This week Pope Benedict  XVI took a major step to make it easier for disaffected Anglicans who feel their Church has become too liberal to convert to Roman Catholicism.

The Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams is the top official in the Church of England and the “first among equals” of the global church leaders that guide the 80-million-strong Anglican Communion.  That puts him in the crucial position of holding the Anglican faithful together in the wake of the Vatican’s surprise move this week.

Unlike Pope Benedict — who has singular authority over 1.1 billion Roman Catholics, Archbishop Williams can cajole and persuade, but in the end the many churches within the Anglican Communion have a great deal of autonomy, including the Church of England.

What’s his worry?

Archbishop Williams has found himself mired in controversial social change since 2003.  In that year, the Episcopal Church, the U.S. arm of Anglicanism, consecrated an openly gay bishop, sending the Anglican Communion into infighting that has shown no sign of letting up.    Add to this liberal Anglican practices of ordaining married priests and female bishops???  Heaven help us!!!

In a bid to keep the Anglican Communion together, Archbishop Williams has argued for a “two track” solution…one with the liberals who want gay bishops and the other with conservatives who oppose such policies, but they would all remain under the big tent of Anglicanism.

Here’s where Pope Benny swoops in and says…”Hey, conservative Anglicans…come to the Pope side…no gay Bishops over here!” (snicker snicker).   So the Pope gets a bunch of new converts (and their tithings) and the Archbishop is left with the liberal Anglican leftovers.

It’s like a big religious chessboard, where the winner takes your soul (and/or at least 15% of your income).

Pope makes it easier for Anglicans to convert | International | Reuters.