Archbishop Rowan Williams’ three-day visit, which began Thursday with a lecture and ends Saturday with a papal audience, was scheduled before the Vatican announced it was making it easier for traditional Anglicans upset over the ordination of women and gay bishops to become Catholic.

The Vatican has said it was merely responding to the many Anglican requests to join the Catholic Church and has denied it was poaching for converts in the Anglican pond.

But the move has already strained Catholic-Anglican relations and is sure to affect Williams’ 77-million worldwide Anglican Communion, which was already on the verge of schism over homosexuality and women’s ordination issues before the Vatican intervened.

In a speech at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, Williams was gracious in referring to the Vatican’s new policy, which he called the “elephant in the room.” The policy was an “imaginative pastoral response” to requests by some Anglicans but broke no new doctrinal ground, Williams said.

He spent the bulk of his speech describing the progress that had been achieved so far in decades of Vatican-Anglican ecumenical talks and questioning whether the outstanding issues were really all that great.

“The ecumenical glass is genuinely half full,” the archbishop said.

Anglicans split from Rome in 1534 when English King Henry VIII was refused a marriage annulment. For decades, the two churches have held theological discussions on trying to reunite, part of the Vatican’s broader, long-term ecumenical effort to unify all Christians.

But differences remain and the ecumenical talks were going nowhere as divisions mounted between liberals and traditionalists within the Anglican Communion itself.

While acknowleging the outstanding differences with Rome, Williams suggested that a way forward might be to embrace a “diversity of types of communion,” in which communion could be achieved but not with a “single juridically united body.”

The Vatican official in charge of relations with Anglicans, Cardinal Walter Kasper, also sought to put a positive interpretation on the future, drawing a clear distinction between the doctrinal talks on unification and questions of conversion.

“We cannot close our doors when others knock on them. But this does not exonerate us from” pursuing the broader unification of the churches as institutions, he said in a speech to the Gregorian symposium.

The new policy allows Anglicans to convert to Catholicism but retain many of their Anglican liturgical traditions, including married priests. The Vatican will create the equivalent of new dioceses, so-called personal ordinariates, for these former Anglicans that will be headed by a former Anglican priest or bishop.

Estimates on the number of possible converts has ranged from a few hundred to thousands.

The new policy has elicited heated criticism in Britain, both in Anglican and Roman Catholic circles. Catholic theologian Nicholas Lash said it was “disgraceful” that the Vatican devised the policy without even consulting Catholic bishops, much less Anglican ones.

Williams, for example – the spiritual leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion – wasn’t even informed of the change until right before it was announced.

Kasper referred to the criticism in his speech, saying that in the future issues of both conversion and ecumenism “should be undertaken in the greatest possible transparency, tactfulness and mutual esteem in order not to entail meaningless tensions with our ecumenical partners.”

One group that has cheered the new policy is the Traditional Anglican Communion (TAC), which split from the Anglican Communion in the early 1990s after the first women were ordained Anglican priests. The TAC, which has long sought to come under Rome’s wing, says it has 400,000 members in 41 countries, although only about half are regular churchgoers.

Already, TAC’s British province has voted to take Rome up on its invitation. TAC leader Archbishop John Hepworth has said he anticipates others will follow.

It remains to be seen how the new policy will affect Pope Benedict XVI’s planned trip to Britain next year. One thing is likely, however: The Vatican will surely hold out the upcoming beatification of the most famous Anglican convert, Cardinal John Henry Newman, as a symbol of bridge-building, since the 19th century theologian is a hero to many Anglicans and Catholics alike.

A press release on ChurchOuting.org says:

A new local Internet and social media campaign was launched today in response to increasing anti-gay attacks by Archbishop Donald Wuerl of the Archdiocese of Washington and to a 57 page Pastoral Letter, which was passed today by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) affirming the national church leadership’s opposition to recognition of civil marriage between same sex couples

ChurchOuting.org is a clearinghouse for reports of priests who are openly gay men in social settings yet professionally closeted in their parishes.  The campaign will also accept reports of heterosexual priests who are involved in romantic or sexual relationships, yet support the Archbishop’s efforts to harm lesbian and gay families.

The site, which is founded by political consultant Phil Attey,  encourages those with knowledge of a priest’s closeted homosexuality to come forward.

The full report by researchers at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice won’t be completed until the end of next year. But the authors said that their evidence to date found no data indicating that homosexuality was a predictor of abuse.

