John Allen has this to say about the Vatican's announcement on Anglicans: http://ncronline.org/news/what-vaticans-welcome-anglicans-means"One curious twist is why the Vatican decided to make its announcement before the apostolic constitution was ready for release, seemingly a cart-before-the-horse maneuver."Sources tell NCR that the constitution, the result of almost three years of work, still needs some canonical fine-tuning. Nevertheless, the Vatican could have waited to make its splash until the document was complete, so the question still looms: Why do it this way?..."First, it gives Vatican officials a chance to gauge public reaction and to get a sense of the questions people will be asking, flagging potential misinterpretations and indentifying gaps in the new rules. That way, it's possible that some of the holes can be plugged before the document appears. Second, the way things have worked out actually amounts to something of a PR masterstroke....."Really? This seems a pretty optimistic take. I've posted some questions on this point at the Washington Post.

Margaret O’Brien Steinfels is a former editor of Commonweal. 

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