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| Archbishop Nichols |
Archbishop Vincent Nichols, the head of the Catholic Church in England and Wales, will reveal on Friday the Vatican's plans to welcome the departing priests - including five bishops - who are expected to be received into the Catholic Church early in the new year.
Hundreds of Anglican churchgoers will join them in the Ordinariate - a structure introduced by Pope Benedict XVI to provide refuge for those diaffected with the Church of England.
The number of worshippers who leave the Church is predicted to double as the new arrangement finally begins to take shape.
The Rt Rev Andrew Burnham, the Bishop of Ebbsfleet, said clergy have become dismayed at the liberal direction of the Church of England and the way traditionalits have been treated.
"There's only a certain amount of time you can accept being described as the National Front of the Church of England," he said.
"We're seen as out of date for not accepting women's ministry as equal, but the debate concentrates on sociology rather than theology."
The bishop, who is one of the five converting to Catholicism, accused the Church of repeatedly breaking its promises to make proper provision for opponents of women's ordination.
Members of the General Synod, the Church's parliament, voted in July to proceed with plans to create women bishops with minimal concessions to the traditionalists.
The majority of Anglo-Catholics are waiting until 2012 to see whether the church will pass the legislation which will allow women to be consecrated. They are hoping the plans will fail at the final hurdle.
The Rt Rev Keith Newton, the Bishop of Richborough, who is also leaving the Church of England said there was dismay at the way it had become increasingly liberal.
"It has changed a great deal. There is no doctrinal certainty anymore. It has become more relative. I'm sad about leaving as I owe a lot to the Church of England, but this [the Ordinariate] is a joyful opportunity."
He said that some Anglo-Catholic clergy would join the Ordinariate immediately, but others will wait to see how the new structure works.
Catholic bishops are holding talks in Leeds this week to discuss the most complicated issues facing the new arrangement, such as how the defecting clergy will be financially supported and whether they will be allowed to continue worshipping in their churches.
The Rt Rev Malcolm McMahon, the Catholic Bishop of Nottingham, confirmed the first priests would be received into the Catholic Church early in the new year.
"The Ordinariate could grow with time," he said.
"It depends on the Church of England as to whether there will be more who feel they can no longer stay in it.
"It is not in the Catholic Church's interests to break up the Church of England."
However, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, complained last year that the Pope's offer to disaffected Anglicans had put him in an "awkward position".
He went further last month, saying he was "very taken aback that this large step was put before us without any real consultation".
The invitation was made last October after secret meetings between Vatican officials and Anglican bishops who were concerned at the liberal direction of the Church of England.
The Ordinariate will create a new structure allowing clergy to leave the Church of England while retaining some elements of their heritage.
SIC: TC/UK
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