Priests who have left the C of E.

Following one or two comments from yesterday I felt it was time to tell of two of my acquaintance who were Catholic priests.
One was Joe who I have blogged about previously. He started off as a Mirfield father,an Anglican who then went to Rome not as a protest of any kind but because that was where he felt he should be. He was already married at that stage and the church could not break the union up so he was allowed to join but never ever worked as a parish priest again. He wrote his books and taught in seminaries. He never regretted his decision but always felt slightly short changed by his treatment. He was a friend who supported me on the pathway to ordination and regretted not managing to get to it.
Another acquaintance was a priest in a nearby parish who left the C of E on the ordination of women and went to Rome.
A few years later he came back, and regretted his actions having been sidelined and ignored.
That is one of the reasons why I am concerned for these men who have taken this difficult decision.
I would never fall out with anyone who acted with good grace and religious conviction. At my ordination I had a bishop, ten Anglican priests, a Methodist and a Congregationalist plus a Roman Catholic priest all of whom laid hands on me. I valued this more than anyone could ever imagine and I have only warm feelings towards all Christians who live their lives in grace.


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