Pope Hopes That Catholic-Anglican Dialogue Continues
Receives Archbishop of Canterbury in Audience
VATICAN CITY, NOV. 23, 2006 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI says he hopes theological dialogue between Anglicans and Catholics can continue, despite current strains over ecclesial and moral questions.
The Holy Father expressed his view today on receiving the primate of the Anglican Communion in audience at the Vatican.
The Anglican archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, visited the Pope and the Holy See to help mark the 40th anniversary of the historic meeting of the then archbishop of Canterbury, Michael Ramsey, with Pope Paul VI. That 1966 meeting marked the start of a new era of relations after the 16th-century ecclesial rupture under King Henry VIII.
"It was a visit filled with great promise," Benedict XVI said in his address, "as the Anglican Communion and the Catholic Church took steps towards initiating a dialogue about the questions to be addressed in the search for full visible unity."
The Pope acknowledged: "Over the last three years you have spoken openly about the strains and difficulties besetting the Anglican Communion and consequently about the uncertainty of the future of the Communion itself.
"Recent developments, especially concerning the ordained ministry and certain moral teachings, have affected not only internal relations within the Anglican Communion but also relations between the Anglican Communion and the Catholic Church."
The decision of the Church of England to approve the ordination of women priests in 1992 became one of the problems on the path to full unity between the two Churches.
In 2003, Anglican bishops of Africa, Asia and Latin America severely criticized the decision of the Episcopal Church of the United States (which belongs to the Anglican Communion) which elevated an openly homosexual bishop in New Hampshire.
Future relations
Benedict XVI acknowledged that "these matters, which are presently under discussion within the Anglican Communion, are of vital importance to the preaching of the Gospel in its integrity, and that your current discussions will shape the future of our relations."
"It is to be hoped that the work of the theological dialogue, which had registered no small degree of agreement on these and other important theological matters, will continue to be taken seriously in your discernment," the Pope continued.
The Holy Father told the archbishop of Canterbury: "In these deliberations we accompany you with heartfelt prayer. It is our fervent hope that the Anglican Communion will remain grounded in the Gospels and the Apostolic Tradition which form our common patrimony and are the basis of our common aspiration to work for full visible unity."
Dr. Williams was accompanied by his wife, Jane, and his son, Philip, as well as by a high-level Anglican delegation.
It is estimated that there are 70 million Anglicans worldwide.
After signing a Common Declaration in the presence of members of the Anglican delegation accompanying Dr. Williams, and of Catholic representatives led by Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, archbishop of Westminster, the Pope and the archbishop of Canterbury went to the Vatican's Redemptoris Mater Chapel. There they prayed Daytime Prayer in the presence of the Anglican and Catholic delegations.
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