“What we are suggesting is that the idea of sexual identity be separated from the problem of sexual abuse,” said Margaret Smith of John Jay College, in a speech to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. “At this point, we do not find a connection between homosexual identity and the increased likelihood of subsequent abuse from the data that we have right now.”

The question has been raised repeatedly within and outside the church because the overwhelming majority of known victims were boys. As part of the church’s response to the crisis, the Vatican ordered a review of all U.S. seminaries that, among other issues, looked for any “evidence of homosexuality” in the schools.

Yet, many experts on sex offenders reject any link between sexual orientation and committing abuse. Karen Terry, a John Jay researcher, said it was important to distinguish between sexual identity and behavior, and to look at who the offender had access to when seeking victims.

The bishops had commissioned the $2 million study as part of widespread reforms they enacted at the height of the abuse crisis. The scandal erupted in 2002 with the case of one predator priest in the Archdiocese of Boston, then spread to every U.S. diocese and beyond.

Nearly 14,000 molestation claims have been filed against Catholic clergy since 1950, according to tallies the bishops have released in recent years. Abuse-related costs have reached at least $2.3 billion in the same period.

At the meeting Tuesday, Bishop Edward Braxton, of the Diocese of Belleville, Ill., asked the researchers whether their study indicated that homosexuality should be considered when evaluating a candidate for the priesthood. In 2005, the Vatican issued a policy statement that men with “deep-seated” attraction to other men should be barred from the priesthood.

Smith said: “If that exclusion were based on the fact that that person would be more probable than any other candidate to abuse, we do not find that at this time.”

The latest findings affirmed previous reports that the rate of clergy abuse has declined steeply since the mid 1980s. Researchers found that the abuse rate peaked in the 1960s and 1970s. Most of the claims being made now involve allegations from decades ago.

In separate business Tuesday, the bishops:

- Adopted a pastoral letter affirming the church’s definition of marriage being between one man and one woman, and that sex is meant for procreation. They also issued an educational document on the church’s opposition to reproductive technologies such as in vitro fertilization.

- Updated their “Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services.” The new language states that medically assisted nutrition and hydration, while not mandatory in every case, should be provided to all patients who would benefit, including those in a persistent vegetative state. However, the aid should not be provided if it becomes “excessively burdensome” for a patient who is very close to death, the revision states.

- Gave final approval to an English translation of the Roman Missal that has been in development for years. After the Vatican gives its final authorization, the new translation will be adopted by parishes nationwide, possibly next year.

So far, most city council members have refused to do that.

Catholic Charities has city contracts to provide services to about 68,000 people. The marriage bill would not require churches to perform same-sex weddings, but because Catholic Charities uses city money, the archdiocese fears it would have to offer employee benefits and adoptions to married same-sex couples.

The marriage legislation is expected to pass next month and has the mayor’s support.

Jane G. Belford, the chancellor of the Washington archdiocese, wrote Councilman Phil Mendelson on Wednesday asking for an exemption to protect the church’s religious freedoms. The church wants to be exempt from any measure that would require it to extend benefits to same-sex couples or allow gays and lesbians to adopt children.

Council member Tommy Wells said it would be dangerous to let the Catholic church start writing D.C. laws, a sentiment expressed by Mendelson and other members.

“Allowing individual exemptions opens the door for anyone to discriminate based on assertions of religious principle,” Mendelson said. “Let’s not forget that during the civil rights era, many claimed separation of the races was ordained by God.”

Archdiocese spokeswoman Susan Gibbs said the law would require city contractors to ignore their religious principles.

“We are not threatening to walk out of the city,” Gibbs said. “The city is the one saying, ‘If you want to continue partnering with the city, then you cannot follow your faith teachings.’”

Catholic Charities, one of dozens of nonprofits that partner with D.C. government, manages city-owned shelters that serve about one-third of Washington’s homeless population. The group’s contracts totaled $8.2 million in the past three years, according to the city council.

Council chairman Vincent Gray said Thursday the city would have to find another group to provide social services if the church backs out. He said he didn’t see any room for compromise.

Council member Jim Graham said the church hasn’t abandoned social services in New Hampshire, Connecticut or Vermont after those states began recognizing same-sex marriages.

However, Catholic Charities halted its adoption programs in 2006 in Boston because Massachusetts banned discrimination against same-sex couples who want to adopt children.

