Esta é a transcrição integral, no inglês original, da minha curta conversa com o monsenhor Keith Newton, do Ordinariato Pessoal de Nossa Senhora de Walsingham, sobre a decisão recente do ex-bispo anglicano Michael Nazir-Ali de se juntar à Igreja Católica, através do ordinariato. A notícia pode ser lida aqui.
Were you surprised by bishop Michael’s decision to become a Catholic?
No, not
really. I thought he would at some point. I hoped he would. So I wasn't over surprised,
but I hadn't expected it at that moment. There was nothing that
particularly happened that would drive him to make the decision now. But he had
obviously thought about it for a very long time.
When
the ordinariate was announced there were six bishops who came over. Have any others come over since then, besided Nazir-Ali?
There
was one Anglican bishop who came over a few weeks ago, but he didn't join the
Ordinariate. Otherwise, it was just Nazir-Ali.
How
have things been going with the Ordinariate? Have any people gone back to the
Anglican Church? Has the initial stream of people coming over diminished?
Nobody
has gone back, as far as I know. Certainly no clergy have gone back to the
Church of England. And I don't know of any lay people either. We obviously
expected that after the initial rush it would be much slower, and it has been a
slow steady stream. There are still people coming in each year. Not an enormous
number, but still some, and still some clergy. We have four who are preparing for
ordination now.
Including
Nazir-Ali?
No.
But I
imagine he will be ordained also
Yes,
very soon.
I
imagine he will be good ally for you now in helping to run the Ordinariate…
He is a
very interesting man. He is extremely intelligent and will be able to
articulate the whole notion of Anglican patrimony, which is very important to
him. He has an incredible intellect, and he will be a great asset, I know he
will.
With
his connections to Pakistan, is there any chance we could see the erection of
an ordinariate in that country?
You'd
have to ask him. He does have good links with Pakistan, he has links all over
the world, really. The interesting thing about him is that he comes from an
Evangelical background, so he is quite different from many of the others who
have become Catholic, certainly the bishops, who are more from an Anglo-Catholic
background.
Could
that fact lead to the opening of a door to the Evangelical wing of the Church
of England?
I don't
want to make prophecies about this, but I think it will make some people
think.
Even
if not in terms of them coming over, perhaps a bridge in terms of dialogue and
understanding?
I am
sure that is absolutely true.
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