Episcopal bishops joining after they retire? That takes courage.

Really exploiting the Workers in the Vineyard parable, aren't they, with their working years even behind them? They obviously don't understand Catholic "works-righteousness" soteriology.

And this latest one has a "checkered past":

"Fourth US Episcopal Bishop to Join Catholic Church" - Catholic Online, 11/24/07:

Lipscomb, 57, stepped down as Bishop of the Southwest Florida Diocese of the Episcopal Church due to health reasons on September 15 after serving for ten years.

Lipscomb, who was raised a Baptist and became an Episcopalian as a teenager, is the latest in a series of bishops from the Episcopal Church and its related tributaries to join the Catholic Church.

This year three other bishops in the Episcopal Church announced their intention to convert.

The Rev. Jeffrey N. Steenson, bishop of the Diocese of the Rio Grande, asked the House of Bishops, the governing body, to accept his resignation in September.

Earlier in year, Daniel Herzog of the Diocese of Albany, and Clarence Pope of the Diocese of Fort Worth, both retired bishops, were received.

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In a related, yet older - and much more interesting, 'though perhaps a little tongue-in-cheek in places - piece, the point is made that switching may, in fact, slow down reunion.

In some small measure, I think switching a tad selfish:

"When Anglicans, Catholics switch churches, what happens to dialogue?" - Catholic News Service, 11/14/05:

Among those changing denominations, the Roman Catholics generally say they long to breathe the "free air" of the Anglican Communion, with Catholic priests usually saying they plan to marry, the bishop said. The Anglicans usually say they have had enough of the "woolly thinking" of their leadership, he added.

"Anglicans who become Roman Catholic generally become very conservative Roman Catholics, while Roman Catholics who become Anglican tend to become very liberal Anglicans," he said.

Bishop Flack, who is the Anglican archbishop of Canterbury's representative to the Vatican, said he usually counsels people to stay within their community as a valuable voice in continuing debates.

"Changing your spots makes the Anglican Church more liberal and the Roman Catholic Church more conservative," Bishop Flack said.

I didn't know this:

The provision also set up guidelines for "Anglican use" Catholic parishes, allowing former Episcopalian parishes to retain some of their Anglican liturgical and spiritual traditions.

Currently close to 80 former Anglican ministers are serving as Catholic priests in the United States and there are seven "Anglican use" parishes.

And, wow:

Many Traditional Anglican Communion members hope they will be welcomed with a provision for the establishment of an "Anglican rite" within the Roman Catholic Church, allowing them to maintain some of their traditional disciplines -- including married priests -- and their liturgical heritage.

Bishop Flack said establishing an Anglican rite within the Roman Catholic Church before the church and the entire Anglican Communion established full unity "would have a worsening effect on relations. It would be seen as interference in the internal affairs of the Anglican Communion."