A Vindication of the Bull a Postolica Cura '; A Letter on Anglican Orders (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1898. Excerpt: ... in these other respects, being separated from the imposition of hands. It is only ex abundantia, therefore, that your appeal to the use of these terms in the said prayers can be entertained by us at all. 28. DEFECT IN THE GENERAL CHARACTER OF THE ANGLICAN RITE. It is a fact, then, that by employing rites from the 'essential forms ' of which all definite signification of the grace and power of the priesthood are wanting, not even the traditional names of the Orders being there retained, your Ordinal has deprived itself of elements found in every Ordinal which the Catholic Church has ever recognised, and essential to the fundamental type of a sacramental form. On this ground alone its rejection was justified. Still the Bull has not stopped here. Leo XIII. has likewise viewed your rite from the standpoint which you yourselves suggest, for he has considered it as a whole, quite apart from the shortcomings of the ' essential forms' or words attached to the imposition of hands; and, judging it in the light of its own text and of the intentions of those who introduced it, he has asked himself whether even so it can be deemed to signify definitely the sacred Orders of the priesthood and episcopate as the Catholic Church understands them. 29. THE ANGLICAN RITE AS A WHOLE DOES NOT SIGNIFY THE CONVEYANCE OF A TRUE PRIESTHOOD. The result has been only to confirm the judgment passed on the 'essential form' by showing how radically incompatible is your entire Ordinal with the Catholic idea of the sacerdotiiim. Leo XIII. announces his judgment on this point in the following terms: For the full and accurate understanding of the Anglican Ordinal, besides what we have noted as to some of its parts, there is nothing more pertinent than to consider carefully the circumstance...