Leo XIII established a commission to consider the validity of Anglican orders after receiving an appeal for such a review from Fernand Portal, a Catholic and a former missionary, and Charles Wood, 2nd Viscount Halifax, an Anglican. Following the establishment of the Church of England outside of papal authority, the Catholic Church did not recognize the consecrations of bishops by a prelate who accepted the supremacy of the English monarch and whose appointments lacked papal confirmation. Several centuries later, some hoped that a review in light of a contemporary understanding of grace that had developed in sacramental theology would support a different assessment. Leo's commission was equally divided between two opposing views, and Leo relied on his personal theologian, Cardinal Raffaele Pierotti, who was titled the Master of the Apostolic Palace (the role now called Theologian of the Pontifical Household). Pierotti held a negative position on the validity of Anglican orders and believed that reaffirmation of their invalidity would result in many converts to Catholicism.
