By Janet Stobart
Los Angeles Times
LONDON – Five Anglican bishops announced Monday they will accept an offer from Pope Benedict XVI to convert to Catholicism, primarily over their opposition to the Church of England’s decision to ordain female bishops.
The five bishops, in a joint statement, spoke of their distress at developments in the Anglican church that they felt were “incompatible with the historic vocation of Anglicanism and the tradition of the Church for nearly two thousand years.” They said their resignations were effective at the end of the year.
Officials said a new arrangement for the bishops would be determined by the Vatican, which has moved to facilitate the switch to the Catholic Church by traditional Anglican clergy upset by the acceptance of female priests or gay bishops.