These moves come after the Catholic Church welcomed two Anglican Bishops, Michael Nazir-Ali and Peter Forster.
Two more Anglican bishops have announced their intention to become Catholic. The news follows the decision last year by two other former bishops of the Church of England to enter communion with Rome.
The latest Anglican bishops to decide to "swim across the Tiber" are Jonathan Goodall, who served as bishop of Ebbsfleet, for eight years, and John Goddard, former bishop of Burnley. Both are married and ordained priests in the Catholic Church. The phrase “swim the Tiber” or “swim across the Tiber” is a metaphor for joining the Catholic Church. The Tiber is the river that surrounds Rome.
“I have come to the decision to resign as Bishop of Ebbsfleet, in order to enter into full communion with the Catholic Church, after a long period of prayer. This has been one of the most challenging periods of my life,” Bishop Goodall said in a statement published on the Archbishop of Canterbury's website.
“Life in the communion of the Church of England has shaped and nurtured my discipleship as a Christian for decades. This is where I received for the first time – and half of my life I have served, as a priest and bishop – the sacramental grace of the Christian life and faith. I will always cherish this and be grateful for that faith. I ask all of you to believe that I made my decision as a way of saying yes to God's present call and invitation, not rejecting what I already know and experience. experience in the Church of England, for which I am deeply indebted.”
Bishop Goodall's wife, Sarah, also decided to convert to Catholicism.
The Diocese of Ebbsfleet was established in 1994 to serve Anglican parishes that do not accept women as priests. Another bishop of Ebbsfleet, Andrew Burnham, also became a former Catholic, resigning in 2010 to join other former Anglicans in the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham.
The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby said in a statement on his website that he accepted Goodall's resignation "with regret."
“I am deeply grateful to Bishop Jonathan for his ministry and years of faithful service. My prayers go out to him and Sarah, both for his future ministry and for the direction they are being called in on their ongoing journey of service to Jesus Christ.”
Following his ordination at the Catholic Westminster cathedral on March 12, Father Goodall will serve as parish priest of the parish of St William of York in Stanmore in the Archdiocese of Westminster and in the county of Harrow north London.
Father Goddard hopes to be appointed to a parish in the Archdiocese of Liverpool after he was ordained by Auxiliary Bishop Tom Williams of Liverpool during an April 2 ceremony at Christ the King Cathedral in Liverpool .
“I have no greater joy in life than serving as a parish priest,” he told the Catholic Herald. That is probably the greatest gift for a priest.”
Last year, former Anglican Bishop of Rochester, Michael Nazir-Ali, and former Bishop of Chester, Peter Forster, were admitted to the Catholic Church. In 2019, Bishop Gavin Ashenden, the Queen's former chaplain and traditional Anglican bishop, became a Catholic.