Internal divisions in the Church of England, especially around the ordination of women and the blessing of same-sex couples, have caused a steady flow of Anglican clergy to the Catholic Church in recent decades. This is reported by The Telegraph, citing a recent study that counts at least 491 former Anglican vicars who have been ordained Catholic priests in the last thirty years.
The phenomenon dates back to 1992, when the General Synod of the Church of England approved the ordination of women, a decision that triggered a first wave of departures. Since then, doctrinal and moral debates have intensified, generating a growing fracture between conservative and liberal sectors of Anglicanism.
The case of former Anglican clergy ordained as Catholic priests
One of the recent examples is that of Father Matthew Topham, current Catholic priest and pastoral leader of St Mary’s in East Hendred, Oxfordshire. Converted to Catholicism in 2023 after having been an Anglican cleric, Topham explains that his decision was not primarily motivated by the issue of women’s ordination, but by what he considers a loss of centrality of Scripture and theology in the Church of England, replaced—in his view—by adaptation to dominant cultural values.
Similar situations are recounted by Father Edward Tomlinson, former Anglican vicar who left his parish in 2011 along with dozens of faithful and was received into the Catholic Church. Today he is in charge of a Catholic parish in Kent with a growing community, formed in large part by young families. Tomlinson attributes the crisis of Anglicanism to its structural dependence on the State and to the lack of a clear doctrinal authority.
Blessings of same-sex couples and new internal tension
The controversy over the blessing of same-sex couples has reignited tensions in recent years. In 2023, Anglican bishops agreed to experiment with separate blessings for these unions, a proposal supported at the time by Sarah Mullally, today the first woman to hold the position of Archbishop of Canterbury.
However, following opposition from conservative sectors, the bishops backtracked and decided that such blessings should not be celebrated as independent acts, but within ordinary liturgical services. This rectification has caused discomfort among liberal clergy, while others consider that the debate reflects a deep doctrinal incoherence within the Church of England.
The role of the Ordinariate and welcome from Rome
A significant portion of Anglican clergy converted to Catholicism integrate into the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham, erected by Benedict XVI in 2011. This structure allows former Anglicans to preserve elements of their liturgical heritage and, in the case of married clergy, to continue exercising the priestly ministry without the obligation of celibacy.
Although the Ordinariate represents only a part of the total conversions, in recent years it has become the majority pathway for new clergy coming from Anglicanism, according to the study cited by The Telegraph. The Ordinariate currently has about 2,000 members, between priests and laity.
A Church of England increasingly fragmented
The report by Professor Stephen Bullivant, from St Mary’s University in Twickenham, indicates that former Anglican clergy have represented more than a third of all Catholic priestly ordinations in England and Wales since 1992. Although some of the converts have subsequently returned to Anglicanism, the overall flow has been steady.
In the current context, marked by the arrival of a woman to the Anglican primacy and by the persistent controversy over sexual morality, various observers consider that the Church of England faces a deep identity crisis. For many of the clergy who have opted for Rome, Catholicism represents a more stable doctrinal reference and a historical continuity that they no longer perceive in their former confession.