Al Kimel, a priest of the Episcopal Church who has been involved for some years as a thoughtful and substantial contributor to theological dialogue within the blogging community under the heading of Pontificator, has resolved to enter into full communion with the Catholic Church. In a recent post to his blog, Pontifications, he declares: "A Decision is Reached." An excerpt:
Last night I tendered my resignation to the Vestry of St. Mark's Church, effective July 1st. It is my intention to renounce my orders as an Episcopal priest and to enter, for the sake of my salvation, into full communion with the Catholic Church. I freely affirm the Catholic Church to be the one true fold of Jesus Christ. It is also my intention to avail myself of the Pastoral Provision and to apply for ordination to the Catholic priesthood.Al, we rejoice in your decision, which we know comes after much soul searching, study, and prayer. Prepare to be tested, remembering the doubts with which the Evil One must have attempted to afflict the Blessed Mother after her decisive fiat, when, on the long and exhausting flight into Egypt, the memory of the angelic chorus singing "Glory to God in the highest!" must have seemed like a distant dream, if not a hallucination. Your presence aboard the Barque of Peter is a welcome one, and your gifts are needed and the Lord will see that they are eventually put to good use. But don't be surprised if you are confronted by obstacles, indifference, or even hostility. Remember the warnings of Thomas Merton to converts: don't let the all-too-human side of the Church get you down. The amazing thing is that the Church has a divine side at all. But the truth about that, of course, is the little ineluctable thing that prevented us converts from putting off the hour of decision indefinitely. (As you put it: "For the sake of my salvation ...") May God bless you, and may the Blessed Virgin sustain you, and your patron saint and guardian angel intercede for you always. You will be in our prayers.
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