The success of Pope Benedict’s visit to Britain has help moved things along… I’m sure the Ordinariate was at the back of the Holy Father’s mind throughout his trip…

Bishop John Broadhurst, Bishop of Fulham in the Anglican diocese of London, is to resign his post later this year to join the Roman Catholic ‘Pope’s Ordinariate.’

The Catholic Herald’s Anna Arco broke the story, also revealing that Bishop Broadhurst will stay as chairman of Forward in Faith (FiF), which he says is “not a Church of England organisation”.

It sounds as if traditional Anglo-Catholicism is undergoing a major shift (or crisis) of allegiance, because FiF, though not representative of everyone in that constituency, was the main body for Anglo-Catholics in the Church of England opposed to women bishops and priests. Now it seems to be heading towards Roman Catholicism.

Bishop Broadhurst made his announcement at Forward in Faith’s national assembly in London today. I’m told that the mood was very sympathetic towards the Ordinariate scheme…

If the chairman of Forward in Faith, together with the flying bishops of Ebbsfleet and Richborough, are joining the Roman Ordinariate, then you can see why members who want to stay in the C of E suddenly needed a new body – the Society of St Wilfrid and St Hilda, aka “Hinge & Bracket”, founded this month by “catholic” bishops in the General Synod.

For true opponents of women priests this is a desperate last option, because H&B can’t offer any meaningful safeguards from women’s ministry.

Damian Thompson is Editor of Telegraph Blogs and a journalist specialising in religion. He was once described by The Church Times as a “blood-crazed ferret”. Read More:
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/damianthompson/100059134/earthquake-in-anglo-catholicism-bishop-of-fulham-to-convert-to-rome-forward-in-faith-no-longer-anglican/