Cardinal-designate Edwin F. O’Brien, apostolic administrator of the Archdiocese of Baltimore, announced Jan. 19 that Mount Calvary Church, a Baltimore parish of the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland, will be received into full communion with the Roman Catholic Church through the newly created Anglican Ordinariate for the United States

Read the whole story here.

New Year’s Day ushers in a new era for Roman Catholics and members of the Anglican Church who will have the opportunity to enter into “corporate reunion” with the Holy See.

Read the whole story here.

At least 20 clergy and several hundred of their parishioners are already lined up to join the Ordinariate, the new structure set up by the Pope a year ago that allows them to remain some of their Anglican heritage while entering into full communion with the Holy See.

But many more members of the Anglo-Catholic wing of the Church of England are likely to defect following a critical meeting of its governing body, the General Synod, if traditionalists who cannot accept the ordination of women are denied special provision.

Read the full story here.

In spite of the heavy hitters listed in the credits, I was a bit suspicious of how valuable, as opposed to simply marketable, the book would actually be. But I was pleasantly surprised to find that the book is packed with useful insights and even some fuel for contemplation. I found myself thoroughly enjoying it throughout the read and especially liked the first two chapters by Fr. Barron and Jennifer Fulwiler.

The authors present several angles on ‘new media’ and modern evangelization methods that were more than just food for thought for a crusty old ‘traditionalist’ like me. I found that, at times, it helped me balance my tendency to disregard any religious attempt at ‘meeting people where they were’. Brandon Vogt, a contributor and the official author of this book, did a fantastic job with the text layout which includes numerous quotations from the magisterium and other official Church documents. There’s even a small call-out section describing the efforts of our site, Called to Communion.

In summary, I would recommend this book to any Catholic. There is a little something for everyone in the chapters. Some chapters aim to give helpful start-up tips to aspiring Catholic bloggers, some talk about diocesan level efforts of online outreach, and some even discuss the theological importance of ‘new media’ in today’s changing world. I hope that CTC readers will pick up a copy and my hats off to Brandon Vogt and the rest of the contributors to such a worthy project.

Last week the SSPX submitted a response to the “Doctrinal Preamble” that was presented to the traditionalist group in September as the possible basis for a reconciliation with the Holy See. The document allowed for some amendment or clarification, but the Vatican made it clear that the SSPX would be expected to accept the essence of the statement, acknowledging the authority of Vatican II, before the traditionalist group could be regularized.

Read the rest of the story here.

BALTIMORE, Maryland, NOV. 15, 2011 (Zenit.org).- Anglicans in the United States who seek full communion with the Catholic Church will have an ordinariate on Jan. 1.

Cardinal Donald Wuerl, archbishop of Washington, D.C., announced this today during the fall plenary meeting of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) in Baltimore.

Read the whole story here.

Called To Communion readers might already be familiar with Devin Rose, who is no stranger to the combox here; but if not, please visit Devin’s blog. Devin is a convert from atheism to Christianity first, and from Evangelical Christianity to Catholicism. He is now an up and coming Catholic author and apologist. Devin recently signed a contract with Catholic Answers to publish his new book, If Protestantism is True, and that’s pretty exciting!

Devin’s book is an attempt to show the implausibility, or even impossibility, of the various Protestant churches representing the faith that Christ intended. The tone is irenic, not overly polemical, and Rose intentionally highlights the many truths in Protestantism. He makes it clear throughout the book that we Catholics and Protestants truly share a great deal in common. But where Protestantism has veered from the ancient faith, Rose does not hesitate to explain, in simple terms and with concise logic, why these novelties cannot possibly stand. The book is easy to read; you do not have to be a theology geek to appreciate it. It also has a distinctly personal feel throughout the book, and not just when Rose is sharing an individual story.

Rose aims broadly with his audience and therefore it will not be perfectly suited to certain small niche groups like conservative Reformed Protestants who frequent Called To Communion. However, that should not deter even Reformed Protestants from reading the book as they too will find challenging arguments.

Devin Rose

Some of the arguments do not truly apply to conservative Reformed Christians, and Rose concedes this point, because they are aimed at theological errors arising from liberal tendencies. Many of the others actually do apply to them, although the well studied Reformed Christian may attempt to distance himself from such applications. For example, Rose addresses the issue of sola scriptura as presented in a broader, Evangelical context. However, as Bryan Cross and Neal Judisch have demonstrated, the position the Reformed believe themselves to hold lacks a principled distinction from the broader Evangelical position. I believe that the rest of the doctrinal errors which Rose addresses and from which Reformed Christians would likely try to distance themselves are of the same nature.

In my estimation the ideal candidate for reading this book, whether he is Catholic or Protestant, would be someone who has started exploring the differences between Catholicism and Protestantism and wants to dig deeper into the many issues that continue to divide us. Even those who have already studied the issues will benefit from this clear and concise presentation of the most important doctrinal divisions that continue to prevent full communion between baptized Christians. Devin’s book is available in paperback and on the Kindle.

[A] Russian report notes that Father Anthony Sevryuk, the rector of the Orthodox church of St. Catherine in Rome, was present at this year’s celebration. His presence may be taken as further indication of a warming trend in the sometimes-troubled relations between the Vatican and the Moscow Patriarchate.

Read the whole story here.

After Maryland, Texas. A few days after news of the return to full communion with the Catholic Church by an entire Episcopalian community (Anglican of the States) of Saint Luke, in Bladenburg (Maryland), a new “transition” takes place: This time it’s in Texas, where six Anglican parishes “Made in the USA” are going to embrace the faith of Rome.

Read the whole story here.

As many as 100 U.S. Anglican priests and 2,000 laypeople could be the first members of a U.S. personal ordinariate for former Anglicans who want to enter into full communion with the Catholic Church, Cardinal Donald W. Wuerl of Washington reported to his fellow bishops June 15.

Read the whole story here.