The Vatican's announcement this week that it will allow disgruntled Anglicans to join the Roman Catholic Church en masse has caused a stir among South Florida Episcopalians, members of the American wing of the worldwide Anglican communion. But it is not likely to have much of an impact on the local church landscape because of existing denominational splits.

Aimed at conservative Anglicans opposed to their church's liberal stance on same-sex blessings and the ordination of woman priests and gay bishops, Pope Benedict XVI gave his approval Tuesday to a formal method of bringing Anglicans into the Roman Catholic Church while allowing them to keep some religious traditions, such as worship rituals.

In the past, Anglicans who wanted to become Catholic needed to be approved on a case-by-case basis, but now the process can be done for entire congregations and dioceses as well as individuals.

Anglican priests, who can be married, will be allowed to become Catholic priests.

The Vatican has not released details of the process.

Already, one conservative Anglican diocese in Nigeria has said it is weighing the Vatican's offer.

An English group that opposes the ordination of women, Forward in Faith, has predicted the announcement could mean 1,000 fewer Anglican priests in the United Kingdom.

South Florida's Episcopal bishop said he did not expect the Vatican's decision to put a dent in his 38,000-member diocese.

``In a given year I can assure you that I receive more Roman Catholics into our communion than they would receive of ours,'' said the Rt. Rev. Leo Frade of the Episcopal Diocese of Southeast Florida, which covers an area from Jensen Beach to Key West and includes 83 churches.

``The reality is that those who wanted to leave have left already.''

Five years ago, when the Episcopal church approved the election of a gay bishop in New Hampshire, hundreds of South Florida Episcopalians broke away in protest, aligning themselves with the more-conservative Anglican Mission in America.

In other parts of the country, such as Texas and California, entire dioceses have broken away from the church.

``I've gotten about 10 e-mails from folks about this already,'' said the Rev. Carlos Miranda, rector of King of Glory Anglican Church in Miami Springs, where most members are former Episcopalians. ``It will be interesting to see what the actual stipulations are of the provision.''

The Rev. Pat O'Neill, director of Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations for the Archdiocese of Miami, called the Vatican's announcement a ``forward step'' in relations between the Anglican and Roman Catholic churches, but said it was too early to tell what would happen in South Florida.

The Anglican church was formed in the 16th Century after it broke away from Rome. Relations between the two churches have been improving since the 1960s.

``Pope Benedict XVI is saying a larger group of Anglican priests worldwide with their congregations or on their own are being welcomed to the Catholic community. There might be hundreds of Catholic priests each year who join the Anglican church -- or vice versa,'' O'Neill said.

Chris Fulton, who was raised Episcopalian, said the announcement gave him hope. He stopped regularly attending an Episcopal church years ago, saying the denomination was ``veering away from tradition.''

Today, Fulton occasionally attends Mass at St. Augustine Catholic Church in Coral Gables, but since he hasn't formally become Catholic, he cannot receive communion and feels out of place on Sundays because he grew up with the slightly different Episcopal worship style. Under the Vatican's new provision, Episcopalian and Anglican churches would be able to preserve their rites.

``Mostly I think, `I don't know where to go to church,' so we just don't go,'' said Fulton, a 46-year-old exporter who lives in Coconut Grove.

No South Florida churches have committed to joining the Roman Catholic church, but Fulton hopes to find a one that will switch. ``I'm excited,'' he said.

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