The Vatican reaffirmed today that the attempt to reel in disaffected married Anglican clergy will not ease the ban on married clergy within the Catholic church itself.  As someone watching from outside, it seems difficult to see how long the Vatican can just ignore this contradiction.  Then there is the failure to effectively enforce the ban in Africa and Latin America, the most notorious recent example being the current President of Paraguay who fathered at least one child when he was still a bishop.  It is yet another example in church history where political expediency causes headaches in matters of religious doctrine.

Looks like Italians are outraged about a European court ruling that crucifixes in classrooms of state run secular schools violate the principles of secular education.  Its an extension of the battle not uncommon in the United States, and a symptom of how modern Europe still struggles to integrate immigrants (this claim was brought by a Finnish woman with Italian citizenship).  However, for all the concerns about the assault on cultural heritage only about 23 percent of Italians regularly attend church.  What meaningful purpose the crucifix serves in classrooms is not very clear.

However, this amusing bumper sticker I have seen brings home the futility of any attempt to eliminate prayer from schools:  ”So long as there are exams, there will always be prayers in schools.”

Over the last 15 years the Anglican communion has been rocked by the divisive issues of ordaining women priests and (even more controversially) ordaining gay priests and recognizing gay marriage.  There is a major cultural schism between the more liberal English church and the conservative African parishes.  The dispute has split the Episcopalian church in the United States with some dioceses switching allegiance to the African Church.

Now the Catholic church has decided to fish for believers in troubled Anglican waters.  With Catholics set to surpass the number of Anglicans in England, Pope Benedict XVI announced yesterday that the Catholic Church would make it easier for Anglicans to join the Catholic communion.  What this does for the ecumenical dialogue initiated by Pope John Paul II and the reception that Pope Benedict will receive when he visits the United Kingdom next year remains to be seen.  However, the Catholic Church’s eagerness to integrate disaffected Anglicans could have unwanted side effects by rehashing a theological dispute Rome considers resolved.  If married Anglican priests can be ordained Catholic clergy (even if they cannot become Bishops) just like the married clergy in Eastern Rite churches in communion with Rome, why is a similar approach not possible for regular Catholics?  Similar pragmatism could help stem the severe shortage of priests in American and European dioceses and bring clergy who can relate culturally with their flock, instead of the imported priests from India, Africa and the Philippines.  Rome’s justification for this contradiction will be interesting to watch.