Will any of these bishops be recognized as bishops when they swim or fly? From what I have heard, they won't even be priests until they've been thru the process again.

Susan:

As I recall from reading the Pope's pastoral on this, they must be reordained. However, it appears that the process for being ordained will be significantly foreshortened.

Marshall Scott

xBroadhurst's announcement that, to commemorate his Poping, he'll celebrate one, last (Anglican!) mass, is MIND-BOGGLING.

Orwell would be so proud of the Double-Think.

JC Fisher

Further thought: just saw the "Kiss-In", that some LGBT Spaniards just held for the Pope's procession. If everyone was to dress up as the Pope, and dispense Papal blessings (ordain a few priests, etc), how would that be any different than what xBroadhurst is doing (via last "mass")? He's PLAYING at being priest, and wants everyone to not only cheer his performance, but to cross the fourth wall and participate by eating his (Not-Jesus) wafers! :-0 Abso-freakin' NUTS.

In swimming the Tiber these five Bishops admit that nothing they have ever done has been real. Their ordination vows, all the sacraments over which they presided, all false and fake.

Since that is Rome's view of our orders, these Bishops and their sympathizers simply admit they have been faking it.

It is pathetic.

Are these men so much FOR Rome as they are AGAINST change? I really wish someone would write the story about all the Anglican and Episcopal priests and lay people who came to us from the RC Church. To add to that, these people make wonderful Anglicans and Episcopalians and we should be proclaiming this from the roof tops. This might not be a great story to the media but it is good news.

Re the Q by Susan Hedges, will they be bishops in Rome? No, they won't, but they could become RC priests. They will also have special status or rank because they were previously Anglican bishops. If memory serves me correct, from earlier press releases about this, they will have a status similar to that of "retired" RC bishops.They may get to wear some of the insignia of their former office as Anglican bishops. I'm thinking, maybe they get to keep their mitres but must carry them rather than wear them. Ecclesiastical gymnastics would be hilarious (in the NT sense of the term) if it wasn't all so sad.
http://blogs.reuters.com/faithworld/2010/11/08/first-group-of-anglican-bishops-to-convert-to-rome/

"I'm thinking, maybe they get to keep their mitres but must carry them rather than wear them." Rings a bell for some reason.

Wonder how many will come crawling back once they discover no one recognizes their importance in RC-land - ala Bp Pope of Fort Worth.

@Roger-- hmmm ---LOL - could it be this?

There are two kinds of people: those who seek power and those who seek money. Clergy tend to come from those who seek power. It will be interesting to see how well these folks do with no power and only their C of E pensions that I doubt put them into the money group.

The real significance here is that yet another unpleasant ball has landed in the Archbishop of Canterbury's court. Among these five are three of the four "flying bishops" who minister to the English traditionalist Anglo-Catholics. A lot of eyes will now be watching to see if they are replaced and great and loud turmoil will rise up whether they're replaced or not.

Once again, what ever he does ++Rowan will annoy one constituency or the other, and the longer he dithers, the more he'll annoy both...

@Derek,

In words designed to reassure those traditionalist congregations who had petitioned for alternative episcopal oversight, he [the Rt Revd Jonathan Gledhill, Bishop of Lichfield,] added: “The Archbishop of Canterbury is moving immediately to appoint fresh ‘flying bishops’ and there will be no gap in pastoral care for those churches in our Diocese who have looked to the Bishop of Ebbsfleet. I am going to arrange a meeting in January for all who are anxious about the possibility of women bishops and wish to ask my colleagues and me about the future.
http://www.lichfield.anglican.org/news&newsID=779&newsYear=2010

Thanks for the info, everyone, about what happens to the bishops once in Rome, so to speak. I too, wonder about the validity of all their confirmations and baptisms, but would hope that maybe it's one of those 'once confirmed, once baptised always confirmed or baptised' promises. However, if the priestliness of any leaving CofE is not recognized by the RCC, will laity who follow, once again have to be baptized/confirmed by "Real Catholic" priests/bishops?

Like us, the Romans recognize any baptism done with water using a properly Trinitarian formula. IIRC they are received by a bishop which is tantamount to Confirmation.

The status of the baptisms, Eucharists, and Confirmations they conducted are not in question by us--we see them as valid but, then, we accept Anglican Orders...

Thanks for the additional news, John!

Will any of these bishops be recognized as bishops when they swim or fly?

The idea of the Ordinariate is that it is a group of parishes of only former Anglicans which are entitled to use an Anglican-styled Rite that the Vatican has previously authorized. The leader of the Ordinariate is a newly ordained Roman priest who was a former Anglican bishop. As the leader of these parishes he will be allowed to use some designated liturgical regalia the use to which he was entitled as an Anglican bishop, although Rome has not, to my knowledge, completely spelled out what that entails. For example, some Roman abbots of religious orders are allowed the use of a miter and crozier.

I would think that the actual leadership needs of the Ordinariate will determine how many of these former Anglican bishops are granted this privilege once they have made the swim. The Ordinariate's parishes must be self supporting and if the Ordinariate ends up being mostly former Anglican priests and bishops, without a lot of lay folk, then the whole enterprise may fall on its face. The one Anglican parish in the Diocese of Canterbury that has publicly proclaimed to be swimming the Tiber appears to have a whole 28 members!

It could end up being as we say in our farming village, that Rooster is all strut and no crow!