Their feud over a proposal expanding the nation’s health insurance system has escalated to the point where Tobin has publicly questioned Kennedy’s faith and membership in the church and said he should not receive communion, the central sacrament in Catholic worship.

It’s an uncomfortable tangle of faith and politics for a congressman whose uncle John F. Kennedy was elected the first Roman Catholic president in 1960 after declaring to wary Protestants that he did not speak for his church on public matters, and that the church did not speak for him.

“I don’t think there’s any winner here,” said the Rev. Thomas Reese, a church observer and senior fellow at the Woodstock Theological Center at Georgetown University. “I think this is the kind of thing that would be better discussed between a member of Congress and his bishop behind closed doors.”

Patrick Kennedy is among several Catholic politicians to clash with their bishops over abortion, which the church considers a paramount moral evil not open for negotiation. Fewer than 20 of the roughly 200 bishops overseeing U.S. dioceses have threatened to deny communion to Catholic politicians who support abortion, Reese said.

“I don’t think you’ll find widespread support among Catholics for this,” he said.

Archbishop Joseph Naumann of Kansas City, Kan., has said that U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, a Catholic Democrat who supports abortion rights, should stop taking communion until she changes her stance.

Former Archbishop Raymond Burke of St. Louis has said he would withhold communion from politicians who support abortion, such as former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, a Republican who also ran afoul of the church because he is divorced.

Kennedy stumbled into the conflict last month when in an interview with CNSNews.com he publicly criticized the nation’s Catholic bishops for threatening to oppose a reform of the health care system – a goal the church supports – unless it included tighter restrictions on publicly financed abortion.

It was a loaded statement by a congressman representing the most heavily Roman Catholic state. And it drew the attention of Tobin, who in his four years in Providence has criticized Gov. Don Carcieri for launching a crackdown on illegal immigrants, bashed the state’s attorney general for supporting gay marriage and excoriated Giuliani over his abortion stance.

An angry Tobin fired back, calling Kennedy ignorant of church policy. He asked for an apology and a meeting.

In a letter, Kennedy agreed to a sitdown and said his Catholic faith is founded on the principles of feeding the hungry, clothing the poor and caring for the less fortunate. Kennedy voted against an amendment tightening abortion restrictions in a Democratic health care plan, but he voted in favor of the overall proposal that included those restrictions.

“While I greatly respect the Catholic Church and its leaders, like many Rhode Islanders, the fact that I disagree with the hierarchy of the church on some issues does not make me any less of a Catholic,” Kennedy wrote in a letter to Tobin, agreeing to a meeting Thursday. “I embrace my faith which acknowledges the existence of an imperfect humanity.”

Their planned meeting fell apart Monday. The bishop called it a mutual decision, but Kennedy accused Tobin of reneging on an agreement to stop discussing his faith publicly. Tobin responded to Kennedy’s letter with a scathing criticism.

“Sorry, you can’t chalk it up to an ‘imperfect humanity.’ Your position is unacceptable to the Church and scandalous to many of our members. It absolutely diminishes your communion with the Church,” Tobin said, who also appealed to the Kennedy family legacy.

“It’s not too late for you to repair your relationship with the Church, redeem your public image, and emerge as an authentic ‘profile in courage,’” Tobin said, referring to the title of the Pulitzer Prize-winning book written by John Kennedy.

Tobin says Kennedy, like other pro-choice politicians, should not receive communion. But he has stopped short of ordering Kennedy not to participate.

The Kennedys have a complicated relationship with the church. President Kennedy was never forced to confront the issues of abortion or gay marriage. He received mild criticism from church leaders for opposing diplomatic ties with the Vatican and public funding for Catholic schools.

Patrick Kennedy’s father, the late Sen. Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts, supported abortion rights but also championed other causes of the church, including expanding assistance for the poor and advocating for reforming the immigration system.

Suffering from terminal brain cancer, Sen. Kennedy wrote a letter to Pope Benedict XVI acknowledging he had been “an imperfect human being” but tried to right his path with the help of his faith. A priest attended to Kennedy on his deathbed, and Cardinal Sean O’Malley, the archbishop of Boston, presided at his funeral Mass.

Rhode Island’s Catholics have mixed feelings about the clash.

Michael Bingham, 61, said Kennedy invited the criticism because he calls himself a Catholic.

