as a solution to advance on the path of unity. We also wanted to deepen the motivations and rationale behind the Roman Pontiff’s decision to take this ecumenical initiative. The work’s title – The Apostolic Constitution Anglicanorum Coetibus, a legal response in the ecumenical journey – aims to summarise the essential elements of this ruling from Benedict XVI that we will examine in the work: its responsorial character, its juridical nature and its utmost importance for the ecumenical journey between the Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion. The reasons The desire expressed by many faithful Anglicans1 to corporatively enter into full communion with the Catholic Church, where the Church of Christ remains, had as a response from the Church the creation of personal ordinariates in 2009 by Pope Benedict XVI, through the Apostolic Constitution Anglicanorum Coetibus. Attached to this Apostolic Constitution were the Complementary Norms, of an administrative nature, issued by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. First of all, we should note the responsorial character of the AC. The Informative note of the Congregation for the Doctine of the Faith, of issued on the 20th November 2009, clearly states that the AC responds to numerous requests from groups of faithful. Some background Before this new ruling from Benedict XVI, there were numerous cases of Anglicans who were individually joining the Catholic Church. But at least on two occasions the Church had to provide for the entry of groups of Anglicans into full communion with the Apostolic See, in a way that we can call “corporate”. The first occasion occurred in 1975, in the pontificate of Blessed Paul VI: a group of clergy from the Anglican diocese of Amritsar (India) asked to join the Catholic Church and to serve there as priests; they were granted priestly ordination, having been dismissed from priestly celibacy by the Holy See. The second occasion , in 1980, is related to the response given by the Church to the request made by a group of American Episcopalians, who wanted to enter into full communion with the Catholic Church, but still maintaining somehow the Anglican identity and traditions. Pope Saint John Paul II responded to this request with the Pastoral Provision from the CDF. The new circumstances However, the increasing number of requests made these responses insufficient. The requests for communion with the Catholic Church have increased in recent years by groups of Anglican Christians that were having difficulty in following the Anglican Communion’s pastoral adaptation to gender ideology, feminist issues and other social pressure2. In the Church of England, for instance, the episcopal ordination of women was recently approved, on the 14th July 2014, by decision of the General Synod. The first woman to be chosen was Libby Lane, who holds since January 2015 the chair of Stockport, a suffragan diocese of Chester. 1 We use the term <<Anglican>> in a broad sense, including the faithful of the Anglican Church and also of the Episcopal Church of the United States of America. 2 As an example, we refer the priestly and episcopal ordination of women and the blessing of same-sex unions. From the panorama of Anglicans who ask for full ecclesial communion with Rome, stand out the Traditional Anglican Communion from Australia, a hundred parishes from the Episcopalian Church in America, and the international movement Forward in Faith, an Anglican group of Anglo-Catholic character, present in England, Australia and other countries. The pontifical response to requests from Anglicans is seen from the Catholic side as a fruit of the Holy Spirit’s action: “In recent times the Holy Spirit has moved groups of Anglicans to petition repeatedly and insistently to be received into full Catholic communion individually as well as corporately. The Apostolic See has responded favourably to such petitions.” FUNDAMENTAL CANONICAL ELEMENTS IN THE ORDINARIATES An Ordinariate is a peculiar ecclesiastical subscription juridicaly similar to a dioceses where is present the constitutive elements of the portio populi Dei, formed by lay people clergy and members of religious life. Although this could not be considered a particular church. This juridical instrument was already created by John Paul II in 1986 to the organization of military pastoral care. The canonical erection Ordinariates are erected by the CDF (AC I § 1) within the territorial boundaries of a Conference of Bishops. More than an Ordinariate can be established within those limits. The creation of the Ordinariates was entrusted to the CDF since it was necessary to go a long way until the Apostolic Constitution, where several doctrinal questions, which are present when each Ordinariate is created, had to be faced for the full incorporation of groups of Anglican faithful into the Catholic Church. Obviously, for individual acts, each Ordinariate is subject not only to the CDF, but also to the other Dicasteries of the Roman Curia (cf. AC II). GOVERNMENT AND COLLEGIAL BODIES The Governing Council The Ordinary is aided in his governance of the Ordinariate by a Governing Council, composed of at least six priests. The Governing Council has the same rights and duties as the College of Consultors and the Presbyteral Council (cf. AC X §2 and CN 12 §1) established for the Dioceses of the Latin Church by cann. 495 §1 and 502 §1, whose members are only priests. Following the Anglican tradition, the Governing Council of the Ordinariates is not restricted to priests, other faithful who are not priests can take part in them (cf. CN 12 §5). The Governing Council is a collegial body that acts collectively through the vote of its members. This body has a deliberative vote in five cases: when choosing a terna of names to submit to the Holy See for the appointment of the Ordinary; when proposing changes to the Complementary Norms of the Ordinariate to present to the Holy See; when formulating the Statutes of the Governing Council, the Statutes of the Pastoral Council, and the Rule for houses of formation (cf. CN, art. 12 §5). In addition to this, the Ordinary needs the consent of the Government Council to admit a candidate to Holy Orders, to erect or supress a house of formation, or to approve a programme of formation. And he needs to consult the Governing Council on matters concerning the pastoral activities of the Ordinariate and the principles governing the formation of clergy (cf. CN, art. 12 §3). Finally, it should be noted the great importance of the Governing Body being open to the lay faithful, as already mentioned above, since it reflects the synodal character that is typical of the Anglican ecclesial experience. Indeed, synodality is one of the elements of the Anglican heritage, as we shall see later, what is considered “as a precious gift nourishing the faith of the members of the Ordinariate and as a treasure to be shared” (AC III). Finance Council To aid the Ordinary in his governance of the Ordinariate, a Finance Council should also be established, according to cann. 492-494, which is mandatory, as for the dioceses. Pastoral Council The Ordinary, in his governance of the Ordinariate, should also constitute a Pastoral Council, according to cann. 511-514.