Five Anglican bishops in Britain to join Roman Catholic Church

Nov 8, 2010, 13:43 GMT

London - Five bishops of the Church of England announced their decision Monday to convert to the Roman Catholic Church under a scheme offered by the Vatican to Anglicans disaffected with the ordination of women bishops.

The three serving and two retired bishops planto join the Catholic Church by the end of the year through a mechanism known as the personal ordinariate, offered to disaffected Anglicans by Pope Benedict XVI last year.

Their long-expected decision was made public by the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales just two months after a ground-breaking visit of the German-born pope to Scotland and England in September.

The scheme, announced last year by the Vatican, allows Anglicans to join the Roman Catholic Church while maintaining aspects of their spiritual heritage.

The bishops are all known opponents of moves in the Anglican church to allow the ordination of women bishops, expected by 2012, and the wider acceptance of women as priests in the Church of England.

The general synod of the Church of England voted this summer to press ahead with the ordination of women bishops without safeguards demanded by traditionalists.

'We have been dismayed, over the last 30 years, to see Anglicans and Catholics move further apart on some of the issues of the day,' the five bishops said in a statement.

While the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales welcomed their decision, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, said he had accepted the resignations 'with regret.'

'We wish them well in this next stage if their service to the Church and I am grateful to them for their faithful and devoted pastoral labours in the Church of England over many years,' said Williams in a statement.

The serving bishops who have chosen to leave the Church of England are Andrew Burnham, Keith Newton and John Broadhurst, the leader of the traditionalist organization Forward in Faith.

The two retired bishops are Edwin Barnes and David Silk, the former bishop of Ballarat in Australia.