“What the bishop is saying is ‘OK, you’re not really a Roman Catholic in good standing because you’re not defending innocent life, which the church teaches us we’re called to do,” Bingham said. “And he’s calling him to the plate on that.”

Ann Doherty, who attended a morning Mass in Providence, said she believed both men were speaking from their hearts. She opposes abortion but is uncomfortable imposing her choices on other people.

“We have a history in the church of people who have spoken out for the things they believed in. And some of them, we’ve made saints out of. And others, we haven’t.”

A surprise Vatican decision, announced 10 days earlier to make it easier for Anglicans to become Roman Catholics while retaining aspects of Anglican liturgy and identity, had left some wondering whether Rome would embrace married Anglican clergy in large numbers.

A Holy See statement Saturday quoted Cardinal William Levada, the Holy See’s guardian of doctrinal correctness, as saying the Vatican would consider accepting married Anglican priests into the Roman Catholic priesthood as it has in the past – evaluating each case on its own merits.

The Roman Catholic church requires its priests to be celibate, except in the case of the Eastern rite Catholics, who are allowed to be ordained if married. But over the last decades, it has also quietly allowed married Anglican clergy to stay priests when converting to Catholicism.

In no case could a married man become a bishop, and the new rules would exclude any married Anglican bishop from retaining that post.

As for possibly admitting married Anglican seminarians to the Catholic priesthood, Levada said “objective criteria about any such possibilities (e.g. married seminarians already in preparation) are to be developed” for approval by the Holy See.

Vatican spokesman the Rev. Federico Lombardi dismissed what he called some media speculation that there was “disagreement about whether celibacy will be the norm for the future clergy” among converting Anglicans.

He quoted Levada as saying “there is no substance to such speculation,” and that the only reason why the rules regarding the converting Anglicans haven’t been published yet was due to “technical” reasons. He predicted work on the new rules would be completed by the end of the first week of November.

Pope Benedict XVI has dedicated a good part of his papacy since 2005 welcoming traditionalists into Rome’s fold.

Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, the spiritual leader of Anglicans worldwide, wasn’t consulted about the changes but will have the opportunity to discuss the state of Catholic-Anglican relations when he meets with Benedict on Nov. 21 during a visit to Rome.

The Vatican’s easing the way for Anglicans to convert might undermine decades of efforts between the Holy See and Anglican leaders over how they might possibly unite.

Anglicans split with Rome in 1534 when the Vatican refused to give English King Henry VIII a marriage annulment. The Anglican communion includes the Episcopalian Church in the United States.

Some Anglican faithful, unhappy over progressive reforms in their church, consider themselves Catholics although they have not yet officially joined the Roman Catholic church.

Anglicans have been divided over such issues as admitting women to the priesthood. The rift was torn wide open in 2003, when the Episcopal Church in the United States consecrated V. Gene Robinson, as the first openly gay bishop.

Also disenchanting Anglican conservatives has been the blessing of same-sex marriages.

Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, said in a telephone interview Friday evening that Archbishop Rowan Williams was already due to visit Rome for ceremonies at a pontifical university to honor a late cardinal who worked for Christian unity.

Taking advantage of the archbishop’s presence in Rome, Benedict will receive Williams on Nov. 21 at the Vatican.

The Vatican’s recent move to ease Anglican conversions came as some Anglicans are upset by their church’s allowing openly gay clergy and blessing same-sex unions.

The Global South alliance, made up of theologically conservative primates from developing countries, said Sunday in a statement on their Web site that a proposed Anglican Covenant – a shared set of guidelines for membership in the Anglican church – should be adopted.

The statement comes in the wake of an announcement earlier this week by the Vatican, saying that Pope Benedict XVI had authorized an Apostolic Constitution. The constitution would allow Anglicans to move to the Catholic church, but keep their own liturgy and married priests.

In a statement posted to their Web site, the group said they appreciated the pope’s stance on the “common biblical teaching on human sexuality” but “at the same time we believe that the proposed Anglican Covenant sets the necessary parameters.

“It gives Anglican churches worldwide a clear and principled way forward in pursuing God’s divine purposes,” the statement reads.

The Global South group is headed by Nigerian Archbishop Peter Akinola.

There are about 77 million Anglicans around the world. The church has been in turmoil since 2003, when the U.S. Episcopal Church consecrated New Hampshire Bishop V. Gene Robinson, the first openly gay bishop.

