See Henry VIII.

  In the encyclical APOSTOLICAL CURAE, September 13, 1896, Pope Leo XIII wrote, "We pronounce and declare that ordinations carried out according to the Anglican rite have been and are absolutely null and utterly void."

It is based on the fact that the intention of conveying the powers of offering the sacrifice of the Mass and of the forgiveness of sins, which are essential to the priesthood, is not present. (FUNDAMENTALS OF CATHOLIC DOGMA, Dr. Ludwig Ott, page 456)

From CATHOLIC HERALD, CHRISTMAS 1993. "Is it time for a conversion of England?

"The year 1993 may turn out to be a historic one in the long tale of Christianity in this country.

"God moves in mysterious ways, and in his own time, and we must not be presumptuous in anticipating his verdicts. But I am coming to believe He has decided that the days of the Anglican Church are numbered and that most of its worshippers will return to the true faith of their distant medieval forbears."

From DAILY MAIL (London), January 12, 1994. "The news that the Duchess of Kent has joined the Roman Catholic Church is ominous for the Anglican Establishment and is bound to have consequences for the monarchy itself."