The Vatican released the devilish details, though a quick glance by my non-expert eye doesn't turn up anything terribly unexpected. The language does make it seem more than ever like Benedict is setting up a parallel Catholic Church, with bishops alongside other bishops in existing dioceses--details to be worked out later. It seems a recipe for problems on the ground, doctrine and tradition and such aside. It also appears celibacy will still be the norm for unmarried Anglican priests and seminarians, and that it will be the norm going forward, with currently married Anglican priests and seminarians being grandfathered in.Anglican bishops cannot be bishops if they are married, and it appears John Hepworth, head of the TAC, the main ex-Anglican body seeking this exemption, will not be able to be a priest either as he was a Catholic priest before, became an Anglican priest later, married and divorced and remarried, and thus has too many impediments. It also appears that former Catholics who went to Canterbury cannot be members of the ordinariate unless they are member's of the priest's family! I suspect there are other quirks and elements to debate.The text and norms and press release and official commentary is all here.From the press release, my favorite bit, highlighted:

"This Apostolic Constitution opens a new avenue for the promotion of Christian unity while, at the same time, granting legitimate diversity in the expression of our common faith. It represents not an initiative on the part of the Holy See, but a generous response from the Holy Father to the legitimate aspirations of these Anglican groups. The provision of this new structure is consistent with the commitment to ecumenical dialogue, which continues to be a priority for the Catholic Church."

Translation: "What could we do? Our hand was forced! They asked us for this!"Calling all canonists...

David Gibson is the director of Fordham’s Center on Religion & Culture.

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