The responses continue to pour in from throughout the Anglican Communion, and they have been so varied that they are impossible to summarize. The Episcopal Church's ecumenical officer offered one of the more cogent, if critical comments. It remains hard to regard this papal initiative as a move forward in ecumenical relations.
Very few clergy or bishops or splinter groups have yet said they will apply for membership under the new regulations. Those who have are identified with extreme Anglo-Catholic positions, leading one observer to comment that Anglicans who used Roman rites and customs in the Church of England would end up following Anglican rites and customs in the Church of Rome.
Unless there are further developments, it may be time to move on to other topics. --J. Douglas Ousley
