"A powerful affirmation of the orthodoxy of the departing Anglicans . . ."

Damian Thompson writes of the Personal Ordinariate:

My first reaction was one of relief that the Catholic Church has had the courage to entrust stewardship of the Ordinariate to a former “flying bishop” who knows intimately and is trusted by the Anglo-Catholics preparing to make the journey. This is a powerful affirmation of the doctrinal orthodoxy of the departing Anglicans: Rome has finally recognised that only impaired communion separates many Anglo-Catholics from the Holy See. At the same time, the Ordinariate puts on the spot those traditionalists who say they recognise the primacy of the Pope but, for one reason or another, have no plans to take up his radical offer, made in the teeth of opposition not only from members of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference but also from within the Curia. The setting up of the Ordinariate will be fascinating to observe; equally interesting, I reckon, will be the manoeuvring on the Anglican bank of the Tiber.