400,000 former Anglicans worldwide seek immediate unity with Rome

from PewForum.org:

by Ruth Gledhill, Sophie Tedmanson, Giles Whittell and Richard Owen
The Times Online

Leaders of more than 400,000 Anglicans who quit over women priests are to seek immediate unity with Rome under the apostolic constitution announced by Pope Benedict XVI. They will be among the first to take up an option allowing Anglicans to join an "ordinariate" that brings them into full communion with Roman Catholics while retaining elements of their Anglican identity.

The Pope's move is regarded by some Anglicans as one of the most dramatic developments in Protestant christendom since the Reformation gave birth to the Church of England 400 years ago.

Archbishop John Hepworth, the twice-married Primate of the Traditional Anglican Communion, who led negotiations with the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in Rome, said he was "profoundly moved" by the Pope's decision and would immediately seek the approval of the group's 400,000 members worldwide to join.

He described the development as "a moment of grace, perhaps even a moment of history"