I was wrong.

OK, so I got it completely wrong about the Pope's statement. I optimistically thought it might be one small step forward in ecumenism but cynically suggested that it might mean no progress at all just "we're still talking". Alas even that was a huge overestimate. What the statement apparently boils down to is a blatant attempt by the Roman Catholic Church to pinch clergy from the Anglican Church. Having realised they are in dire straits manpower-wise they have decided to involve themselves in a bit of industrial espionage. All this talk about congregations is a complete red herring ..... it is the clergy they are interested in. A breakaway Anglican leader has described this as "a moment of grace" ??? It is nothing of the sort. Nothing new is being offered. It is merely active encouragement from the Roman Catholic Church for Anglicans to defect to them.
There has never been anything to stop Anglicans going over to Rome if they so wish. Even the concession that married clergy can remain as clergy has been allowed before - so there is actually nothing new at all. The sad thing apparent in the press reports is that many people seem to think that the Pope is creating a new kind of religion that is half Anglican, half Roman Catholic. Nothing is further from the truth. Any folk who do move across will be well and truly Roman Catholic. If you owe allegiance to the Pope you cannot also owe allegiance to the Archbishop of Canterbury despite the strange wording in the statement about "retaining certain elements of Anglican patrimony". The only concession that is being made, as far as I can see, is the right to certain liturgical freedoms, but all the Roman Catholic services I have ever been to have not been that different to Anglican liturgy anyway.

A female lay reader from a church in Walthamstow is reported as having said "It is the best news I have heard all year. I would support it 150% because this is the faith to which I belong. The Church of England doesn't seem to stand for the genuine, God-given doctrines."
What planet is she on?? If this is the faith to which she belongs, why is she not worshipping in a Roman Catholic Church now? As far as I am aware the Romans do not have such things as lay readers and would certainly not tolerate female ones (so she would be out of a job!). And what exactly are "the genuine God-given doctrines"? From my reading of Church History, there may be God-given commands / laws, but all "doctrines" are entirely man-made ....... hence the existing discrepancies between the Anglican and Roman Catholic Churches. We use the same bibles ...... it is only where the church hierarchy started laying down rigid doctrines that schism started taking place and has resulted in the mess we are all in today. If there is one God-given doctrine, it is that the church should be one. Funnily enough this is the only one that seems to be ignored!