Bishop Pope Rejoins Roman Catholic Church
08/07/2007

The retired Bishop of Fort Worth, the Rt. Rev. Clarence C. Pope, Jr., has rejoined the Roman Catholic Church.

In an e-mail sent to the clergy of the Diocese of Fort Worth on Aug. 6, the Rt. Rev. Jack L. Iker announced that his predecessor had “telephoned me this morning” to say that he and his wife had “returned to membership in the Roman Catholic Church, in full communion with the See of Peter.”

Bishop Pope is the second Episcopal bishop to join the Roman Catholic Church this year, and the fifth bishop of The Episcopal Church to resign from the House of Bishops since January. The retired Bishop of Albany, the Rt. Rev. Daniel Herzog, also returned to the Roman Church this year. The retired Bishop Suffragan of Albany, the Rt. Rev. David Bena, joined the Church of Nigeria; the retired Assistant Bishop of Oklahoma, the Rt. Rev. William Cox, joined the Church of the Province of the Southern Cone; and the retired Bishop of North Dakota, the Rt. Rev. Andrew Fairfield, joined the Church of Uganda. the rest