VATICAN CITY — Pope Benedict XVI has created a new church structure for Anglicans who want to join the Catholic Church, responding to the disillusionment of some Anglicans over the ordination of women and the election of openly gay bishops.

Somewhere, Mary Queen of Scots is finally smiling.

(Update: here's something about this matter that I just posted on Boar's Head: "The ordination of women in England and of a gay bishop here in the U.S. has of course offered tremendous challenges to Anglican continuity. But to see the cause of what happened today I think ultimately we have to look at the explosion of Anglicanism in Africa. More than half of all Anglicans now live in Africa. And they're passionately conservative. We all know with what resolute fury they responded to Robinson's ordination. They simply weren't going to have it. They were determined to form their own team.

"Benedict's not stupid. He understands power; he understands numbers; he understands history. He saw his chance to move the Southern Hemisphere to within his fold, and in a brilliant gambit took it. Of course he didn't consult Williams about it. Williams is superfluous. Africa's the power.")

What do you think?

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