The St. Thomas More Society Scranton, Pennsylvania

2301 N. Washington Avenue

Scranton, Pennsylvania 18509

Mr. Eric L. Bergman, Executive Director

February 27, 2005

Dear Friends and Members of the St. Thomas More Society,

Just over a week ago I returned from a short trip to Arlington , Texas , where I spent February 17 th and 18 th meeting with pastors of Anglican Use Parishes, as well as Anglicans from across the globe interested in reunion with the Holy See. I write to you now to inform you about what I learned, as well as to give you an idea about what plans this particular ecumenical group has for the future.

Three of seven Anglican Use pastors were present. To them I offered to visit their parishes at a later date in order that I might offer them encouragement, while sharing with them the story of the St. Thomas More Society Scranton, Pennsylvania. In a subsequent conversation with Fr. Phillips from San Antonio (whom I did not meet) he suggested that the parishes coordinate a time that I might come to visit each of the five Texas parishes in one trip. We will look forward to that coming to fruition. One of the AU pastors from Texas , Fr. Moore from Houston , designated the second collection at all February 20 th Masses for the benefit of the Society. The people in Texas are very excited about our fledgling enterprise, and they are making sacrifices to see us succeed.

International guests related that the part of the Pastoral Provision decision that allows for the use of an Anglican liturgy by Roman Catholics is not available in other parts of the English-speaking world. Canadians, Englishmen, and Australians must come into the Church individually. Pray that the bishops in those nations will be as generous as the American Conference has been, that more conversions might be facilitated.

I met some fellow Episcopalians interested in going down the same path I have only just begun. Sadly, I learned that some Roman Catholic bishops in the United States will not consider doing for Episcopalians in their dioceses what Bishop Martino and Bishop Dougherty are now doing for the St. Thomas More Society. Give thanks for our kind leaders and pray that these distressed Episcopal clergymen, if they are called to the Roman Catholic priesthood, will be led by God to faithful and generous bishops willing to entertain the implementation of the Pastoral Provision in their jurisdictions.

Fr. Aidan Nichols made a short presentation wherein he listed and described the five pillars of successful Catholicism, which are catechism, vocations, liturgical beauty, missionary outreach, and the defense of the family. He said, moreover, that the former Anglicans have much to offer the Church with regard to our passion for liturgical beauty, as well as our zeal for missions. Fr. Nichols is an articulate author and teacher, who will be present with us on April 29 th , when Anglican Use pastors and parishioners from across the country will gather at St. Clare's for a day of prayer, sharing, and reflection. Everyone in the Society is encouraged to attend this opportunity to learn more about how this small movement in the Church has borne fruit in other locales. Everyone will soon receive more information about this upcoming event.

Finally, we can be very encouraged in knowing that the Roman Catholic converts from Anglicanism and those who desire to convert are uniformly faithful Christians, dedicated to the teaching of the Church. No ‘dissenters' are to be found in this group, so as a group they promise to invigorate appreciation for the Church in all the fullness of her wisdom. I was overjoyed to be in the presence of so many people who are theologically on the same page, yearning for the unity in diversity that the Holy Father has so emphasized during his pontificate.

If you have questions I haven't answered, please feel free to contact me. Gratefully, I am, yours in Him,