Dialogue Press Release
USCC News Release: Common Identity is Possible for Anglicans Seeking Membership in Roman Catholic Church (1980)
USCC News Release: Common Identity is Possible for Anglicans Seeking Membership in Roman Catholic Church by Russell Shaw, August 20, 1980
WASHINGTON--Certain Anglicans in the United States seeking entrance into the Roman Catholic Church may be admitted with a "common identity" under terms to be established by the National Conference of Catholic Bishops (NCCB) and approved by the Holy See.
Archbishop John R. Quinn of San Francisco, President of NCCB, said Pope John Paul II has approved this decision, which was made by the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in reply to inquiries from NCCB.
The bishops' conference raised the question with the Vatican congregation in response to requests from both individuals and groups of Anglican background who have been members of the Episcopal Church. They had expressed a desire to become members of the Roman Catholic Church while retaining some form of "common identity."