"William Oddie: The Man Who Foresaw the Anglican Provision"

When the matter of the Anglican provision came forth, I was put to mind of a book that still sits on my shelf, but which I have not now read for many years; namely, William Oddie's The Roman Option: The Realignment of English Christianity. Therein, he speaks to some of the challenges which faced the Anglican communion in the light of the ordination of women and the possible development of a "Roman Option" for Anglicans.

Editor of the Catholic Herald, Luke Coppen, today raised this book on his site, Editor's Briefing: William Oddie: The man who foresaw the Anglican provision.

The following comes from the backcover of this work:

The Church of England's historic decision to ordain women to the priesthood has forced a dramatic realignment of Christianity in the English speaking world. In the space of five years, it has brough irreversible change into the heart of Anglicanism, and transformed its relationship with the Roman Catholic Church.

In this radical book, William Oddie gives an insider's account of the origins and possible future development of the 'Roman Option', in which disaffected Anglicans seek to move en masse to the Catholic Church, and argues that the Catholic bishops must be ready to respond boldly to the real crisis for Anglicanism which lies ahead...

The book was published in 1997.