Church in Ireland ignores Catholic teaching on Anglican orders

Procession of Anglican Clergy in Australia with a friend- Darth Vader


All the joint Christmas statements from Catholic bishops and Anglican "bishops" is a fine example of how many
Catholic bishops ignore the Catholic teaching that Anglican orders are null and void.

If the Catholic bishops accepted 'Apostolicae Curae' by Pope Leo XIII they would not publish joint pamphlets or messages in which
Church of Ireland ministers are identified as 'bishops'.

Here's an example:

Christmas Message - Bishops Buckley & Colton (Joint)

The Most Reverend John Buckley, Bishop of Cork and Ross and The Right Reverend Paul Colton, Bishop of Cork, Cloyne and Ross
"Our celebrations of Christmas come this year in the midst of a difficult time for many people. There have been many expressions of concern about the economic outlook and commercial life in our society, including here in Cork.

We encourage everyone, as a first priority, to celebrate a simple Christmas – a Christmas which concentrates on the Christmas good news of the birth of Jesus Christ the light of the world, a light that no darkness can overcome.

As Jesus Christ himself lived among us as a sign of God’s presence and solidarity with humanity, we encourage everyone to show practical and generous solidarity with those for whom Christmas brings hardship and anxiety. These are times when we need to discover afresh the value of community life, of friendship and of support towards each other.

We wish you all every blessing of joy, peace and hope this Christmas and throughout the New Year."

Apostolicae Curae is the title of a papal bull, issued in 1896 by Pope Leo XIII, declaring all Anglican ordinations to be "absolutely null and utterly void".

The principal objection to Anglican orders being valid, according to Leo XIII, was the alleged deficiency of intention and of form of the Anglican ordination rites. In the case of deficiency of intention, the pope declared that the rites expressed an intention to create a priesthood different from the sacrificing priesthood of the Catholic Church and reduce ordination to a mere ecclesiastical institution, an appointment or blessing, instead of a sacramental conferral of actual grace by the action itself.

In 1998 Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger (then Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and later Pope Benedict XVI) issued a doctrinal commentary to accompany Pope John Paul II’s apostolic letter Ad Tuendam Fidem,... Ratzinger’s commentary listed Leo XIII’s declaration in Apostolicae Curae that Anglican orders are “absolutely null and utterly void” as one of the teachings to which Catholics must give “firm and definitive assent”.