It is uncertain how many Anglicans will seek to switch churches because of the pope’s new policy. The Right Rev. John Broadhurst, the Bishop of Fulham, has said about 1,000 Church of England clergy will seek to join the Roman Catholic Church. Broadhurst chairs Forward in Faith, a group of traditionalists opposed to the ordination of women.

The justices turned down a request by the Roman Catholic diocese in Bridgeport, Conn.

Several newspapers are seeking the release of more than 12,000 pages from 23 lawsuits against six priests.

The records have been under seal since the diocese settled the cases in 2001. Courts in Connecticut have ruled that the papers should be made public.

The decision ends a legal battle that dragged on for years and could shed light on how recently retired New York Cardinal Edward Egan handled the allegations when he was Bridgeport bishop.

It’s unclear when the documents will be released.

Waterbury Superior Court clerk Philip Groth said he needs to consult a judge to determine whether a hearing is necessary before the records are released. He said Monday morning it was unlikely the documents would be released Monday.

Telephone messages were left Monday for the diocese and an attorney for the newspapers.

A Waterbury Superior Court said in 2006 that the documents were subject to a presumption of public access. The Connecticut Supreme Court upheld the lower court decision.

Barbara Blaine, founder of the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, welcomed the decision.

“This decision sends a clear message to those who would endanger kids: eventually, you’ll have to face the music and reveal your callousness, recklessness and deceit,” Blaine said in a statement. “We hope that this ruling will deter every pedophile’s supervisor and co-workers from protecting a predator.”

She urged Bridgeport Bishop William E. Lori to disclose how much the diocese spent in church donations on the case.

Cardinal Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson of Ghana is playing an important role in guiding a three-week meeting at the Vatican on the challenges of the Catholic Church in Africa.

At a news conference Monday, Turkson was asked whether he thought the time was right for a black pope, especially in light of Obama’s election.

“Why not?” Turkson replied. He argued that every man who agrees to be ordained a priest has to be willing to be a pope, and is given training along the way as bishop and cardinal. “All of that is part of the package.”

He also noted that former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan was from Ghana.

“He had problems, but he still did it,” Turkson said. “And now it is Obama of the United States. And if by divine providence – because the church belongs to God – if God would wish to see a black man also as pope, thanks be to God!”

Speculation about the possibility of a pope from the developing world has swirled for years, as that is where the Catholic Church is growing most: In Africa, between 1978 and 2007, the number of Catholics grew from 55 million to 146 million. By contrast, Catholic communities in Europe are in decline.

In 1978, the Polish-born Pope John Paul II became the first non-Italian pope in 455 years. Cardinals followed in 2005 by electing German-born Pope Benedict XVI.

Whether the European-heavy College of Cardinals will look outside Europe for Benedict’s successor is an open question. Benedict enjoys good health at 82, and there are no signs the job will become open soon.

But Turkson may well be in the running when the time comes. The 60-year-old archbishop of Cape Coast, Ghana, was appointed by Benedict to be the relator, or key discussion leader, of the synod on Africa.

It’s a high-profile position – important for letting cardinals get to know prelates from regions other than their own.

During the press conference Monday, he was deft in handling delicate questions about the church in Africa, including one about priests who stray from their vows of celibacy and live openly with women.

“I might say I knew that question would come up,” he quipped.

He said the matter was not something to hide or be ashamed of. Rather, he said, the aim should be to help priests who are struggling and support them in living out their vows.

Turkson also was asked about the Catholic Church’s position on the use of condoms as a way to fight HIV, which has ravaged the continent. The Vatican opposes condoms, as well as any form of artificial birth control. Critics say the church’s position has only worsened the HIV problem.

Turkson didn’t rule out condoms outright, suggesting they could be useful in a situation of a married, faithful couple where one partner is infected.

But he said the quality of condoms in Africa is poor, and can engender false confidence. He said abstinence and fidelity were the key to fighting the epidemic, along with refraining from sex if infected.

He also said the money being spent on condoms would be better spent providing anti-retroviral drugs to those already infected.

“Let’s talk clearly,” he said. “We’re talking about a product of a factory, and there are different qualities. There are condoms that arrive in Ghana which in the heat will burst during sex. And when that is the case, then it gives a false sense of security which rather facilitates the spread of HIV/AIDs. And when that is the case, we are reluctant – even in the case of conjugal relations of people who are faithful,” to suggest condom use as a way of preventing AIDS.