Anglicanorum coetibus no
1. All those who got separated from the Catholic Church are called separated brethren. It means that the Catholic Church still sees them as siblings who left because of reasons of doctrine etc. The most known of these brethren are the Lutherans who left in 1517, and the Anglicans who left in 1534. Lutherans left when Rev. Fr. Luther started arguing that it was only Grace and the Bible that mattered. The Anglicans left when Rome refused to allow the King of England, Henry VIII, to divorce his wife.
2. Even though the Church still sees them as brothers and sisters, they no longer share Full Communion with the Church especially in matters of doctrine (doctrine means teaching). The highest of these teachings is the Eucharist, while the Catholic Church teaches the Real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, most of the separated brethren teach that it is a symbolic presence. Most of them also believe we should not tell the Virgin Mary and other saints to pray for us.
3. If any of them wishes to come back to Full Communion with the Catholic Church, he will do some catechism classes at the end of which he will profess ‘belief’ in the Catholic Church.
4. The Anglican bishop, Jonathan Goodall, who is coming back to the Catholic Church is married with 2 children. He will take some catechism and theology lessons on the teachings of the Catholic Church. Then, he will be ordained a Catholic priest, if Rome approves. He will retain his wife and kids as the Eastern Orthodox Catholics do, without aspiring to become a Catholic bishop, unless the Church sees a great need to ordain him a bishop also and his wife consent to the norms and stipulations from the office of Doctrine and Faith.
(Sources: Anglicanorum coetibus no. VI paragraph 1; Sacerdotalis Caelibatus no. 42)-Fr. Gabriel
Many questions on your mind now, I know.. but it’s not opportunity to say “let us join Anglicans, get married, give birth to kids and then join Catholic priesthood” if you think that way then it’s no longer serving God rather serving your flesh.
This does not mean all priests can marry. Roman Catholic Priests (Latin Rite) don’t marry but the Eastern Rite Priets can get married (optional).
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